May 15th promised to be a good day. Our window at the Yu Gharling was perched higher than the balconies in the earlier rooms, offering a better view.
Joan and I studied the scene while waiting for our agreed breakfast time with Tshering, our guide. We saw a farmer take a break from plowing his field when his wife arrived with a basket (tea, snacks?). She's mostly hidden by the hanging fabric in this photo.
Then he resumed plowing. The two-wheeled tractor, sometimes nicknamed the "iron buffalo," is ubiquitous in rural Bhutan. Hitch a cart behind it and you have a conveyance to transport the whole family. Many have been financed by grants from Japan.
After breakfast we drove north up the valley, past the Kurje temple complex and the footbridge we had crossed five days earlier. A crowd was gathered around a couple of buildings, and Tshering inquired as to what was going on. It was the day to apply for cordyceps gathering permits. Cordyceps is a fungus used in traditional medicine, and for rural populations it is like harvesting gold. The price has been rising steadily over the past decade, and in 2014 reached a high of 700,000 ngultrum, or about 11,500 USD, per kilogram.
We continued up the road to Thangbi Lhakhang. The temple was founded in 1470 by the 4th red hat Karmapa, but was later taken over by Pema Lingpa and thus became associated with the Nyingmapa school. The iron curtain at the entrance was, it is said, cast by the saint himself.
Now it is a temple of the Kagyu school again. Tshering rustled up the caretaker so we could visit the interior. No photography inside, of course.
Just up the road from the temple is a long mani wall, where stones inscribed with the Avalokiteshvara/Chenrezig mantra, Om Mani Padme Hum, are placed. This is the west face,
and this the east.
Here is a closeup of the mantra.
Then we returned the way we had come, but stopped near the Kurje temple for holy water. A short walk leads to a spring called Kurje Lhakhang Drubchu, which Guru Rinpoche is said to have created in the 8th Century. Its water has eight healing properties, and Guru used it to cure King Sindhu Raja. In this photo Tshering is waiting for his turn at the spring.
People not only collect the water for later use, but wash their hair or other body spots while here.
Beginning in 2008 the drubchu water has also been bottled; the pilgrims access the spring during the day, and overnight the water is diverted to be bottled.
Next we returned to the Noryang restaurant for a snack, or perhaps you could call it an early lunch, before heading for the Bumthang airport.
Their momos, filled dumplings, are delicious. We stuffed ourselves.
We arrived at the airport about 11:30. In this photo Kaka is unloading the van in front of the main (and only) terminal.
We had to open our bags for the friendly security personnel, but it wasn't a thorough inspection. I don't know what they could be seeking by such a cursory examination.
Our plane, an ATR42-500, had landed just as we arrived. It's a craft that's specially designed for short takeoffs and landings.
A large tour group organized by the Sierra Club showed up just after we did. As we watched them pass through security, it became obvious that many were paying no attention to the baggage weight limit (20kg/44lb). Perhaps the organizer hadn't highlighted the requirements to the trip participants. You're probably familiar with the sight: two large hard-sided pieces of luggage for one person. Such shells alone weigh 20 lbs, I'm sure.
At any rate, it was the aggregate that mattered. The airport staff weighed each bag. Soon the word was being called out to the tour group that the pilot had reported he could take all the people, or all the baggage, but not both. The Sierra Club guides called out, "Take your essentials with you and the rest of your stuff will be trucked to Thimphu by evening." They hollered multiple times, because this was a large group with subgroups busy chatting with each other. There was pandemonium and confusion in the group. They were upset that their baggage wouldn't catch up with them until 10PM that day.
Our guide, Tshering, collected our tickets and passports and began working with the airport staff. We were to wait.
The tour group hollered loud enough, so to speak, that they were allowed to take all their stuff, and they were not split up. We were kicked off the flight instead, even having booked it a gazillion months in advance. But all was not lost. We would not be driving all the way back to Thimphu. The plane would execute a quick turn-around for a second flight that day, to include us and a second, much smaller group, also associated with Yangphel Adventure Travel, our local tour operator.
In this photo part of the Sierra Club group waits to walk out to the plane. We returned to the Noryang for a second lunch.
Our second lunch was great, but we still had momos in our stomachs from the first lunch, limiting our intake. Across the street, workers from the Tax Office were also lunching.
We returned to the airport. They didn't need to search our luggage a second time. They knew who we were. The emergency/fire truck was in position, as always,
and soon our plane re-arrived.
There were about fourteen of us on this flight, but the pilot not only taxied to the end of the runway, he backed the plane to grab the last few centimeters for takeoff.
Although the window was smudgy, I snapped a few interesting pictures from the air. First, here is a view of the long and winding road that is Bhutan's national/lateral highway (click to enlarge).
Next, a look at the northern portions of Thimphu. The large cleared area at center left is the pavilion surrounding a huge Buddha statue, which we'll visit tomorrow.
At lower altitude, a section of the Paro valley above the confluence with the Wang Chhu (river). A road winds up the ridge towards the Sangchokor Buddhist Institute, which we had visited early in our trip. The airplane is about to make a steep downward turn to approach the airport.
