Day 3, February 25, 1st day of 10 day fieldtrip journey (Thimphu to Thongsa):

I packed my stuff in the morning to go with Gepke and Wangdi for a 10 day fieldtrip to the East of the country. Gepke has to attend various MTR (Mid-term Review) meetings with heads of international organizations and different ministers and reps from the Bhutanese Royal Government. My task is to visit, together with my co-worker, Sherip, as many schools as possible that UNICEF is funding in rural parts in the East of Bhutan. In 2008 the area around Trashigang and Mongar was hit by an earthquake (6.3 magnitude) destroying many schools and houses in numerous villages. I was allotted to be the photographer during these visits.

We started our 2-and-a-half day car ride to Trashigang (all the way on the East of the country - see map). The landscape is so incredibly beautiful. I was hypnotized by the winding roads, the enormous mountains, the ever-changing vegetation, the snaking road up-down, right-left covering kilometers and kilometers of mountains. We had dinner in Wangdie town. A very cute town with tons of little wooden shops and ate a delicious Tibetan/Bhutanese meal. Oh, and I ate momos' for the first time. YUMM!! We slept that night in Trongsa. A cold, windy, beautiful town.