We finally got to the river only to notice that it was running real slow and there were no other rafts! Turns out we were out of season but they would be happy to take us. So off we went after we got our safety training. It was incredibly beautiful sights and generally super relaxing. There were a few rapids but honestly it was nothing.
Now I had mentioned a royal wedding in a previous post. Well a few days after we were to leave Bhutan the King was getting married. If I recall he was 30 years old and she is 21. Both very good looking, young and smart. He is only the 5th King in their history. All photos we saw of the previous ones were also young. His father the 4th King interestingly had 4 wives, which is allowed since he is the king. However that wasn't the interesting part. The really spooky, bizarre part that his four wives were all sisters! Weird by any standards I think.
In any event the entire country was getting ready to celebrate this royal wedding. The arrival/departure customs card even was in thirds. With the left side being arrival, right side being departure. In the middle was a photo of the new King/Queen with an announcement that this royal wedding was a countrywide celebration and that all visitors were invited to enjoy the festivities in all the country. So in essence it was my invite to the wedding.
Back to our rafting adventure. As we drove there our van got past by an official motorcade. According to our driver and guide one of the princesses was in the motorcade and apparently heading to one of their countryside residences.
(If you click on the photo to enlarge you will see the building in the background is all decorated with flags and such. This is only done on royal events, they were getting ready for the wedding in a few days around the country, even here in the countryside)
Then a few hours later as we lazily went down the river a group on the banks started waving pleasantly at us. The boat guide claimed it was the princess and her family and was able to tell because of the clothes they were wearing. Pretty damn cool!
Our final night was spent in Thimpu. In planning our departure back to Thailand and then China the next day we needed to figure out what time to go to the airport (also how late we could stay out that night accordingly!). Well even though I had the same flight number as the others, their tickets showed a totally different time than mine. We tried figuring it out but as in all of Asia what should be easy is always a challenge.
Some final photos as we walked around the city the last morning...
(That stepladder is actually the entrance to the store!)
In any event after one final dinner we were taken out to a karaoke bar where the girls did their best, while the locals sat around laughing at all of us. Then on to some local club where we were almost the first to arrive. We made the most of both places and hit the sack around midnight. Long day of travel tomorrow!
Phenomenal trip and highly recommended for those of you who can rough it a bit or like an adventure!
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