Brass village shopping

A few weeks ago, before the trip to Bhutan, a few of went back to Dhamrai, the brass village just outside of Dhaka. This time our aim was shopping and I bought the lovely brass elephant above. It is a tea light candle elephant that had just been released from its clay cast. This cute elephant cost 7000 Taka, less than $100 - a bargain for a hand-made, individual craft piece. Even better in my opinion is that it helps to keep the lost-wax method of making objects alive.
I had just better watch out that I don't buy another piece tomorrow at the Canadian Club!!

Paro and new software

To combine some of my Paro photos plus show the highlights, I used a new program (for me) called Collage Creator.
The highlights of Paro are

• the dzong - once a fortress and now a combination of monastery and municipal centre
• the National Museum situated in the spiralling, shell-shaped former watchtower that overlooks the dzong
• Paro airport - the place of arrival for most visitors with stunning views from the plane as it descends in. Only Druk Air, Bhutan's own airline, flies into Bhutan and has just two planes!
• Tigers Nest Monastery - unbelievable location, located atop a 400 metre high sheer rock face and only accessible by foot. A tough hike to get there and some stunningly ornate and highly decorated to see when you get there.