In a flash we were on the ground. It was not yet 3pm.
We were met at the airport by another driver. (Kaka wouldn't make it back to Thimphu until around midnight.) Joan wasn't happy with his driving, as he was willing to take risks that Kaka wouldn't, such as passing from inopportune places. However, we made it safely to Thimphu and the Taj Tashi, an upscale hotel of the Taj chain.
The entryway was crowded with well-dressed people. A Queen Mother and a high-ranking Rinpoche were about to arrive, so we were whisked around back and given a greeting ceremony by the house monk. Then it was time to unpack.
Ugyen Thinley, our guide from the 2005 trip, swung by for a brief chat and to set up a time for us to visit him and his wife the following evening. Here's a picture of Ugyen from that 2005 visit. He loves puppies.
Our dinner that night was at the Bhutanese restaurant in the Taj Tashi, not the main restaurant. Joan and I enjoyed a sampler menu and then soon turned in. A surprising day in Thimphu lay ahead.
Our original itinerary called for walks near Cheli La, a 3810 meter or 12500 foot pass into the neighboring district of Ha. Tshering suggested a local alternative, pointing out that the clouds were too low to see anything up at Cheli La. Joan and I were to learn that Tshering was resourceful, knew Bhutan very well, and could summon alternatives for any day's activity.
When we first awoke we could see the high Himalayas above the rising mists of the morning. In May this is much less common than during the winter tourist season.
The birds were active, one of the reasons why we chose a May trip. Here is a russet sparrow, a bird we would soon come to dismiss as common.
The main building of the Zhiwa Ling caught the morning light.
This morning we're hiking to the Tseto Gompa, a nearby small local monastery. I'll outline the hike for you using this photo taken from across the Paro Valley later the same day. (Click on the photo to enlarge.)
A ridge comes down from the high mountains and splits into multiple arms; some see a resemblence to the phurba, a multi-bladed knife that symbolizes cutting through ignorance and obstructions. Kaka drove us to the left green dot, where we disembarked from the van and began climbing the ridge. Tseto Gompa is just below the right green dot.
At our dropoff a new building is being finished. It will be a religious structure, but I'm not sure which type. It illustrates a trend in newer buildings here, having a flat concrete pad with a perimeter channel that will catch water from the roof's drip line. The older farmhouses and temples don't have this feature.
We immediately begin climbing. Below these prayer flags, through the trees on the right, you can make out the roof of the above building.
Most of the altitude on this hike is gained at the beginning. We were passed by a couple of young monks and then the lama of the monastery, who offered Joan his parasol.
As we climbed higher we encountered blooming rhododendron. Here Tshering stands in front of a tall one.
A closeup of the fabulous blossoms.
The next photo is of pieris formosa. Two related species are known in the United States as climbing fetterbush and mountain fetterbush.
This nearby tree, covered in ferns and lichens, also caught our eye.
The Tseto Gompa drew closer as we hiked along the ridgelines.
A closeup of the chortens on the grounds of the gompa. Each chorten contains one or more objects of religious significance, such as relics, prayers, sacred texts, or offerings. An architectural note: any building or structure with the red band around it is religious in nature, not secular.
We were received with great hospitality by the lama. The monks brought out milk tea and semi-sweet "biscuits" poking up out of a substantial bowl of crunchy puffed rice. (The biscuits are large crackers somewhat thicker than customary in the U.S.) Then apple juice was offered. I have one photo, of a corner of the "reception room." The wooden basins and the TV set illustrate the dual nature of life in Bhutan: one foot in the modern, and one foot in the traditional. Just outside the photo are some calendars. Even the auto shop calendar shows religious images.
Tshering was our interpreter, of course. At one point he asked the lama to guess my age and Joan's. The lama guessed low by twenty years, which Tshering explained was due to the "soft life" of Westerners. He elaborated that simply not working all day in the fields qualifies as a soft life.
One of Tshering's many projects is assisting the restoration of the gompa, which was damaged in the magnitude 6.9 Sikkim earthquake of September 18, 2011. This not only includes writing grand proposals, raising funds, coordinating with NGOs, and the like, but deciding what should be done with the sacred art. Given the Buddhist teachings on impermanence, the Himalayan cultures often prefer to create new paintings, tapestries, etc. as opposed to the Western ideal of carefully repairing and restoring the originals. Also the rammed earth walls of the gompa now show serious cracking. In this panoramic photo of the courtyard, you can see a major vertical crack near the center, and others at right. Click to enlarge. You also see Tshering, the lama, and one of the young monks in this picture.
Photos are not allowed in the temple portion of any monastery, nunnery, or dzong.
The views from the hillside outside the gompa were sweeping. Here, we look across to the switchback road up to the Sangchokor Buddhist Institute, which we will visit in the afternoon.
