Bhutan 2: Punakha and the Divine Madman

   We began at the Jungshi Handmade Paper Factory. We were brought into a large room where workers made the paper.  We ended in a large showroom filled with artwork made on the paper made here.  I fell in love with one piece. from a local artist.  It was displayed with light shining through the back, illuminating it through the thin paper.  This was packed into the first cylinder, of what would become many that I accumulated in Bhutan.

I asked permission before going close in for this photo.

The base of a Buddhist statue nearby.

  We left the paper factory and made our way up the mountain toward Punakha, stopping at the Dochula Pass.  We had hoped for a nice view, but the haze was overpowering.  108 stupas were erected as a memorial in honor of a 2003 battle with insurgents from India. 

  Partway down the other side of the mountain we made a brief stop at the Royal Botanical Garden.  Unfortunately, not much was in bloom.

Although this type of tree is found in the US, I had never seen one before.  The peeling made the trees look manufactured.

  A little farther down, Rye asked if we wanted to get out and stretch our legs.  I lagged behind Jeremy and Rye, taking photos.  This is what I saw:

A man parked this truck a few moments before, and when he saw that I was taking pictures, he turned and smiled.

Spiderman was found everywhere in Bhutan.

Motorcycles had just passed, so I raised my camera, hoping more would pass.  Instead, this strangely decorated truck passed.

  Our last stop was in a village filled with phallus artwork on the building walls.  We took a short hike up a hill to the Temple of the Divine Madman, named Chimi Lhakhang.  Rye explained that people visit this temple when they have trouble conceiving.  The couple is then led around the temple holding a large phallus, hoping that this would grant them fertility.  I took no pictures.

  The hotel was an interesting ride up the mountain from the main road, with a stretch of dirt road and a steep drop on one side.  None of the hotels after the starting city had elevators.  The staff of hotels were almost entirely very young and small women.  They took great pride in carrying our suitcases up every flight of steps.  This made Jeremy and I uncomfortable, but every time we would try to carry our own suitcases or intervene in any way, they would shoo us away.  I tried to make a game of bringing my suitcases down on checkout day before they had time to realize that I was doing so.  The best technique for doing this was to leave a few minutes earlier than scheduled.

 

  I had a view of the Punakha valley from my room, but the haze was impenetrable.  We both worried that the haze would be everywhere on the trip.

 Our original plan for next morning was to hike up the mountain the next morning, to visit a nunnery in time for sunrise.  The guides were unclear as to where the trail was, and the road was a bit too dangerous to navigate in the dark.  Therefore, Rye decided to pick us up at 5:45 AM and drive us up.  We were the only visitors.  The views were obscured by haze, but the place was beautiful and serene.  I bought a few from the nuns to support them.

Rye, our guide.

This was the first time that I saw a black and gold Buddha.

  We returned to the hotel for breakfast, and then set out later in the morning for Punakha Dzong.  Across the street was a pizza place.

The pizza place. 

  Behind the fortress, we took a short walk to a suspension bridge.  Jeremy walked across with Rye, and picked up ice cream for himself.  I stayed on the near side of the bridge and waited for them.

A closeup view of the white prayer flags flying nearby.

Mantras are written on the prayer flags flying throughout the country.  Rye explained that if they blow in the wind, it is the equivalent of being recited.  The colors correspond with the five gems that one of the Buddhas received.

  That night, the power in the hotel went out, about five minutes before dinner was scheduled to begin.  Using our phones as flashlights, we cautiously went upstairs to see if dinner would still be served.  We ate dinner by candlelight until the power returned about twenty minutes later.  

Bhutan 3: The rest of Punakha, Trongsa, and into Tang Valley

   I brought both of my suitcases halfway down the steps in the morning before the young ladies were able to spot me.  Heading south, we stopped for a walk through the old mud-house filled village of Rinchengang.  Rye explained that this village was formed by descendants of immigrants who built the dzong across the river.  As buildings slowly became uninhabitable, families grouped together within the remainder, creating a very difficult living space.  Jeremy didn't seem very interested at the time.  I asked him about it later, and it was due to the squalor and how it felt voyeuristic to be there as a tourist.  I don't disagree.

A picture of the town from across the river.

  Our final stop in Punakha was the Wangdue Phodrang Dzong.  We had the whole place nearly to ourselves.  At one point, a military officer and his escorts came across a courtyard and started a conversation with us.  He asked where we were from.  In response, he commented that Bhutan had a bit of catching up to do with us.  I quipped that the US had a bit of catching up to do with Bhutan in some ways.  He laughed.  Jeremy later looked up his rank based on his uniform and pips.  He was a colonel.

  The fortresses throughout Bhutan are part temple and part administrative offices.  Between the Dzongs and the regular temples, we visited many temple chambers.  We were never allowed to take pictures.  What made the Bhutanese Buddhist temples unique compared to temples elsewhere, is the torma.  Torma is a butter and barley dough sculpture dyed with very vivid colors.  The temples were incredibly beautiful.

