In early March of 2020, I set out on an adventure I’d been dreaming of my entire life: a 10-day trip through Bhutan, my 77th country. I was so grateful for the opportunity to experience this beautiful country. Come along with me as I make my way from Miami to the most dangerous airport in the world in Paro, Bhutan!
My journey began at my second home, Miami International Airport in my hometown of Miami. The only way to get to Bhutan is to catch a connecting flight on either Bhutan Airways or Drukair from Asian cities like Delhi, Kolkata, Dubai, Kathmandu, Singapore, and a few others. I couldn’t wait to get to Bhutan. I’d get to spend 10 whole days on the ground, touring the country with MyBhutan.
Bhutan’s only international airport, Paro Airport, is located 18,000 feet above sea level and can only be reached by a select number of pilots, and only during the daylight hours. Because of the mountains and the unique way they have to fly in, it’s considered by many to be the most dangerous airport in the world!
After a 13-hour flight, I landed at Qatar’s Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar for my layover. This airport is like my third home, as I’d traveled there five times in the past two years. It’s the best way to get to Asia. I headed to the business class lounge, which offers food, a sleeping area, and a shower. I freshen up with a shower there every time I pass through!
From Qatar, I had a 4.5-hour flight to Kolkata, India. There, I’d have a 6.5-hour connection before another 1.5-hour flight to Bhutan. I couldn’t wait to have some southern Indian food in Kolkata! But before I boarded my flight, I put on my mask to protect against the coronavirus, which was starting to make its way around the globe.
Once I arrived in Kolkata, I saw that everyone was wearing masks. They had special signs in the airport advising anyone who had recently traveled to China, particularly Wuhan City, to report to the airport health unit if they had coronavirus-like symptoms. They also had another procedure where you have to go through a machine that detects heat, and I had to fill out more papers to give to Immigration in order to connect and check into my new flight.
By the time I got situated, it was 3 a.m., so I headed to Tea Junction in the airport to get some frothy and milky ginger chai. It was boiling hot but so good! It only cost me 140 rupees/$1.83 USD for a large. After finishing, I went to find some southern Indian food. I was hoping my favorite place was open!
There are three places where you can eat: Wow! Momo, idli.com, and Biryani Bhai. Idli.com didn’t have any dosas because it was so early, so I got some idli with sambar, mint chutney, and coconut chutney instead.
The idli is a little bland by itself and has a slightly nutty flavor. But it’s amazing when you dip it in different chutneys and sambar and let them soak into the idli. I loved mixing the idli with the two chutneys.
They were good enough to eat like a soup! I also got a strong filtered Karnataka coffee. In total, it cost me 300 rupees/$3.93 USD.
I headed to Gate 8. I was the only one there. There would already be passengers on my flight because it was coming from Bangkok. After 27 hours of traveling, I was finally on my final flight. I boarded and had an entire row to myself. They told us over the intercom that we’d get to see Mount Everest from about 40 minutes into the flight. I was excited because I had never seen it before!
They served some apple juice, a veg sandwich, ginger snaps, and sweet bread onboard. The sandwich contained a corn salad and the sweet bread contained raisins. I could see Mount Everest covered in snow in the distance, and after a 45-minute flight, we began our descent through the clouds and mountain valleys to the most dangerous airport in the world!
I hope you enjoyed coming along with me from Miami to Bhutan and on my wild adventure landing at the most dangerous airport in the world! If you did, please give this video a thumbs up and leave a comment below. Also, please subscribe to my YouTube channel and click the notification bell so you don’t miss any of my travel/food adventures around the world!
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