Active Travel Adventures podcast I Inspiring Multi-Day Adventure Trips Around the World · Kit Parks

Trekking Bhutan: Himalayan Hiking & Camping plus Day Hiking Adventure (Part II)

·26 min·1 clip

The Great Buddha Dordenma is almost 180 feet tall and contains 100,000 8-inch Buddhas and 25,000 12-inch Buddhas.

1. Active Travel Adventures podcast’s Part II on Bhutan hiking and camping shifts from the earlier cultural focus to trekking, camps, and day hikes. 2. Kit Parks hosts the episode and frames herself as the guide to the group’s Bhutan adventure, while Dorje, Chimmy, Tashi, Kwen Ge Zan, and Tsewang Dima appear as local hosts and helpers. 3. The episode asks what the trekking side of Bhutan actually feels like for a group on a guided adventure trip. 4. Kit says the group did a four-day camping trip with only day packs because a trekking crew carried the main gear. 5. She describes a kitchen tent, a dining tent, toilet tents, and a shower tent, plus camp meals protected from the elements. 6. The crew drove gear to each campsite, which meant the hikers did not need horses to carry loads. 7. A lowland section after the rains brought leeches, including one on Donna and several on Patricia, whom the group nicknamed the Queen of the Leeches. 8. Kit explains that salt makes the leeches fall off and recommends long pants tucked into socks during monsoon season. 9. The weather cleared later, opening views of mossy rainforest trails, terraced rice fields, rhododendrons, firs, prayer flags, and steep muddy paths with few switchbacks. 10. She says some mornings included yoga with Lisa, who owns a CrossFit, and guides joined the class. 11. A school visit led to rock, paper, scissors with children and a look at the demanding course work at the middle school and grammar school. 12. The group also bought out a shop’s ice cream and snacks after asking locals whether it sold ice cream. 13. Rain forced a campsite change, so Chimmy arranged for the group to camp in a family’s front yard and use the home’s bathroom, temple, and kitchen. 14. Kit highlights two birthday celebrations, including Dale wearing a crown and Patricia celebrating her 78th birthday. 15. She also notes trekking dogs that joined the group for all four days and scared off barking deer. 16. One day included Bhutan’s longest suspension bridge at almost 600 feet, crossing the Fo Chu River and linking Penangka Zong to nearby villages. 17. Another day featured the Great Buddha Dordenma in Thimphu, which Kit says stands almost 180 feet tall and contains 100,000 8-inch Buddhas and 25,000 12-inch Buddhas inside. 18. The episode’s tone is conversational and reportorial, with long stretches of practical trip detail, personal impressions, and short side stories. 19. Travelers who like trekking logistics, Bhutan landmarks, and group-trip stories would fit this episode. 20. Listeners wanting a fast, tightly focused wilderness episode may skip it.

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