Blogs from Jakar, Bumthang, Bhutan, Asia

Was für ein Tag. Die ersten 170 Km war Baustelle. Ich kann's nicht fassen. Wie kann man über diese Distanz die ganze Straße aufreißen (Karma,unser Führen, hat gesagt, They have dismantled the street - und genau das haben sie getan) und mit so wenig technischen Mitteln eine solche Baustelle betreiben? ??? Schlaglöcher mit/ohne Wasser, Felsen, ziemlich viel Sand. Aber am Schlimmsten war der schlammige Lehm, auf dem Paulchen wild herumtanzte. Bis vor zwei Tagen war die Straße gesperrt, denn die Regenfälle der letzten Woche haben für zahllose Bergrutsche gesorgt. Und natürlich war da heute noch viel auf der Straße. Sie war teilweise wie eine Mondlandschaft. Und einmal wäre ich um Haaresbreite samt MR in den Abgrund gerutscht. Von 8.00 bis 17.30 war ich unterwegs, Mittagspause 30 Min. Eben ein grauenvoller Tag.... read more

Thursday morning, Rinchen spoke with us about the 10 rules to be born as a human. The guidelines were quite similar to the 10 commandments. Tobgay helped with the translations as Rinchen's English still sometimes eludes us. After his talk, we meditated together. It was easy to go deep in such a conducive environment. Finally, we had the opportunity to place objects on the altar for blessing. We placed our 2 red marble pieces that Tshering gave us on Wednesday as we hiked up to Kuenzangdak Gompa. We had stopped by a water-powered prayer wheel halfway up the mountain and Tshering found the marble in the stream. In the blessing, Rinchen read prayers, three rice, poured holy water along the altar, then distributed rice to each of us. At his cue, we repeatedly tossed rice upon ... read more

We're waking up to another glorious day, the sun shines brightly in a cloudfree blue sky, and the temperature is chilly enough to make the cold morning shower feel like a chore. For the first time of the trip we are allowed the luxury of staying in the same place two nights in a row, Tshering having scheduled visits to the remaining temples and sights here in Bumthang. Mr Dorji, proprietor of the Gongkhar guesthouse, offers up a toast and cornflakes breakfast, cycling the menu a bit to keep things interesting. This man really deserves recognition for his spotless operation, and I would heartily recommend a stay at his guesthouse if you happen to be in town. After breakfast Tshering suggests we go back to Lhodrak Kharchhu Shedra, the buddhist college located on a hill above ... read more

25/09/06 - 26/09/06 Jakar, Bumthang province. We carried on further East into the Bumthang province - a 9 hour journey with an hour’s stop when we spotted a family of Common Langurs (or white cap langurs) and stopped to try and photograph them amongst the forest canopy. We crossed the Pe Le La pass at 3350m and climbed up through the clouds. With ever changing vegetation and rising and falling temperatures, we ascended and descended through 2000m. We passed a famous Chorten, which is a replica of one found in Lhasa, Tibet. Well almost… according to the story, a monk decided that he wanted to copy the Tibetan Chorten in Bhutan. He carefully carved a scaled image of the Chorten into the only suitable thing that he had handy - a carrot. When he arrived in ... read more