Rice and a madman

More photos from Bhutan.  This is walking back from the Temple of the Divine Madman:

And some rice fields - love the look of those bright greens popping out.

Scenes from the pass

These are from the first pass that we went over - I think this one was 12,000'!  I can't remember what these white structures were called as I was focused on breathing and walking.



Prayer flags everywhere at the passes, so the prayers can ride the wind as far as possible:

Even though we didn't see any mountains due to being in a cloud, the misty look has its own beauty.

Bhutan picture of the day

Trongsa Dzong and river

I think this is Trongsa - it's the one that was crawling with Macaques!  Great maze-like views and a nice drop down into the river.

A few random moments from my sketchbook

I've got a lot of scanning to do, but here's a few random sketches:

Hey hey we're the monkeys

Gray langur.  We saw a troop of these guys as we were driving through on our first day.

Unknown vegetables and other tales

I've got a couple of thousand pictures to go through.  Here's a few starting with the market.

More photos from Bhutan

All from my point-and-shoot:

Archery is the national sport - look at the bows!

View from the hotel in Paro:

Typical staircase:

Very tired

I got up at about 11 this morning -  I won't say "woke up" since I don't think I've done that yet.  I've done 2 loads of laundry and I'm just starting to bring the pictures over to my computer.  Here's one out of the back window of our little bus of the rock in the road courtesy of a landslide caused by the 6.9 earthquake.  Please note the car for scale:

Tradtional dances and styrofoam

Well last night was the farewell, and we got to see some traditional dances.  What a treat!  It was a great way to end the trip – now that we’ve seen the country and met the people I think this gave it a great layer of icing on the cake, and made more sense than it would have if we had seen them at the beginning.  I shot a few little video clips, but I’ll wait until I have a high-speed connection before uploading any of that.

For dinner Fin’s brother, who is also the site coordinator, joined us and we got to hear some of Life in Bhutan from him.  We also presented Fin with a map of the US showing where each of us live.  Dessert was a small lump of Styrofoam in a supersaturated sugar.  Actually, I think it was a rice thing in a sauce, but it was very sweet!

In a few hours, it’s on to the first plane, then overnight in Thailand, then three more planes and innumerable lines.  Eventually I will get home to flush toilets and chocolate!

One down, three to go

Airplanes that is.  I’m in Bangkok.  Now we know why they have you overnight in Bangkok – our flight out of Paro was delayed by over two hours, and we got to the hotel here at about 7pm.  My flight out tomorrow is sometime after 10am, so I have time to eat dinner, get some sleep, then get up just after 5am and get to the airport for the next set of fun.

The Paro airport was kind of fun – their duty-free shop had cycling jerseys so I pick up a Bhutan Cycling jersey for myself!  I like it – it’s blue with yellow stripes on the sleeves and a dragon on the front.  I also got some cashew cookies for the next set of flights, while some of my cohorts were getting their chocolate fix (Toblerone, Cadbury, and Kit Kat!).  They actually served tea at the gate for us – white, with egg rolls.  Good, and I was starving.

We finally took off at 12:30pm and it was a bumpy ride – when we got over India, there was not only lightening in the distance but also all around us!  The first part of the flight we got a mango Frooti, whose packaging sports a mango wearing a graduation cap and says “The graduate mangoticon is full of ripe wisdom.  His hat covers his open mind.  He knows many languages and can easily talk to trees, birds, and bees.  He can also say “Frooti” in 87 languages.”  Lunch was less verbose, but pretty good:  Chicken with noodles, pasta, yoghurt, a croissant and a really fantastic bun, all on bright orange plates.

Now it’s time for dinner – and I’m guessing it’s Thai food.

Tigers, tea, and yaks

Today was the hike to the Tiger’s Nest. Legend has it that it was founded by someone who rode up on the back of a flying tiger.  Smart move – we had to walk.  To call it steep would be an understatement.  Even the switchbacks are steep.  It’s also muddy and occasionally slippery.  Oh, and it’s a 2,000’ elevation difference.  Once you get to the top, there are 750 stairs going down a sheer cliff and then up the other side to the actual monastery – last year they put in a railing.  Halfway up there is a teahouse with a wonderful view.  That was my stopping point.  It used to be that this was as far as the tourists could go because the trail was too treacherous, but despite the fact that the trail has been improved, I was happy to enjoy the view at the teahouse.  Five of us (out of 15) called that our stopping point, and after enjoying the view and some tea, we headed back down.  Halfway down it started to rain.  Going downhill is hard on your knees, and those climbing poles were a lifesaver.  The views are wonderful though – you’re looking out over the valley and it’s really spectacular.  There were a variety of mushrooms, wildflowers, butterflies and dragonflies along the way.  (Not to mention cows.  And horses.)

