Bhutan 2014: Tharpaling Monastery to Jakar

After lunch at the Chumey Nature Resort, Kaka drove Tshering, Joan, and me up a winding gravel road to the Tharpaling monastery, located at 3,600m (11,800').
Click on image to enlarge
Tharpaling is a multi-tiered complex high up the ridge, with Domkhar village and the Chumey valley below; this image was taken looking back after we had started our hike (click on the photo to enlarge).

With binoculars you can make out the palace grounds and Domkhar village peeking over the trees.

Another building is being constructed, high in the monastery grounds. This is where we climbed out of our van.

This afternoon's hike was to gain 800', to 12,600', and then descend the far side of the mountain to the main town of the Bumthang region, Jakar (sometimes spelled Chamkar or Chamkhar). This was our view up to the pass.

The terrain was easy enough, but the altitude had us breathing deeply.

Because we were here in the spring, there were flowers to enjoy, enticing us to make short breathe-and-look stops. This is some species of primula -- I can't decide between bracteosa and bhutanica.

On this festival day many people were visiting the monastery and walking the ridgetop, where there were prayer flags and a Buddha statue. As happens with many a mountain pass, at the top the wind was howling. These prayer flags are horizontal. Note how the trees flourish on the lee side.

Joan and I approached the Buddha but did not linger. Horizontal raindrops had started to fly.

The hike down was long but uneventful. We passed through climate zones with different species of trees, but always with trees. Light showers came and went, and surefooted Bhutanese zoomed past us. Joan and I, and our knees, were glad for our hiking poles. Near the end of our hike Joan spotted a rufous-fronted tit feeding three or more babies in a well-hidden nest.

If you start this hike in Jakar, there's a sign near the trailhead.

Kaka was waiting for us with the van near the Renewable Natural Resources Research Centre, on the outskirts of Jakar. From there we drove to our hotel, the Yu Gharling, to clean up and have dinner. We would be in Jakar twice, this time and on returning from Mongar, for two nights each time. We were to stay in each of three very different rooms at the Yu Gharling, but that's looking ahead to the second stay. Here is a photo of our room for this stay.

This was the view from our balcony, looking up the valley towards the center of Jakar.

In most Bhutanese hotels dinners and breakfasts are a buffet, and range from OK to excellent. The competitive item this year was to have a custom omelet station at breakfast.

At Yu Gharling dinner included an optional "vegetable soup" starter that we consistently encountered in central and eastern Bhutan. It was devoid of taste and had no visible vegetables ... the best way I can describe it is milk of veggie soup with the veggies strained out. We, including our guide Tshering, learned to skip it.

Tshering had an ace up his sleeve for eating in Jakar, however, which we would discover tomorrow.

Bhutan 2014: Domkhar Tsechu

I'm back! After several weeks away from the keyboard for our annual Canadian Rockies hiking trip, and the catch-up aftermath, it's time to pick up the figurative pen and resume the account of our Bhutan trip.

Domkhar Tsechu -- the night before
Tshering had been mentioning an after-dark ceremony in Domkhar village, which we had visited that afternoon, but he hadn't been specific. The time was often set at the last minute. He also asked, separately, about when we prefer to go to sleep at night. Joan realized what he was being indirect about, and let him know that even though we generally turned in early, we certainly were up for special events even if they took place after dark. Thus, we found ourselves attending the fire purification ceremony that night (May 8th).

There was almost no other chillips (foreign visitors) that evening, perhaps two. The events began just after 8pm (Bhutan does not observe daylight savings time) with the lighting of a fire in the center courtyard of the temple grounds.

Here's a closer look.

The musicians assemble,

and the dancers arrive for the ceremony to purify the grounds in advance of tomorrow's tsechu (religious festival).

To my point and shoot camera they were blurs. An attempt at video came out dark, in only shades of grey.

In the next phase, the iron bowl was placed atop an enlarged fire, while four masked men holding long poles stood buy. (Click on the photo to enlarge.)

The fire was carefully tended by several individuals, including the atsara, who we'll see more of tomorrow. The figure of the atsara is a combination of clown and trickster.

Those aren't horns attached to his mask, they're musical instruments being held by band members in the background.

Then it was time for the pole guys to start raising and lowering -- flapping, if you will -- a cloth attached to the poles.

This culminated in a surprise huge flash, of which I captured only the aftermath.

Torches were ignited from the central fire and handed out to several dancers.

Music played and the torch-wielding dancers danced as the crowd moved to an adjacent farm field, where a fire gate had been erected earlier.

Fire Dancing at Domkhar Tsechu, opening evening from Ben Branch on Vimeo.

The fire gate consists of juniper boughs lashed to a framework. The boughs are set afire, 

and those who dare, or seek more purification, run under and between the flames. Initially people of all ages, even entire families, made the run. Towards the end, as the dash becomes riskier, there is a loop of young men running through the gate again and again.

Running through the fire gate at Domkhar Tsechu from Ben Branch on Vimeo.

The dancers from the courtyard gathered, still in costume, at the edge of the burning gate, along with at least one dignitary (note the fellow with the red kabney, or robe, standing next to the dancers; ordinary gents wear white).

Staying up after dark? No problem!

Domkhar Tsechu
The next morning, on our way to breakfast, I took these photos of the Padmai Denzin Lhakhang (temple) on the grounds of the Chumey Nature Resort.

Its dedication sign.

