Thimphu

The capitol of Bhutan used to be Punakha, but 50 years ago the fourth Druk Gyalpo (King) moved it to Thimphu.  At the time, Thimphu was a collection of small hamlets, but now 100,000 people live in greater Thimphu.  Anchored on the northern end by its impressive Trashi Chhoe Dzong, Thimphu is home to the royal government ministries, several Lakhangs (temples) and monasteries, a university, and the Changlimithang Stadium where in 1885 Ugyen Wangchuck, leader of Trongsa (a district in Bhutan), defeated the leaders of Punakha and Thimphu in battle and thus became the first Druk Gyalpo of Bhutan.

Trashi Chhoe Dzong

The Wangchuu River runs along the eastern edge of the city.  From the far side of the river, one can get a good view of Thimphu and the Standing Buddha that was a gift to Bhutan from the King of Thailand.  The Buddha stands in Coronation Park where the current king, the Fifth Druk Gyalpo, was crowned in 2008:

Bridge over the Wangchuu

Standing Buddha in Coronation Park on the Wangchuu

To cross the river from the eastern side, one uses a traditional covered bridge festooned with prayer flags that leads directly into the city's food market where on weekends hundreds of peddlers sell everything from apples and mandarin oranges from Punakha to dried fish, spices, and vegetables from India and China.

Though the most urban of all Bhutan's "cities," replete with coffee shops, bars, Thai and Indian restaurants and countless excellent bookshops, Thimphu still reflects traditional  Bhutanese culture.  Clocktower Square, at the center of the city, has rows of prayer wheels on each side and members of the community gather in the Square every morning to spin them and to pray.  

There are some sites one can see only in Asia, and perhaps only in a very Buddhist country, such as this mannikin outside a shop that sells clothes and accoutrements for monks and nuns:

Best of all, since the winter air is so clear and the sun always shines in January, in Thimphu one can simultaneously see BOTH the Standing Buddha in Coronation Park AND the largest seated Buddha in the world (look carefully--they alost line up!):