Here's Mold and O-Berry - the Tiger's Nest is the little white buildings way up there:

And here's me looking a little worse for the wear (they got a ride in my backpack - I had to walk!)

Once we got to the bottom, we headed over to the Yak Herder’s Camp for lunch.  It was nice to sit down out of the rain and mud and eat something hot!  When we were finished, the rest were just making it up to the top, so we came back to the hotel.  Once I figured out what my room number was (I think it’s been 201, 302, 203, and 311) I took a long hot shower!  The room features a huge bathroom with a showerhead the size of a flying saucer and the requisite step for you to trip over.  Oh, and there are 71 step between my room and the restaurant, and another flight to get down to the lobby.

The hotel overlooks the valley and the airport, and I can watch planes take off and land from my balcony.  I think I’m on one of them tomorrow – has it really been two weeks??  I must say that I am looking forward to flush toilets and chocolate – this country has a severe lack of chocolate!

Made it to Paro!

Well yes, there were a few landslides along the way but we made it to Paro!  Here’s some of the smaller ones:

The largest was a rock the size of the bus – they had actually smoothed out the smaller rocks that came with it and turned them into the road.

The drive to Thimpu was essentially slide free, and on the way we had tea and cookies at one of the peaks.  Still clouds but a better view than we’ve had on any of the other peaks.  Once in Thimpu, we stopped to see the Takin preserve (the national animal – kind of like a moose but smaller).  We had lunch in a nice hotel in Thimpu and the food was quite nice.  We then had time to wander around the downtown area – it was interesting to just spend time in the actual town.

Then it was off to Paro, which is when we met some of the landslides, but the drive was basically uneventful.  I think much of the debris had already been cleared by the time we arrived.  Once in Paro we got to watch some archery.  I think we were all expecting something a little different – but those bows are the weirdest things I’ve seen.  I haven’t held a bow and arrow since grade school, and now they are carbon fiber contraptions.  These guys are serious about archery.  When the opposing team misses they heckle and when theyir team hits the target, they do a song and dance.

Now we’re at a sweet hotel in Paro, and tomorrow it’s the hike to the Tiger’s Nest – a 2,000’ climb.  Wish me luck (and pray for good weather).

earthquake!

Wow, we just had an earthquake here, pretty good one too.  But the building is still here - lets hope the roads are too - not a lot of alternate routes around here.

UPDATE:  It was a 6.8.  Follow along here:  http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/usc0005wg6.php  the Maps tab has some good stuff.

Nuns with zinnias

Today started off with an aborted hike – it rained heavily overnight and was still raining through lunch so the ground was either deep mud or slippery.  We made the attempt, but even the heartiest of souls said, “forget it.”

We then headed over to possibly the most beautiful dzong.  It’s at the junction of two rivers, and apparently about 10-15 years ago a glacial dam way up in the Himalayas broke, and five hours later the water came rushing down one of the rivers and swept a away a few people, so now they keep an eye on those glacial dams and have warning system in place.  The interior of the dzong has the usual ornate paintings directly on the walls, along with canvas that’s been ornately painted and then glued in place on some of the pillars.  Inside the temple there is the largest interior Buddha (2-3 stories tall?), along with Guru Rambuchi and Shepadong (and I know I’m spelling those wrong).  Behind them are ornate carvings – I’m trying to imagine what it takes to plan and build one of these since they are always the stories of Buddha and not just a random pattern, so you have to make it work. The window working also had some carvings that are reminiscent of Celtic knot work.  Apparently the body of Shepadong is actually kept in one of the buildings, and only certain people are allowed to enter.

We stopped at another of these art schools - this one all-girls where they're learning traditional weaving and sewing - and mom I bought you a book mark!  This was part of the Youth Development Fund started by one of the queens to provide skills to underprivileged girls.  In additional to craft skills, it looks like they're learning business skills since I saw some notes on the walls on what to focus on in the market - something that I didn't see in the other schools.  They also had a board showing their alumni and who was working and who wasn't.  There were three categories:  Employed, Unemployed and Married.

Since lunch by the river was out, we headed over to a nunnery with a fabulous view – it’s on top of a hill with 360-degree views of the valley below.  Unlike the monasteries, they pay attention to gardening, and have zinnias that are about four feet tall (I’ve also seen marigolds about three feet tall).  We had lunch under a shelter there, and then visited their temple.  This one had the god of compassion taking center stage (the gal with 1,000 arms), and one of the walls had paintings of animal deities – animal heads with human bodies and a few extra arms and legs.  I haven’t seen paintings like that in any of the other temples.

