Looking Out the Window

In the almost 3 years I've been living in Bhutan, I've had 6 separate homes...a combination of hotels, apartments and houses. Next weekend I'll be moving into number 7...a new duplex high on a mountain overlooking the capital here, Thimphu, where most of my projects are. Cannot wait! Will update this post with new pics when I move in there.

But despite the wide variety and standards of accommodation, they've all had one common theme.

Incredible views from my bedroom window.

My humble home back in the Australian bush also has wonderful views...

But having said that, Bhutan is such a scenically glorious kingdom, that it's near impossible to find a place with anything but  stunning vistas. Just as it's difficult to take an unattractive photograph.

I don't have a complete photographic record of all my previous abodes, but will post a few here that I'm sure will give a good idea of what I mean...

This is my first apartment here in Bhutan (after spending a month in a city hotel).

A delightful looking cottage, but absolutely the coldest place I've lived in EVER. The inside plumbing would freeze every night during the bitter winters, so no hot shower or bath in the mornings. And I wasn't about to have a cold one when the ambient temperature was around -18C. So very cleverly, I'd fill a bucket with water in the afternoon when the pipes had (sometimes) thawed, and save it to heat in a large cooking pot on the stove the next morning. Unfortunately, by morning, that bucket of water, sitting inside on the kitchen bench, would be frozen solid. I removed some shelves from the wheezing refrigerator, and kept the bucket in there to prevent it freezing. Needless to say, I moved apartments quite quickly after that...

And strangely, I don't have any pics from my windows of that one. Hands were too cold to click the camera, I guess.

So, promptly moved to a better apartment further up the hill, with all mod-cons.
A lovely room on the 2nd floor of this one, in uptown Motithang...

(I was in there when a quite severe earthquake struck in 2011, and wobbled my way down the  swaying staircase to the safety of the road, but that's another story.)

Before the maid arrived...

The maid...

...performs her magic...

Working from my desk here, I only had to turn my head to see what was happening outside...

..and was seldom disappointed in the ever-changing scenery...

After a year in that apartment, I moved 10km away to Babesa, to be walking distance from the IT Park project, to keep a closer eye on it as it neared completion...

And yes, that IS what you think it is, growing around the base of the apple tree...

...and what a useful tree it proved to be...

...and through these windows?

A  truly lovely house and location, overlooking my beloved Wangchu River, deep down in the distant valley.

The plumbing, though, was up to the usual standard. These overhead 12mm black poly pipes are the main (only!) water supplies to all the surrounding homes...

After a year there in Babesa, and with the project officially inaugurated, I moved back to the old place in Motithang for a few months...

 

But since you've already seen that one, on to my present abode for the past 6 months...just above the Queen's Memorial Chhorten.

These apartments are owned by the Bhutanese ambassador to India. The name is interesting. Sonu Nigam is a famous Indian singer in Bollywood films and with his own TV show. It's similar to the western equivalent of naming a house "John Lennon Apartments". Must ask the owners' daughter about that...(and if you thought "who is John Lennon?", you're too young to be reading this. Go play with your Lego...)

A bushfire on the mountain across the Wangchu River...

And although I'm moving again next week, I'll be sorry to leave this view...

Finally moved into this lovely new place, quite isolated, glorious views down the valley towards Thimphu. If only next door wasn't a temporary rock-breaking site 10 hours a day! I'm told that it will only last for another week, so if true, this will be a delight.

Pics show the apartment and several panoramic views from the bedroom window...

The Good, the Bad, and the Snow.

I've been reminded recently that it's been a while since I updated here, but circumstances (and admittedly a touch of lethargy) have contributed to this... 

In January/February, I spent more than a month in bed, trying to recover from a nasty bout of typhoid. Very unpleasant. Wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy.

I first contracted typhoid in 2010, in Bangalore, India. Followed immediately by a dose of dengue fever. I lost 12kgs (27lbs) in one month. And I've never been larger than “slim”. My doctor in Australia warned me that I was prone to re-infection, but I scoffed at him. 
Unfortunately for me, he was correct.

I believe I contracted this recent bout in Kolkata, India, on my return to Bhutan from my daughter's wedding in Australia. So, many weeks lying flat on my back, in excruciating pain, hallucinating and blacking out for days at a time.

And then, in April, I travelled back to Australia for a 3 week trip again, to attend my same daughter's “White Wedding”. 

Her previous December wedding was because she's married a wonderful guy, (Indian parents, but born in Oz.) The family are good, sincere Muslims, so we had a Muslim “Nikah”ceremony then. 

But my lovely daughter also yearned for the traditional western white wedding. Of course, she had it.

4 months later.

But during my recovery in February, a strange event occurred in Bhutan.

You'd expect regular snow in this kingdom, due to its altitude and  proximity to the world's highest mountain range. And according to locals, up until about 8 years ago, heavy winter snow was common and expected. Indeed, the first day of snowfall is always declared a national public holiday.
But in my 3 winters here, the heaviest snowfall I'd seen in Thimphu was merely a light dusting that melted within hours...

 The predominant theory as to this recent lack of snow is because of the ubiquitous and very real global climate change. Bhutan is placed between, and borders upon, the planet's 2 most populous (and polluted) nations, India and China. Between the proverbial rock and a hard place, and at the mercy of both.

So in mid-February, when I travelled west to the more temperate Punakha for a festival, I was surprised to find that we couldn't return to Thimphu, as the road was blocked by heavy snowfalls in the capital. Disappointed at missing this long-awaited spectacle myself, I rang a friend and asked him to take some pics, which he kindly provided.

Thimphu at its glorious best...worth waiting for me to appreciate.