November 10, 2019
We left Punakha at about 8:30. I can’t say that I was sad to leave our hotel. It was a bit too simple for any of our tastes. In particular, the bath mat felt like I was standing on really pointy AstroTurf. It hardly made for a relaxing shower! That said, the people there could not have been nicer; they bent over backward to please all the guests.
The morning was quite misty, which made for pretty views while we ate breakfast.
I think Wang was happy to have a travel day. He told us that he had been out until 2 am playing snooker with the other guides! He was able to get some sleep in spite of the bumpy, winding drive.
Our drive involved retracing our steps over the pass we visited two days ago, then around Thimpu and back to Paro where we first landed last week. It was a beautifully clear day and the views during the ride were spectacular.
Along the road we had to stop at a checkpoint where Wang had to show our visas.
They have interesting road signs along the way.
When we got to Thimphu, we made a stop to see the country’s oldest temple. It has a Buddha that is on loan from the Indian government. The policeman on duty watched our every move while we were there to be sure we didn’t touch anything and to be sure we didn’t take any photos.
We could see the giant Buddha from a long distance.
Next, we were on our way to Paro. Paro has a population of 35,000 and sits on the banks of the Paro Chhu River at an altitude of 2280 meters (about 7500 feet). Paro has the only international airstrip in the country. We got a good view of it later in the day:
Once we got here, our first stop was to watch a group of men playing archery. It is the national sport. We saw three teams that were at the end of a 15 round match. Each team has eight players and each player takes two shots during each round. They shot those arrows a very long way!
Next, we had lunch at a home where the owners operate a restaurant. The bathroom contained the toilet, a shower, and a small washer and dryer in one space. We met a couple that is following somewhat the same route as we are. The man climbed to the Tiger’s Nest Monastery in a very fast pace… 3 1/2 hours, he gave his guide a run for his money!
After lunch we visited the National Museum, actually an annex of the museum. The museum itself is housed in the watchtower for the Paro Dzong and is under renovation. They have taken some key items from the museum and put them in a side building. It is quite interesting…. we saw festival masks, displays about the flora and fauna of Bhutan, including an interesting section about their herbal medicines. There was also a 3-d display of the county. It is basically all mountains except for the very southern part. It is bordered on the lower half by India and on the upper half by Tibet. Seventy-two percent of the land is forest and of that part 60 percent is protected.
We then went to the Main Street where we had time for a bit of retail therapy. Frankly, there isn’t a lot to buy but we did find a few things.
Our last stop was a visit to a monastery to have our prayer flags blessed before we can hoist them tomorrow. We had three monks perform the ceremony. Wang told us they prayed for a safe journey among other things. The chants were similar to those we heard the other day at the mad monk’s temple. The sounds are mesmerizing. After the flags were blessed, we were each given some seeds to carry. When we bought the flags, we each also purchased a white scarf. We gave the scarf to the monk as a thank you for the blessing and he gave it back as a blessing. At the very end we presented each of them with a donation, about $15 each. Blessings don’t come for free! The whole thing lasted maybe 10-15 minutes and took place in a temple that is not open to the public. I think all three of us found it to be a very special experience.
With that, we made our way to the hotel. It was dark when we arrived so we really haven’t been able to see the grounds. That said, it is a lovely property in the hills. Getting here wasn’t easy, however. We drove quite a long distance on a single land dirt/gravel road that had lots and lots of potholes! Along the way we saw the local driving institute…it had one very small circle where people can practice driving. Frankly, I don’t think that place would give people an inkling of how to drive on these roads!
Perhaps I save best for last, or at least the most unusual for last. I’ve mentioned the importance of the phallus in this culture. Well, while shopping today we saw an impressive array. I will let the pictures speak for themselves!
jrhnepalandbhutan2019 