Explorations

The last few weeks have been a whirl, bit by bit getting settled, oriented, acclimated, and verified. We are back living on campus, with its plusses and minuses. We spent three days in Thimphu last week doing the immigration dance once again, because our work permits from last semester expired before we returned, because we had not extended them before we left, because we were not clear that we were coming back. So we had to go through that all over again, and I was astonished that it was even more complicated and exhausting than the last time. I still feel a little traumatized by it all! I may write more about that at some point, but the bottom line is that we are thankfully visaed and permitted again. Phew! I thought I'd just share some photos for now, to catch up a bit on what we've been up to. Most days we walk up the hill from the law school into Pangbisa, the small settlement up the hill, mostly for the exercise and acclimatizing, but also to do some bird-watching, stare ...

The landscape of Bhutan is like a crumpled piece of paper, full of folds and ripples and ridges and dips. The hiking we have done through Bhutan's valleys gives a good sense of the small features of this dramatic landscape, but flying over the top of it is just an astonishing perspective of valleys nested in valleys defined by steep folds. The first time we flew into Paro, the weather was clear and we could easily see the path the plane took, weaving up narrow valleys and alongside steep slopes that seemed not far enough from the tips of the plane’s wings. It was dramatic and somewhat intimidating; the Paro airport is apparently one of the most difficult in the world to fly in and out of. I believe it. Supposedly there are just a handful of pilots who are certified to fly here.   Flying in this time, we were in the fog and clouds for much of the flight from Bangkok. There was not much to see, just a gray shroud obscuring the ground. When we were close to Paro, the pilot announced t...