Then we drove down to Domkhar village to spend the morning watching the tsechu. This time we were not the only chillips in attendance; Joan and I stopped counting at 40. Larger tourist groups had come down from the town of Jakar, perhaps forty-five minutes or an hour away. We felt lucky to be staying five minutes away at Chumey. Joan and I settled down on a concrete stoop, and Tshering and Kaka (the driver) went off to do other things.

The event opened with a traditional women's singing dance. Note the little boy with the toy helicopter who enters from the left about 21 seconds into this video clip. He was charmingly underfoot most of the morning.

Ladies Dance Opens the Domkhar Tsechu from Ben Branch on Vimeo.

After this dance the masked male dancers took the stage, with accompaniment from two musicians.

The crowd began to swell. Eventually the musicians shared their stage with a changing cast of visitors.

The dancers performed barefoot on the stone slabs.

The atsara spent some time supervising and tucking in any stray bits of costume for the performers.

Then he began paying attention to and playing games with the foreign tourists.

One of the atsara's jobs is soliciting funds to defray the cost of putting on the tsechu, maintaining the costumes, and so forth.

He also has fun with the Bhutanese in attendance. Note the Barbie purse carried by the girl in the lovely purple outfit.

Matching blue shoes here ...

A closeup of one of the dancers.

This fellow was guarding the entrance to the building holding the various costumes and masks. Sometimes he used the whip to urge stray dogs, of which Bhutan has many, out of the courtyard. Once or twice he seemed to be enjoying this duty too much.

One youngster toddled forward for a better view.

Between the dances and the people-watching plenty was going on. Joan and I remained on our concrete stoop for two and a half or three hours, occasionally chatting with other chillips. Some Westerners become enthusiastic about Bhutan, like us, and some find it mildly interesting but not special. Then Tshering and Kaka returned, and it was time to return to the Chumey Nature Resort for lunch.

In the afternoon Tshering would test our hiking ability again.

Bhutan 2014: Trongsa Ta Dzong and Chumey Valley

The early morning view on May 8th was dominated by low clouds and rising mists. Our little balcony at the Yangkhil Resort gave us this view of the Trongsa Dzong and Ta Dzong above it. The Ta Dzong was originally a watchtower, but is now a museum of the Kings of Bhutan.

At times the sun would break through; here's a closeup. The dzong is the sprawling complex at bottom, and the Ta Dzong is the similarly-styled building above it.

These oriental white-eyes were searching for their breakfast as we walked towards ours.

After breakfast we drove over to the Ta Dzong. This plaque was guarding the bottom of a stone staircase,

which leads to the entry door.

From the foot of the Ta Dzong you can appreciate how effective it was as a watchtower.

Other chillips (foreign tourists) arrived as we waited for the museum to open -- events are not always precisely timed in Bhutan. Then, after turning in our cameras or other recording equipment, we all started to watch the introductory video. A few minutes into the video the power quit, but only for 10 minutes or so, and the video was restarted.

Tshering took us through the different levels, including the top of the watchtower. There are many art and historical treasures here, such as the original raven crown of the first king. We could easily have stayed an extra half hour, but it was time to mosey, and we exited the complex from the back of the tower.

I'm thankful that Joan reminded me that my camera was still in the admittance area. Tshering dashed back and retrieved it, and then we were on the road.

This was "new orange," a term we introduced to Tshering that begs explaining. Joan and I use county-scale road maps when planning bicycle rides, and we use an orange marker to plot where we've been. Hence, a new route or road segment inspires a cry of "New Orange!" We're heading further east than we've ever been in Bhutan, towards the Bumthang district, and today specifically the Chumey valley, one of the four valleys of Bumthang. To get there we must drive over the pass of Yatong La, at an altitude of 3425 meters or about 11,200 feet.

On the way up we encountered a herd of yaks headed for a higher, summertime pasture.

They are still losing their winter coat.

At higher altitudes we also saw rhododendron in bloom.

The van passed through Yatong La and descended into the Chumey Valley. We arrived at our accommodations, the Chumey Nature Resort, for a delicious lunch. This photo is the view looking down the valley from the resort. On the left is the village of Domkhar, and on the right, a bit higher up, is the Domkhar Tashichholing (alt: Trashichoeling) palace, built in 1937 as a summer residence by the second King.

After lunch Tshering, Joan, and I took a cross-country walk down the valley. This photo looks back towards the Chumey Nature Resort, which is the complex of buildings above the bluff and at the foot of the hill. It's a tranquil setting, and we recommend the resort, its dining, and its hostess, Pema.

We made our way along fields and fence rows, making our way towards the palace. Partway along I took a view looking north towards the mountains on the other side of the valley.

Slightly further on, another view across, this time through prayer flags.

We approached the palace from the side, but swung around to the front.

Officially it's closed, but it's easy to walk about the grounds. We worked our way to the inner courtyard.

One of the princes of Bhutan was married here in 2013. For your convenience, I snatched a photo of the royal wedding contingent from the Bhutan Broadcasting Service article referenced above. The two men wearing the yellow kabney are the current and former kings, left and right respectively.

From the palace we walked down the gentle slope to Domkhar, where preparations for their annual religious festival, or tsechu, were almost complete. We were allowed to take a peek into the building where various masks and costumes for the festival were stored. This photo sequence isn't technically a panorama, but it shows three of the four walls.

Kaka met us with the van, and we rode back to the Chumey Nature Resort for dinner. We'll attend the mewang, or fire blessing ceremony, this night, and then the morning session of the tsechu. These will be the subject of my next post.