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Published: April 3rd 2014
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Day 5 - Punakha
We had a slightly earlier start this morning to try and beat the road works for road widening going over the Pass, so we had a quick breakfast, the same as the day before, and set off into the mountains. The little bus we were in kept climbing up and up and the view down true valley were amazing. It was mostly pine forest, and occasionally it was broken with an odd rhododendron, some in red, some pink and a lot in white.
As we continued to climb, the road deteriorated, and there were more potholes for the driver to avoid, not to mention the on coming traffic, sheer drops and no barriers at the side of the road. It certainly wasn't a journey for the faint hearted. Our driver had to take our documents into the little immigration hut to show we had clearance to enter the area, and a little further up the road we saw apple and yak cheese sellers displaying their wares. As we neared the summit of Dochu La pass at 3140m, the weather had started to close in, and the temperature certainly reflected the elevation. We then hit our
first roadworks. Despite the driver and guide having checked the latest information, the times were different, and the sign had been manually changed with a bit of white paper covering the old times with the new ones.
So we didn't have to sit and wait for the road to open, we set off into the mist, through the active machinery widening the road, towards the top of the pass. On a clear day, our guide assured us that you could see the eastern Himalayas, but the cloud was far too far down for that. As we neared the top, it is part of a Royal Botanical Garden, and there are trails that you can follow amongst the prayer flags a that have been left up there. We headed to a small temple in front of the main one, and lit butter lamps and made a small offering.
Our guide then had to find the caretaker for the main temple so he could let us in, built in 2005 by the present kings grandmother in honour of her husband. On the way upto the building, you pass on the right hand side a small building which is the royal
guesthouse should they come to stay. It was good to see that construction of this building was in keeping with the rest of the buildings in Bhutan - namely a wooden slatted roof held down with rocks as there was a fair wind at the summit. The main building looks like it was built yesterday, still in Bhutanese style, but the freshness of the paintings inside remains. Whilst there are religious depictions, there are also a lot of modern paintings mainly showing the current king. There was a small side area that women were not allowed to enter, which was again filled with guns tied to the temple pillars. At the side looking out off the pass was a small hut housing a very powerful donated telescope. It was just a shame that the weather meant we could not see anything. Heading back down the steps, we visited the 108 Chorten that had been constructed, before retiring for a warm brew and slated crackers inside the recently constructed café complete with wood fired stoves.
Once the pass was open again, our driver pulled up and we jumped in to head on the equally challenging journey back down the other
side. In some ways the dust and traffic was worse, and there were spots where 2 vehicles really shouldn't have been passing let alone overtaking! It was made worse by the excavators randomly parked at the side of the mountain, and workers continuing to try and build landslide defenses. The ground is not good and there is nothing holding it together to the first sign of rain, and it will all star to slip. As we descended the weather improved, and it got warmer. We stopped for lunch and walked down through a small village to the restaurant, where the locals were drying corn in the sun. Just at the entrance, we saw a prayer wheel turning itself, being powered by a waterwheel, something we hadn't seen before. Lunch was the normal buffet affair, facilities were very pleasant for once, a nice surprise tiger balm not required. After lunch we set off towards the "fertility temple" Chimi Lhakhang. The temple was constructed by the cousin of Lama Drukpa Kunley (the Divine Madman), a favourite saint of the Bhutanese due to his slightly "unusual" methods of teaching the scriptures, mainly using song, poems and sexual antics. Painted on the side of
all the buildings, and for sale in all the shops were large scale phalluses - rather a shock to the system really. Our walk took us across the paddy fields and was a nice way to walk off lunch.
As we continued up the hill, we were greeted by the sight of young monks playing in front of the temple using a carrier bag as a kite. The temple is currently undergoing renovation, and looks like they are putting an extension on the front. Inside we once again had a go at the lucky dice throwing trying to get 13 this time. Childless couples come here for blessings and if it results in a child, they call it either Kunley or Chimi. Outside some of the smaller monks were chanting to themselves learning their scriptures and our guide told us to watch at other temples how the master keeps them under control. We headed back down the hill and back through the village towards the bus.
We hadn't been going long, when our guide asked if we would like to see how a traditional mud house is built. We hopped out of the bus and could see on
the side of the hill overlooking the valley, lots of ladies with long handled punners singing and pounding the mud. The guide explained that they probably wouldn't be getting paid, but it would be a reciprocal arrangement between the villagers. Only the carpenters would be getting paid for their work. Whilst mud might not be the best building material, the wooden houses that they are building now haven't fared any better. Lots of their most precious buildings have been destroyed by butter lamp and electrical fires.
At Punakha, which had served as Bhutans capital for over 300 years, was the second Dzong to be built in Bhutan. Outside, hung over the main gate, slightly oddly were several bee hives. We had noticed that some of the gift shops were selling honey products. It was certainly once we got inside one of the more spectacular sights. Just the paintings and carvings alone were so vibrant, and in a way more beautiful than those we had been in Tibet. Inside the main hall, it was full of monks of all ages chanting to their scriptures, with the odd trumpet or drum sound. The master was sat outside, and sure enough, the
guide pointed out their form of discipline - a leather set of long strips used for smacking any monk that misbehaves. The Dzong is also used by civil servants for the law courts etc. Our guide wanted us to see one of the smaller temples, dzong Chung so after locating the caretaker we were able to receive a blessing. This involved a small offering and them drinking holy water before putting it over our heads. We will be lucky not to catch typhoid from that water going off its taste!
Before going to the hotel, our guide wanted to take us to the longest suspension bridge in Bhutan, which had originally been built to take horses. It was similar to those we had seen in Nepal, and certainly more stable than the once we had crossed earlier in the week.
Our hotel was quite a way out of Punakha, again up the side of the valley, and we had an initial beer sat in the gazebo hoping that the internet connection would work. It was very windy, and the corrugated room on our room seemed to be creaking quite a lot. The wind seems to increase in Bhutan.
Every afternoon, but thankfully it was not cold so we were quite happy sat there until the waiter said internet pole down, could be 2 days to fix. In typical fashion, it was back up and working that night!
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