Oh, and the hotel room…  The room is a fine size, but there are, of course, features.  Like the wi-fi is only available in the lobby, but that’s understandable considering as how the hotel is actually a series of separate buildings (seems to be a theme in Bhutan).  I need to walk down a flight of stairs and up several sets of stairs and then down again before I can move horizontally.  Or I can walk down then cut through some bushes and then down some more.  And then of course there is the bathroom.  Good size, but water pressure in the shower is a variable from zero to low – I think depending on what the other rooms in your building are using.  And there’s a hot water tank that’s hanging down from the ceiling like a mutant stalactite.  Oh, and of course there’s the step that you trip over – that seems to be a must in Bhutan.  But I do have a view of the river and birds landing on my patio and you can hear all sorts of birds.  The bird woman in our group is loving that part!

We have a pretty good connection here, so I’m going to try uploading some pictures in a separate post after dinner.

Crazy cars, crazy cyclists, and a divine madman

As we headed out of Trongsa we saw that the trucks were all decorated in the most insane way with balloons, ribbons, and leis.  Turns out it’s some sort of Indian holiday celebrating machines, and the workers who operate them will be partying tonight.

We also saw bicyclists – it’s the Tour of the Dragon.  A bicycle race from one end of Bhutan to the other over the passes on narrow, winding roads with steep drops and no shoulder – over 260km and you do it in one day.  Fin’s brother-in-law was riding and we played leapfrog with him for a while.  The winner apparently did the ride in 10-1/2 hours (they start at 2am).

Update: Turns our Fin's brother didn't finish - he got to the top of one of the peaks with a grand cramp in one leg, and took a van the rest of the way.

Now we’re in Punakha and had a nice hike across rice fields and through a local village.  Really quite beautiful (despite one small section of thick mud).  We visited the temple of Drupa Kinley – the Divine Madman.  I’ll let you look up the details on him, but let’s just say that he banished a demon in an interesting way and is now seen as the guy in charge of fertility.  People come from all over to his temple to pray for fertility, and then come back with their kids to say thanks.  He shot an arrow into the air to find where he should put his temple, and we were all blessed by the monk with a bow & arrow, and, um, sculpture.

We seem to have a pretty decent connection here - I might try uploading some photos later.

The king's trunks and royal radio

Today we went back up over the pass to Trongsa, having tea in the fog along the way (not to mention watering a bush – outside of the hotel, restrooms are either outhouses or bushes).  Trongsa is, of course, a stunningly beautiful area carved out of steep hills.  We stopped at the Museum of the Monarchy, which is in a former watchtower.  As a former watchtower, it has a stunning view of the valley, and from the very top you have a 360 view that’s just amazing – rice fields terraced down the steep hills, beautiful forest, and a river at the bottom.

The museum itself contains items from the kings of Bhutan.  It’s interesting to me that the portraits are actually sculptures – and quite nicely done with wonderful folds to the fabric – no photos allowed, though, so you’ll just need to take my word for it.  There’s also a set of richly decorated trunks (chests), a few royal hats and a zenith radio from the 3^rd king.  Apparently it was a gift from a traveler, and was how the king kept in touch with the outside world.  I could spend hours in this place just looking at the sculptures, paintings, costumes and masks.

We then went down to the Trongsa Dzong, and you had the option of walking down some 600+ steps or taking the bus – I opted for the bus.  The Dzong was once a medieval city, and you can see how it’s a collection of attached buildings, now with fire extinguishers all over.  It’s also crawling with macaques.  You can see them walking along the roof lines and sliding down posts.  Dzongs differ from temples (I have now learned) in that they contain administrative offices along with the temple.  So the suits have monkeys climbing in their windows!

Now we’re in a hotel across the valley from the Dzong, and with a view of the dzong.  It also has a bathroom I could play basketball in with a step that I know I’m going to trip over at some point.  And a series of winding ramps between my room and the lobby/restaurant.

3 Dzongs and a muddy road

Today we visited 3 dzongs (temples) separated by mud.  The first was originally built in the 7^th century and sections were added over time.  It was, in fact, built on the knee of  giant demoness – quite a few were built to keep her from terrorizing the landscape.  What’s interesting about this one is that the paintings on the interior walls are of a different style from the ones that you see now.  This surprised me because of this heavy notion of preserving tradition – but which tradition?  I also learned the meaning of the steps that you are forever tripping over:   The little one represents the past, then the present, then future.  When the past one sinks and the present takes its place, then that is the end of the world.  What I don’t know is if a new step appears for the future – presumably so.

We then hiked over to the next dzong up the road – unfortunately when Fin said that the road was muddy, what he meant was that you could lose a boot!  But we did get to walk by several farms where the crops were getting close to ready, so they were on guard.  “Guard” in this case means having buckets on posts on strings – when you pull the strings the buckets rock around – scaring away the birds.  Very clever – you string buckets and poles up all over, then sit in the shade and pull strings.

