Bhutan -- sneak peek

This is for you, Mom. :) Keep me on track to actually sort through and post more of my pictures. For now, this will have to do.

This April, we went to Nepal and Bhutan to celebrate seven years of marriage. It was a once in a lifetime trip to an incredible part of the world.
Bhutan only has about 50,000 tourists a year. In comparison, Nepal gets about 600,000. We loved how untouched the country was and how pure and sweet the people were.

This first picture was actually taken as we left Bhutan, but you can also see the Himalayas as you fly into the country. Everest is the mountain on the left. The week we were in Nepal, there was one of the worst recorded climbing accidents on the mountain.

To get to Bhutan, you pass over the Himalayas. The plane ride is 45 minutes and is considered one of the most dangerous landings in the world. You pass through a tight mountain pass into the town of Paro. We were about to turn around because of the impending night, but our pilot tried one more time and landed us with a big bump. The girls slept through it, amazingly. Troy and I said it was one of the scariest landings we recall.

 Bhutan is a highly religious country. Everywhere you go, you see prayer flags and prayer wheels. The people are incredibly devout and seemed to really go out of their way to make offerings and prayers. These flags are on bridges everywhere, because they catch the breeze and that's good to help your prayers descend to Heaven.

A sweet nun who spent her day spinning a massive prayer wheel and counting her rosary beads. Our girls joined her in spinning the wheel for a while and I think it made her day. I think prayer wheels were Olivia and Annika's favorite part of the trip.

Well...prayer wheels or picking dandelions. Here are our girls picking flowers in front of a monument build on a high mountain pass. This monument was dedicated to a group of Indian nationals who were asked to leave the country. Just across from this monument is a hillside covered with prayer flags.

Ummm. Yes. That's a...one-eyed snake. Seriously. In Bhutan, phallic symbols are a symbol used on buildings and homes all over the place. So you'll see paintings like this on houses everywhere. This is in front of a phallic handicraft shop with wooden versions of this painted one. Good thing our girls were too little to understand what their Daddy was giggling at.

 These larger prayer flags are placed on hill tops and are for people who have died.

 Olivia picking wheat. After living in the most urban country in the world the past three years, it was refreshing to go to one of the world's most rural countries. Our girls loved playing in the dirt and picking plants and being allowed to be in nature. This wheat field was outside a small village where we watched kids play marbles and jump rope. I wish sometimes we could go back to a time without television.

The entrance to one town fort. These forts are used for official government business and also the home of local monasteries.

Young monks who were enjoying freedom after being required to pray nine days straight. 

 The Tiger's Nest. Incredible monastery built on the side of a cliff. Maybe a five-mile uphill hike, round trip. We made it with our girls...and the help our our drivers.

Bhaktapur, Nepal. Much dirtier than Bhutan. But incredibly gorgeous and interesting. 

 Our little cuties. We love traveling with these girls and letting them share our adventures with us. They are good sports and have gotten used to being dragged around. I love how willing they are to associate with different people and they are very accepting of a lot of what they see. It was a highlight to watch them interact with our guide and driver in Bhutan. This picture was in a royal house in Nepal. We have other pictures with some of the locals.