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a joke or do a trick. (See the evening's programme, set out in the appendix.) The laughter and applause must have been heard all the way up and down Paro High Street.
A last munch
The last day dawned, beautiful and sunny as ever, and was celebrated with scrambled eggs on toast aplenty. Checking in at the airport was as depressing as it can be anywhere, except that this time there were 27 people with some very happy and unforgettable memories behind them. For me, my last example of the friendliness and humour of the Bhutanese people was at the shop in the departure lounge. I had not realised I had chocolate withdrawal symptoms until I saw a pile of Kit-Kats on the shelf. I rushed up and asked how much they were. '25 Nu' I was told. When I found that I only had 20 Nu left in local currency and looked suitably crestfallen, the young girl at the counter said: 'Never mind. For 20 you can have a munch.' I was impressed. Was she actually willing to let me have a munch on a Kit-Kat, and presumably put the rest back for the next customer? Actually, no. She laughed when I explained to her my misunderstanding. There was a smaller and slightly cheaper chocolate bar called 'Munch'.
I have known for some time that Paro is one of the most challenging airports for pilots, and so I was pleased to see all that I have learnt about short-field take-offs is applied equally in a BAe 146 as in a Cessna 172. Full length of the runway, two stages of flap, full throttle before releasing the brakes, and then best angle of climb to avoid the mountains. Then course was set for Calcutta - and that was that.
NOTES
1 [Hon. Editor, I have always been a little bit worried about Robert. This article confirms my suspicions!]