The next temple (Zangtopelri?) Had this really ornate, um, centerpiece that was about 2 stories tall.  It has great religious significance, but all us westerners could think of was “It’s a small world!”  You just need it to rotates and have some small boats going around it and you’re set.

The last one won the stairs award and encased the cave in which Guru Rambuchi had once lived.  This one had the walls decorated not with paintings, but with the same story told in what amounts to sculpture.

After the temple tour it was a walk down to the river and a picnic lunch – which would have been better with some shade, but at high noon that was hard to come by.  After lunch you could either hike along the river or go back to the hotel – I’d had my share of sun by then so I opted for the hotel and a shower and a nap!

Somewhere in Bhutan

I’m not actually sure of the name of where I am, but it is a beautiful valley with a wide river running through it.  Our hotel is one of these crazy places in the side of the hill, and it’s a series of separate buildings that require walking up ramps and steep staircases to get to your room.  The town itself is apparently being rebuilt – it used to be wood plank building side by side and they’ve had several fires, so the government is rebuilding the downtown area.

This morning started with school – we visited the local public school and got to see what schooling is in Bhutan.  It’s impressive.  There is free education throughout Bhutan (including the university level, although universities are mostly trade right now).  This was a grade school with about 300 kids.  We got there before classes started and they were all running around.  They all wanted their picture taken (“one photo”) and then they wanted to see themselves.  I’d upload some photos but the connection here is dead slow.  Then one of the kids rang the bell – hit a gong with a crow bar – and the all lined up for their daily assembly.  They sang a prayer to the go of wisdom, then some students did short speeches (they rotate as to who does it) with one in Dzonga (I’m spelling that wrong, I’m sure) and one in English. Then they sang the national anthem.  All classes are conducted in English – math, science, everything except the language class.  The curriculum is standardized across Bhutan and is impressive:  There is no “see spot run” - third graders were doing hands-on science and reading about the different types of plants used for food.  It’s amazing – their average restroom is a hole in the floor over which you squat, but their education system beats ours with a stick.  One of the folks in our group is a former teacher who works in a non-profit teaching resource center and he brought some things for teaching about magnets and static electricity.  

Then we went for another drive up another pass – beautiful scenery all the way – and we had tea at the top.  You had an option to hike down, but I’m saving my knees for the Tiger’s Nest (besides, on downhill you’re looking at your feet and not the scenery).  So half of us took the bus down to the next village.  Beautiful stone houses.  In fact there is beautiful masonry all over this country.  We had lunch at a local farmhouse, in the kitchen/living room, and the furniture consists of a wood stove.  You sit on the floor (on blankets – but my foot still fell asleep) and we had a lunch that the guys had packed.  There was a house cat and her kitten who were hoping for handouts – and Fin gave the kitten some egg.  The wood planks that made up the floor were huge!  The top floor had bedrooms and of course the altar.  The room with the altar is the biggest room in the house.  The outhouse was out back, and the smallest room (I had to duck as well as squat).  We also had some moonshine with our lunch.  I think they call it homemade wine, but if it's 50% alcohol - it's moonshine!

Then we went to the local temple, which was almost next door.  The altar was huge with the statue of Guru Rambucha (which I’m probably also not spelling right) taking center stage.  As always, all of the walls were ornately painted – by hand- from floor to ceiling.  The wrathful guys whom you see are also their deities – they have a wrathful form to take on the big evils.

Back at the hotel I had some laundry done (yeah!) and then the principal joined us for dinner.  They rank the schools across the country and his is #1 so I’d say he’s doing good.  The ranking is based not only on standardized tests, but also on administration and GNH (Gross National Happiness) and he does a lot of work to make his school a great school.  There is a central teaching academy (3 years) and new graduates are sent to remote schools first, where they must stay for 3 years.  He has been at 3 different schools in his 17 years, and also teaches 6^th grade math.

Tomorrow we visit some monasteries, and the king is in town, so who knows – I may get to wave to him again!

I waved to the king in the Avatar forest

Today was a long drive across the countryside:  Steep, steep hills covered with trees.  It look a bit like the forest in Avatar, but much taller.  Along the way we saw the locals all decked out by the roadside burning incense as an offering, we stopped to ask what was up and it was the king!  He was driving to the village of his fiancée and would be coming by.  They have a cell phone communication network and were calling along the road as he moved so they all knew where he was.  When he was catching up to us we stopped and watched as he gave gifts to the villagers, and then as he drove by we all waved.

Now we’re in a hotel that’s got wi-fi, but it's dead slow and only in the main building, and my room is a ways away, so that’s all for now folks – more tomorrow.