  We began the long drive eastward and upward, along the Wangdue Phodrang Nobding Highway.  The drive had a sheer cliff on one side, and a mountain on the other.  There was no metal guardrails.  Our driver was concerned with driving around the holes in the road rather than keeping us away from the edge.  As a result, he often swerved us right toward the cliffside edge.

  A few notes on driving in Bhutan:  Bhutanese drive on the left.  This might be correlated with the fact that people would circle religious monuments, in a clockwise direction, on the left.   Stupas, the white shrines around the country, would sometimes appear in the road.  Driving on the left allows the drivers to circle the stupas on the left.  I also learned that a turn signal was often used to let the driver behind you know that it is safe to pass.

  

  At the apex of the mountain, we stopped at the Pelela Chorten Ihakhang.  It was nice to get out of the car for a bit.  We browsed the vendors lined up along the side of the road.  These locals sold scarves and blankets made of baby yak fur.  

  We began to descend, which made the driving experience more tolerable.  We passed farmland, including a large potato farm.  We briefly stopped at the Chendebji Chorten, a large and white Buddhist Stupa and monastery school for young boys.  

   Just before the final curve to our hotel, we stopped at the Trongsa Dzong View Point and cafe.  The haze was still strong.  We stayed at the Yangkhil Resort, which was spectacular, and was my favorite of the trip.  We had views of the Trongsa Dzong and Trongsa itself, along with views of the cliffs and valley.  The lunch was spectacular, and they served the best coffee of our trip.

  Dining in Bhutan was often surreal.  The vast majority of the time we were the only ones in the room, with an occasional other couple. Even remote areas of Mongolia had full dining rooms.  Dzongs were often either empty or we would see a handful of other tourists.  Combined, this made it feel like we had the whole country to ourselves.

  A short drive brought us to the Trongsa Dzong.  As we were about to enter, Jeremy caught sight of a monkey on the uppermost roof.  By the time I got out my long lens out, it was gone.  Inside, we saw a few young monks, a cat, and eventually spotted a group of monkeys climbing around.

In order to get this shot, Rye brought us up a steep staircase.  I unstrapped the camera, and raised it as far above my head as I could. I was not actually able to see what I was taking a picture of while hitting the shutter.

Monkeys climbing.

  Next ascended some steps to a museum, inside of a former watchtower.  We watched a short movie about Bhutanese history and saw a few exhibits on each level.  

  We walked down and back into the village and I had us stop at a small shop, followed by a bakery.  One snack that I didn't get to take a picture of, was jalebi, an Indian treat.  Jeremy and I both tried it that first night.  It tasted very different than it looked., but was quite good.  The next morning we tried the pastry with cream in the middle.  It was stale.  The flavored marshmallows made it  back to the States.  The surprise winner was the nutty cracker cookies on the left side of the second picture.  

    The next morning we resumed our journey east.  We stopped for lunch just past the small town of Jakar.  As usual, we were the only ones eating.  After a long car ride, we stopped at a weaving mill and store called the Thokmed Yeshi Handicraft(I believe).  Rye showed us around the back, but no one was there, and there wasn't much to see.  Jeremy finally showed interest in making a purchase,  He bought himself an expensive throw.  I inquired about a beautiful piece on the wall.  They explained that it was a kira.  It was also over $2000.

  The traditional outfit for men in Bhutan is called a gho.  It is a full body set that ends at the knees, with a belt separating the top and the bottom.  A white undershirt, stockings, and black shoes finish the look.  It is primarily worn in school, for work, and for formal occasions.  A special silk scarf called a kabney is worn inside the dzongs.  Women wear a kira, which looks like a skirt, with blouse on top, and sometimes a jacket.

  Another long drive and then we stopped at Mebar Tso.  We walked down a path to a bridge that crossed the Tang Chhu River.  Jeremy and Rye climbed down to get a better view of the water.

  Our final stop of the day was the Pema Choling Nunnery.  There wasn't much to see here to be honest.  I hadn't been feeling great all day, so afterward, I asked if we could go straight to our hotel from there.  I was in quite a bit of discomfort, which wasn't helped by the very slow, long ascent up a bumpy dirt road.

  Our hotel was part museum, with beautifully restored traditional rooms.  We had to take a traditional and extremely steep ladder up to our rooms.  We felt uncomfortable as we watched the small women lift our huge suitcases up these stairs.  We tried to offer our help, but they would not have it.  We took a short rest and then walked around town.  Unfortunately, the sun shortly moved behind the clouds.

  Dinner was excellent, which was the norm for Bhutan.  In the morning, I walked around town again and Jeremy visited the museum.  He said that it was good.

Looking down from the hallway with our rooms.

Repurposed tires, used to feed the cows.