Bhutan in their quest for high impact tourism has hit upon a winner with -- the royal post office. I'm serious! They let you put your face on your very own stamp! So of course we couldn't resist. I will have you know that my postcard made it to the United States before Nara's card made it to South Korea. I win!
Then we headed out to Paro to explore some forts. First we stopped to check out the handiwork of the iron bridge builder. Thangtong Gyalpo also known as Chakzampa was a Buddhist master, yogi, physician, blacksmith, architect, and a pioneering civil engineer who was said to have built 58 iron chain suspension bridges around Tibet and Bhutan. (Some sources say 108 bridges which is an auspicious number in Buddhism.)
The original bridge was occupied by some little old lady tourists who weren't making the best time so we took the newer, less scary bridge over to check out the red chillies drying in the sun. Every few minutes, a shriveled old man would lean out of his window and yell at his cows in the field below. Each time it happened we jumped. The man let us see the small temple at the site and use his bathroom but only grudgingly.
Then we moved on to Paro Dzong
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