Royal visit to India and Bhutan

[-:Undertaker:-]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36041143

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on Royal visit to Republic of India and Kingdom of Bhutan

The royal couple met Bhutan's King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and his wife Queen Jetsun Pema

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have arrived in the remote Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan and met the country's young King and Queen.

The royal couple were allowed into the cockpit of their Royal Bhutan Airways chartered jet as it landed at Paro airport - one of the most challenging places to touch down in the world. They were greeted with a ceremonial scarf by the King of Bhutan's sister. Over the next two days the couple will see the famous Tiger's Nest monastery.

The Duke and Duchess hold an early celebration for the Queen's 90th Birthday in the British High Commission in New Delhi, India

William and Catherine are in the middle of a seven-day tour of India and Bhutan.

After the brief ceremonial greeting on the tarmac, the royal couple's convoy of cars snaked its way through steep mountain valleys to the capital. At one point during the journey dozens of school children lined the road wearing traditional clothes and holding friendship scarves. They then met Bhutan's King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and his wife Queen Jetsun Pema - like the Cambridges, a young couple with a family.

Flag of Bhutan, a tiny Kingdom landlocked between India and China in the Himalayan Mountains

The Duke and Duchess will return to India on Saturday, but over the next few days they will be hosted by Bhutan's royal couple, who are expected to name their first child - a boy - at the weekend.

The descent into Paro by plane, which has to navigate a mountainside, is not for the faint-hearted. William and Kate are entering a once-isolated land.

The Duke and Duchess with Prime Minister Modi of India

Tourists could only visit from the 1970s; TV was introduced in the '90s; and this former absolute monarchy became a constitutional one with an elected government in 2008. Bhutan is a Buddhist country with an emphasis on gross national happiness rather than its gross domestic product.

However, the country's prime minister has acknowledged that this much-lauded concept can be overused, and can mask the kingdom's problems with debt, unemployment and poverty. For two days the Cambridges will be guests of a young king and queen that are held in high regard by its subjects.

They'll learn how Bhutan - which once revelled in its remoteness - is now facing the challenge of how to retain its Buddhist traditions while also embracing the modern world.

Interesting sets of pictures from the royal tour.

I always find Commonwealth visits interesting, but more so this area of the world. India and Bhutan are both near the top of my list to visit someday.

Thoughts?