Backdate: Bhutan Dec 2024 Day 8

19/12/24 Tues: Had our sunrise breakfast at 7.30am! The one with bacon is his Eggs Benedict because I don't like bacon. Besides bacon, he had poached eggs, English muffin, spinach and Hollandaise sauce.

Soon, we had to bid goodbye to Gangtey Lodge and Chef Soh and his team. *She's so nice... even gave us a handmade body soap (that had Chrysanthemum smell) and some snacks for the drive.* We left at 8.30am and passed the Lawala pass at 3,250m ASL. Also saw a black yak on the way.

And because it’s a 5-hour drive to Paro, Yeshi needed a break at Dochu La pass.

It was a somewhat familiar sight as we approached Paro because we were here on the first day. They sent us safely to Bhutan Spirit Sanctuary at the top of a hill at 1.30pm. The staff were there to welcome us as we walked into the hotel, and was welcomed by their general manager before being brought to our room. 

Such a sweet welcome with the chocolate cake for our 6th wedding anniversary and 9th pa-tor anniversary, a bottle of red wine (a pity Potato said it tasted a bit off already probably due to exposure to the sun) and a complimentary book titled "The Restful Mind"~ I love it! The room was cosy and the bathroom was huge.

15 minutes later, we headed to their dining area for our set lunch. *The sun rays were so pretty~* They don't have copies of printed menus here, so the waitress or waiter would simply tell us what we were gonna have. Honestly, I don't listen to them close enough because... we can say "don't want this set" meh? Lol.

We were sort of getting used to eating late lunches in Bhutan haha. It was a four-course lunch. I thought the spinach soup (I think) was nice, but not a fan of salads usually. We also had some pasta which was so-so and the apple crumble for dessert? Again, I'm not a fan albeit the plating looked nice.

PotaTOHs booked a free appointment with their traditional doctor at 2.45pm, so we headed to their wellness area in the basement. It was a very cool waiting area.

The consultation with the young Bhutanese doctor lasted half an hour for both of us. He could not find my pulse because it was weak alamak~ Apparently, Bhutanese classify body constitutions as “wind”, “phlegm” and “bile”. Potato was generally healthy but I belong to the “phlegm” type, which meant I am prone to bloating, lower back ache, anaemia and fatigue (I was having flu then too). He told me to avoid cold stuff, keep warm and to sun-bathe more! I guess it is similar to the Chinese traditional way of saying “dampness” in body. But, I felt the whole experience was a bit underwhelming though.

So after the consultation, we decided on a 30-minute hot oil compression at 3.30pm where they use a mix of nutmeg and wild caraway seed wrapped in cloth and heated with sesame oil and compressed on the pressure points on our head. *We were left with oily hair after that haha.* It's said to improve sleep and I did sleep well that night too.

Man the indoor pool looks so pretty! A pity we did not really have time to use it. Spent the rest of the late afternoon resting in our room and I love the view from our balcony. It is quite hot in the afternoon even though it's winter, and it gets chilly at night in Bhutan.

As the sun sets earlier at 5pm, it was soon dark and quiet.

PotaTOHs went back to the main area for dinner at 6.45pm. We passed their hallway, shopping corner and a library. I even browsed through the whole pictorial book on their fourth King.

I wanted to take photos when we arrived but got no time because the staff were welcoming us. So, I braved the cold and walked outside to take some photos with the help of one staff. This is the “Golden Bridge”.

There were some stars in the sky, but not as many as seen in Gangtey due to light pollution. 

The guacamole was yummy though a bit spicy. Oh I enjoyed the pho too, albeit it was likely to be beef soup lol. Then, there's the quinoa with capsicum and tomatoes which I did not like, nor the cheese momos.

The seared salmon was okay. For the dessert, I couldn't recall if it was tiramisu but it’s definitely not nice.

Anyway, it's cute how they differentiate gents and ladies using a small-sized display of their Gho and Kira haha.

Back to our room to rest of the night and I saw a nice card for us! Tried the chocolate cake and it was good but sweet.

It was a very comfortable space. Bhutan Spirit Sanctuary is another of my favourite stay other than Gangtey Lodge!