Pieter de Vries and I got up very early this morning to shoot some footage at the giant Buddha at sunrise. When we got there there was no sunrise, only drizzle…

But luckily the Buddha was lit with some floodlights and so we got a bit of golden shine… And some beautiful footage.

After brekkie we checked out of our hotel and hit the bus for a long and torturous three and a half hour bus trip up vast mountains, and down vast valleys.

The road was a shocker. We averaged 20kms per hour.

It was horrible. I kept my sanity by chanting –
Om mani padme hum –

A rough translation is:
Get me off this bloody bus, and fast. 

Punakha is famous for its dzong. And here’s why…

We were going to camp out tonight but after that shocker of a road trip I nixed that. Instead we checked into a hotel.

This beats a sleeping bag and a tent any day, he says, being the consummate true pilgrim…

I’ll finish this blog with my shot of the day – taken at a nearby store, of the shop assistant…