Sunday 30th August, 2026
here were lots of security checks and immigration, we got the same guy who stamped us in when we arrived and he remembered us, he asked how we liked Nepal - it is beautiful we said. We got through to the gate without any issues and could now relax until our flight was due to board in 2 hours time. Plane was a little late arriving, which meant we were 3/4 hour late departing, no big issue.
When checking in we were advised to ask for seating on the left side of the plane, which we did and Tania got the window seat. The reason for this is because we would fly along the Himalayan range and see Mt Everest and other mountains as we progressed. We did see Mt Everest and the second largest peak near Everest, as both were just peaking through the layer of fluffy clouds. It was a bonus.
There are only 50 pilots in the world qualified to land at Paro Airport, as it is one of the most dangerous airports to fly into or out of ... Basically it is in a valley with a winding approach with mountains each side.
Arrived at Paro, Bhutan clearing immigration and customs quite quickly, the longest wait was for our bags to be unloaded from the plane. We met our new tour guide Dorji and she accompanied us for the 1 hour drive from Paro to Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan. It wasn't easy withdrawing local currency from the ATM's either at the airport or in town, but we eventually succeeded. We had the afternoon free and on our list of things to do is get a mid holiday haircut.
While looking for an open salon on a Sunday, a girl approached and asked if we needed help, yes we did ! She pointed us to a men's hairdresser in a nearby building. We asked if he would cut hair for both of us and yes he would. We sat down to wait, there was a boy in the chair and another gent to go before us. Not long after another family with two boys come in and sat down. Graeme went to the ATM for money as it was a cash only deal. Eventually came our turn and we each took about 20 -30 mins to cut, and a pretty good job it was. Graeme asked how much, and combined he said 240 Ngultrum - equivalent to $3.54 AUS !!!! You are kidding ! Graeme gave him 500 Ngultrum and said keep the change. As we walked out, I told Tania with the extra tip we just paid $7.37 AUS for both our haircuts !! Ridiculous, Tania walked back in and gave him another 500 Ngultrum, he looked puzzled receiving more, but still ridiculously cheap for us. Hopefully we made his day ! Graeme said in future Tania can fly to Bhutan for her haircuts, it will probably work out about the same cost !
We spent the rest of the afternoon browsing the main street, it started to rain so we made our way back to the hotel, about a 20min walk.
The welcome dinner for this part of the tour was held in the hotel, but it was a bit of a fizzer, the newbies didn't really introduce themselves, and two of our members left early feeling ill.
I understand it is also challenging landing an airplane in Hong Kong and one in Nepal.
Good on you for the generosity to the Barber of Thimphu.
It was very rewarding, especially after a good friend of ours had trouble at similar altitudes in Peru recently, I must admit I was worried if the altitude would affect either of us. It didn’t so maybe South American is on our radar or the near future.