Directly across the valley is the famous Tiger's Nest, or Taktsang. Joan and I had a couldn't-be-better experience hiking there on New Year's Day, 2010, and decided not to repeat the hike this time. Viewing Taktsang from this direction, we appreciated for the first time how many other buildings are perched in its neighborhood. The complex barely right and below of center is the Tiger's Nest (click to enlarge).
There is also a long view down the Paro Valley.
A kitten followed us as we left the monastery. We attempted to discourage it during our steep descent, but it would not be thwarted.
What to do? Call the lama on his cellphone! He dispatched two of his young monks to fetch the wayward kitty.
Tshering asked for a photo pose.
We finished our descent to the farm road, where Kaka picked us up, and we returned to the Zhiwa Ling for a late lunch.
Then Kaka drove us up to Sangchokor. The road was full of switchbacks and narrow, but Joan and I knew that if you are squeamish about such roads, you will miss most of what Bhutan has to offer. We were reassured by Kaka's clear skill at driving.
The chorten next to the parking area at the Institute was built on a chunk of land that was not excavated when the area was graded into flatness. It was a Sunday, so not much was going on.
This is the main building of the Institute.
It was here that we learned about the gonkhang, a room adjacent to the inner temple that is the inner sanctum of protective deities. The door is usually painted black, with fierce figures and visages, and locked. One of the very few restrictions on women in Bhutan is that they cannot enter the gonkhang, not even the Queen or Queen Mother.
This picture from the Institute includes downtown Paro, the Paro Dzong, the Paro Chhu (river) before the summer rains fill it, and the airport.
Some fresh produce is available in May, and these first two days in Paro began our food adventures. We enjoyed fiddle head ferns, which taste similar to asparagus. Fruits, especially bananas, are of varieties and freshness unseen in the U.S., and the difference is stunning. The potatoes are better, and even the small young okra, called ladyfingers, are tasty and usually without the sliminess associated with that veggie. Food prep is straightforward in execution but the results are excellent.
Tomorrow will be a driving day as we move on to Punakha.
The Drukair Airbus 319 stopped in Bagdogra, India, before proceeding on to Paro, where Bhutan's only international airport sits at an altitude of 2300 meters (7500 feet). Paro frequently appears in lists of the ten most difficult airports for takeoff and landing, and this photo, taken the next day, will give you some idea why only a handful of pilots have been certified to fly here.
We landed safely, and after stepping off the plane I took some photos. A couple of Thai monks were on board -- in Thailand the Buddhist monks wear orange, while in Bhutan they wear burgundy. They belong to different schools of Buddhist thought (Theravada vs. Vajrayana) but that doesn't inhibit visiting back and forth.
The airport terminals are built in the Bhutanese style, with plenty of ornately carved and painted wood. Carving wood and painting are two of the thirteen traditional arts and crafts of Bhutan, the zorig chusum.
The large outdoor banner is in honor of the 5th King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuk, and the queen, Jetsun Pema. They married on October 13, 2011.
On exiting the airport we were met by our guide, Tshering Dorji, and driver, Kaka. We had arranged our trip through Geographic Expeditions (GeoEx) and the tour operator that they employ in Bhutan is Yangphel Adventure Travel. This was a private trip -- just Joan, myself, Tshering, and Kaka -- and the first such for us. Our 2005 visit included seventeen guests, and our 2009 visit five.
The first order of business was to check into our hotel, the Zhiwa Ling, unpack, and have lunch with Tshering. Borrowing from one of the next day's photographs, here is the layout of the Zhiwa Ling. The main building holds the restaurant, meeting rooms, gift shop, a temple, and suites.
This is the view from the front of our room in one of the satellite buildings. It's a lush opposite of what we had seen before, because our earlier visits had been in winter (November, December).
Our room was spacious. We never turned on the TV.
Here is an initial look (I have plenty) at the atrium in the Zhiwa Ling. All the woodwork is hand-carved and hand-painted. This image captures primarily artificial light on the ground floor, more daylight on the next, and daylight so intense at the top that the murals are washed out. I find it breathtaking to stand in the center and attempt to take it all in.
Looking down into the atrium from the second floor.
After lunch Tshering took us for walk. We had requested some day hikes be in our itinerary, and of course he had to see what our capabilities were. Kaka drove us down to the Kyichu Lhakhang, a temple originally built in the 7th Century. Joan and I had seen this temple in 2009, so today it was just the starting point for an easy walk along the paths lining farm fields, and then a farm road.
This image taken from the farm road shows an old, abandoned building next to a new one. Buildings may be abandoned after some unlucky or devastating event, but effort is not expended to tear them down. The walls, usually of rammed earth, slowly erode.
Looking further up the valley, we can see that the winter wheat has sprouted but the rice seedlings have not yet been set out (this is May 3rd).
Near the end of the walk this combination of wall and flags caught my eye.
The walk was successful; my legs and Joan's were up to the task. We breathed heavily on the uphill parts, but Tshering understood our need to adapt to the altitude. At dinner he said that we'd take a more ambitious hike to a gompa, or monastery, the next morning, which sounded great to us.
Still feeling our jet lag, we were ready for an early night.
