Ready, Set, Gho to Bhutan!

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Okay, that title may not make sense now, but I promise it will soon! The highlight of our India/Bhutan tour was -- Bhutan! We wish we had planned to spend more time there and we've promised ourselves to get back there some day. We flew to Bhutan on Thanksgiving Day. Our flight was on DrukAir -- the Royal Airline of Bhutan -- and the ONLY airline allowed to fly in and out of the small Buddhist Kingdom of Bhutan where about 700,000 people live. Bhutan lies along the lofty ridges of the eastern Himalayas and on our flight we were blessed with magnificent views of some of the world's highest glacial peaks -- including Mt. Everest! (Check it out Gary -- we were thinking of you!)
The Bhutanese people are peaceful and unassuming and from what we saw, blissfully untouched by the western world. That may change as more and more tourists enter their country -- last year about 12,000 were given visas; this year there will be more. Although many do wear western style clothing, for school and work, most men/boys wear a long robe tied around the waist by a cloth belt called a "gho" and the women/girls wear an ankle-length dress or skirt/jacket called a "kira." Ted really liked the look of the "gho," and decided to buy one on our last day there. You'll see a picture here of him wearing it along with me, Griff, our driver, Passang, and our guide Kinley.
On our first day we visited the Paro Dzong (fortress) and its accompanying Ta Dzong (watchtower). The fortresses in Bhutan were built centuries ago to protect the country from attacks by outsiders like Tibetans and Chinese, but today serve as the location of district administration offices and monasteries. After this sightseeing we embarked on a very bumpy and windy 2 1/2 hour ride through the mountains on mainly one lane roads to the capital city of Thimpu. This ride took us into the night and those of you who know me know that I don't do well with nighttime rides like this. Enough said and from then on, our guide Kinley let me sit up front!
While in Thimpu we visited a takin preserve where we saw the revered animal. Legend has it that a Bhutanese folk hero performed a miracle by taking a heap of cow dung and a pile of goat bones and reassembling it all into a new animal -- grafting the head of a goat onto the body of a cow. Take a look at the picture and judge for yourself! We then went to the National Memorial Chorten which was built as a memorial to Bhutan's third king and as a monument to world peace and prosperity.
We then drove to Punakha where we visited the Punakha Dzong, the winter residence of the central monk body. You'll also see pictures here of the stupas or spiritual monuments we saw and the prayer flags that adorn the countryside. The Bhutanese are deeply religious Bhuddists and our guide, Kinley, spent a lot of time earnestly attempting to explain Bhuddism to the three of us. We tried our best to understand, but it is a complicated religion -- we needed more than 3 days!
We finished our visit back in Paro where the three of us attempted to climb 2 1/2 miles up a mountain to the Tigers Nest or Taktsang Monastery, the most sacred site in Bhutan. I'm afraid only Ted made it -- I flat pooped out and Griffin got interested in a litter of puppies a little more than half way up. Ted even left our guide, only 24 years old, in the dust as he took the final 200 steps two at a time!!
All in all, it was an amazing 3 days. We were left in awe by the beauty of the rice paddies, rivers and mountains all around us and were so touched by the hospitable and friendly nature of everyone we met. That promise I mentioned earlier -- we plan to keep it!

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Photos

Gho Ted!
Ted, our driver Passang, our guide Kinley, Griff and Jill

Punakha Dzong
Monks heading to prayers over the bridge to Punakha Dzong.

Rice Paddies
A picture of terraced rice paddies. The second rice crop had already been harvested.

Prayer Flags
A photo of a stupa and the prayer flags at the top of Dochula Pass on the way to Punakha.

Ted, Jill and Griff
The 3 of us in front of the stupas and Prayer flags on Dochula Pass.

National Memorial Chorten
Griff, Ted and Kinley standing in front of the National Memorial Chorten in Thimpu.

National Memorial Chorten
A worshipper at the prayer wheels outside the National Memorial Chorten.

Takin
Body of cow and head of goat??

Takin Preserve
The 3 of us outside the fenced area where the takins are kept at the preserve.

Incense Hut
A typical Bhutanese house would have an incense hut like this outside. They burn incense morning and night to purify the air.

Bhutanese Boys
These boys were playing outside one of the sights we visited. They were very curious of us.

Punakha Valley
I love this picture of the river running through the Punakha valley with the mountains all around.

Punakha Dzong
The Punakha Dzong situated next to the Punakha River.

Monks
The monks getting ready for prayers at the Punakha Dzong.

Punakha Storefront
I took this picture as a contrast photo. Remember the pictures of storefronts in India? This is what the storefronts looked like in Bhutan -- the owners were actually inside!

Taktsang Monastery
This is a shot of one of the buildings of the Taktsang Monastery on the way to Tigers Nest. The monastery is built into the side of the mountain.

Gho Ted (again)!
This shot proves Ted made it to the top of Tigers Nest -- these items are only found at the top (he's not sure exactly what the items were, but our guide told him to hold them up while he took this picture!).

Griff's Puppies
I had to include Griff's photo of the puppies he played with on the way up to Tigers Nest. It was so hard for him to leave these little guys behind as the local people told us they likely wouldn't survive the cold nights on the mountain.

Comments

[Tom Nelson]

Bhutan
These photos really make me think of the mythical Shangrila of Lost Horizons fame.

[Chris Sl]

Nice robe Ted, loks like a blast. We miss yu guys.

[Jade and Stacey]

WOW! ! ! !
that is sooo coool!!!! We wish we could have went!! When I saw the picture of the monks I told my mom that was soo cool b/c you always see those kinda people in MOVIES!! We hope you guys have fun on the rest of your trip!!

[Carla Skelly]

Ted, you know you kinda look like Hugh Heffner?? Looks like an amazing trip!! Please enjoy the rest and keep telling us of all the places you visit. Loving it!!

[Bob Steinle]

Religions of the World Explained
I can send you an e-mail with an attachment that explains the Religions of the World on a T-Shirt! Got the word today that your Mom's next party at your place is this weekend. Man! She is a Hoot!

[deleted_35144]

What a pleasure!
I'll be in Bhutan in about 5 weeks! I am so thrilled. What beautiful photos you had. Thanks for the blog.