Big excitement in town today! We are fortunate enough to be here for the annual festival in the dzong. We walked up to the dzong this morning and watched dances all morning. As interesting as the dances were, the local people fascinated us as well. The Bhutanese are beautiful people and the elderly ones have faces full of character. They come from all over the valley for the festival and to socialize.

The dances were loud and very colourful with gorgeous costumes and masks. They hold deep religious significance to the locals - which was somewhat marred by insensitive tourists with big cameras intent on the perfect shot. After lunch we returned to soak up more of the culture and dancing. I had a delightful afternoon conversing with two incredibly sweet girls of 10 and 11 who wanted to practice their English and who explained the dances to me. They really made my afternoon.