Oy weh!

So let's talk infrastructure. Or more precisely the lack there of: 268km in a 12-hr bus trip that was both uncomfortable and scary as hell.

Imagine a state highway that links the capital city, Thimphu, to parts East of the country. You're probably thinking four paved lanes and a nice flow of traffic. And you'd be so wrong.

Instead picture a toe path, with packed dirt, just wide enough to allow for a small truck, bordered by vertiginous cliffs above and below. The road, such as it is, is further narrowed by landslides of huge rocks that are a permanent feature looming overhead, often forcing traffic to stop until a passage can be cleared.

Then you look outside the window to the cliff below and notice that entire spans of the mountain have sheared off. You wonder whether that crack right next to the wheel of the bus might be foretelling. How deep is that ravine?

There is nothing smooth about that road: deep tracks made by other vehicles, enormous potholes from water cascading down the slopes and of course missing sections altogether. We got jostled so hard that our butts lifted from the seats. I'm still trying to limber up my fingers from their death grip on the seat handles...

Then you spot a truck coming in the opposite direction. How's that even possible? This road is surely meant for just one way traffic? Wrong again. And there begins a delicate ballet of vehicles, vying for space, one inch at a time, with less than that to spare between vehicles and with the void below... Repeat this 100 times over.

But wait! Eight hours into the drive, it starts raining. Now, you are dealing with slick mud, deep crevasses and spinning wheels. Ten hours into the ride, it's nightfall. The only thing I can say about that is: thank god I couldn't see the precipices anymore ;)

When we finally arrived, we all walked as if we'd been on a boat for 12 hours: uncertain balance, mushy brains. For all I know I have a concussion ;)

But what I did, first and foremost, was to thank the driver, whose masterful skills kept us alive.

Oh, btw, we'll have to return the same way in a few days.....