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Bhutan Day 6 - Bumthang

It was so freezing cold in Bumthang. I was too lazy to add more wooden logs to keep the room warm, preferring to tug under  my warm blanket and laze in bed. Thank goodness the flooring in the room is not the hard cold ceramic tiles, but wooden planks. It is too cold to walk barefooted since the hotel do not provide slippers.

What's for breakfast? Eggs, toasted bread and pancakes! Not your usual pancakes, these are made  made from some kind of herbs, giving it a unique taste, and tried a few pieces to get used to the taste.

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After breakfast, we are going for a hike around the Bumthang city. We will visit some monasteries, sight seeing, stop for lunch and visit a beer factory. The cold air has started to make my skin dry up and my lips start to crack. I have to start putting on moisturizer and lip balm. Bumthang is much colder compared to other places and I started to appreciate the thermal clothing that does its job of keeping me warm and fence off tho cold wind.

A lovely weather to start our hike - clear blue sky, big sun and the cold wind. And we had two lovely dogs from the hotel joining us on the trip too, good dogs!

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A house at the back of the hotel
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Water on the ground and in the drains have turned into ice, grass are coated with ice. Temperature is below 0 degree Celsius in the morning but feel warm under the sun. A sunny cold weather.

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Water have turned into ice in the drain
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Grass coated with ice
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My guide taking a sheet of ice from the surface of the water

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This booth is for people to park their cow.
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Friendly Bhutanese going for a walk
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A beautiful river
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This dog has accompanied us for the entire journey. Was bullied along the way by other dogs but tag along with us. Brave dog!!

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After a good 6 hours of exercise, we finally reached Bumthang city. We would be having our lunch before proceeding with the rest of the journey. We were so hungry that we could eat a cow! The cheesy potato went well with the spaghetti.

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Restaurant for lunch, starving....

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We were exhausted after the hike, even though the track was easy with a few gentle slopes. Our energy were depleted, and every step we took was heavy for our feet.  We stopped by a shop to rest and reward ourselves with a local cool Panda beer!

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Reward ourselves with some cold beer. Feel so good

Bumthang city is a mix of the Bhutanese traditional culture with the modern world. There are shops selling LCD TV, electronics, home appliances. There's bar, snooker and entertainment center. WiFi is also widely available in most of the cafes and restaurants.
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The journey back to the hotel was a pretty slow and relax one, with more scenery along the way. A good walk to digest and burn off the calories!
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Dry beef jerky
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We had a great time today. Though exhausted by today's hike, it was a great workout in preparation for the our ultimate test - the tiger's nest.

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