Bhutan 2014: All Around Thimphu, and Especially Choki School

Today (May 16th) was a busy day, a serendipitous one. Joan and I called it lucky, but Tshering, our guide, assigned it to good karma.

We first visited the Buddha Dordenma, one of the largest Buddha statues in the world, complete with a meditation hall in the pedestal. It's not quite finished, but worth a visit just to see the extensive pavilion and the statue itself.

Arriving at the site, on a hill overlooking the southern entrance to the Thimphu valley, we discovered that construction forbade parking close to the pavilion.

Kaka was able to park the van a short walk below.

The Buddha played peek-a-boo with us as we climbed.

The pavilion is huge, meant to accommodate large events and extensive religious ceremonies. Click on the photo to enlarge.

Let's get closer, in stages.

Closer. Note the size of the staircases and the entryways. It's difficult to grasp, from a photo, how large this statue is (the throne is 62 feet tall, and the statue itself 138.6 feet).

Closer. And pointing up.

A side view.

The Thimphu valley, as seen from here.

Tshering took our photo in front of the Buddha. Joan and I dedicate any merit from this to the benefit all sentient beings.

We returned to the van, and encouraged other visitors with the news that the walk up was easy. Tshering was on the phone to arrange a visit to the Choki Traditional Arts School. Surprise -- today was their annual Founder's Day Celebration! Joan and I were assured that we were welcome to attend, even in our hiking clothes.

Kaka drove us from south of Thimphu to north of Thimphu, arriving about 10:30.

The Choki school was established in 1999 by Dasho (a noble title, often translated as "Lord") Choki Dorji, to provide an education in the traditional arts of Bhutan to disadvantaged children. Classes, food, and lodging are all free to those who are accepted. From the USA, tax-deductible donations to this school can be made through the Himalayan Youth Foundation. The Foundation supports several projects, so be sure to specify for the Choki Traditional Art School.

We were greeted at the entryway by this marvelous Guru Rinpoche. Click on the photo to enlarge.

Tents had been set up at the edge of the amphitheater for the VIPs and the lunch service. Joan and I felt under-dressed, even if we sat on benches on the periphery.

Before the festivities there was an opportunity to visit the classrooms. We started with the painting classes.

In the first year, the students learn the basic forms of traditional Bhutanese art. Here is a page of a student's workbook.

Once the components are mastered, the student moves on to the prescribed overall proportions of the image.

Here is an advanced student's current project, in progress.

Then we visited the textile classes.

As you might expect, small fingers help.

The classes cover all aspects of textile production, not just the weaving.

More tools are involved than I suspected!

Woodcarving is one of the traditional arts. It includes making the masks for traditional dances, so these are more solid and heavier than you might expect.

Woodcarving takes many forms in addition to masks. Both the interior and the exterior of monasteries, local offices, and public buildings may be elaborately decorated with carvings, often painted.

Works in progress were open to our inspection.

Then it was time to go through the serving line for a hearty Bhutanese lunch. Once the pavilion was clear the students began performances; first, dancers (men).

The fellow sitting on the bottom level in the above photos is the cymbalist.

This young boy alternated between watching the dancers and playing with a whatever-it-was.

Next some of the women students performed for us.


The emcee made several announcements and acknowledgements.

The third "act" was a traditional masked dance.

Those wooden masks demand strong neck muscles.
The horn players are in the back.

There were at least two more student performances, one by the boys and one by the girls, but this post has become rather lengthy already. I'll jump ahead to the traditional "farewell" dance, where everybody is expressing the wish for a good journey and to meet again. I'm the tall chillip (foreign tourist) who is always a beat behind anyone who knows what he or she is doing.


Joan and I were overwhelmed by the hospitality offered to us after our sudden appearance at the celebration. At the end of the farewell dance Dasho Choki Dorji came up to me, grabbed my hand, and, through an interpreter, wished me a good journey home.

On the drive back to Thimphu we stopped to take a picture of this sign.

We believe the owner confused the terms 'glossary' and 'grocery.'

Our next stop was at the new Royal Textile Academy and Museum. From the parking area, I could see up to the Buddha Dordenma, as one can from many spots in Thimphu.

The Academy is being constructed in several phases as funding permits. It was instituted in May, 2005 and  inaugurated on June 5, 2013.

The exhibits on the upper floor were closed for rearrangement, but we were able to view many historical textiles (no photos allowed). The clothes commissioned by the royal family were stunning.

We next visited the textile school that is part of the academy.

Here's a closeup of one weaving, slightly out of focus.

After leaving the textile academy Joan and I headed on our own to a bookstore Tshering recommended, DSB, and ended up purchasing three books about Bhutan. (We have a shelf-full now.) In the checkout line we were just behind Princess Benedickte of Denmark!

On our way back to the Taj Tashi to freshen up I took this photo of bamboo construction scaffolding.

Tonight we had a dinner engagement with Ugyen Thinley, the guide on our first visit to Bhutan, in 2005, and his wife, Jigme. We met in the lobby of the Taj Tashi, and Ugyen drove us first to his mother's place, stopping on the way for a bottle of wine. He knew we were wine drinkers, bless him.

Here are Ugyen and his mom.

She posed more formally with us chillips.

After some light refreshments we parted from Ugyen's mother and moved on to his and Jigme's place. There we had a wonderful dinner that included beef jerky, chicken, eggs-and-cheese, and potatoes. The beef and cheese had been produced by Jigme's family, in Paro. It was a locavore feast.

Here are Jigme, who was expecting a baby, and Ugyen.

Some weeks later Jigme gave birth to a daughter, Kuenzang Namgyal Wangmo.

The four of us drove back to the Taj Tashi. Ugyen stopped the car at a scenic overlook, revealing the illuminated Tashichho Dzong, the seat of the government since 1952.

Using a concrete abutment to steady the camera, I got a decent zoom shot as well.

We said our goodbyes at the Taj Tashi, and Joan and I turned in. Tomorrow would be our last full day in Bhutan.

Bhutan 2014: Thangbi, Kurje Water, Momos, and Druk Air

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.