Day 3 – Wangdue Phodrang - Trongsa

Today was another long day spent in the car, driving fron Wangdue Phodrang to Trongsa.  To get there, we needed to cross the Black Mountains, over the Pele La pass (3420m) before entering the broad, heavily cultivated Mangde Chhu valley.  The road was INSANE and only tarmacked about half the time – the rest of the time it’s a mud track, pitted with big holes and rocks, that’s also incredibly narrow and VERY close to the edge!   Fortunately, my guide is an excellent driver – for him these terrifying mountain tracks are his equivalent of the M25!  Michael can gauge the width of the available space and the width of the car to within an inch either side, I reckon – no hesitation, either!!  So, even though the roads we’re driving on are tiny and literally carved out of the side of the mountain, with no barrier to stop you plummeting over the edge, I feel completely comfortable and safe. I think this, alone, would be one of the reasons that Bhutan will never succumb to mass tourism – the roads are simply too narrow, twisty and completely impassable to an average tourist bus.

As we drive along, you also get to notice the etiquette of the road – the convention here for tooting your horn is a language all in itself – one to get by, to say thanks when getting by, as a warning, or I’m coming.  People naturally pull pass to let others pass at the first opportunity – no road hogging here.   And, like everything else in Bhutan, the toots are invariably polite and respectful – no blaring of horns and angry sounds – just a friendly “toot-toot!   Not surprisingly, given the roads, Bhutan is also the home of the very narrow, tiny car.  A Fiat Punto here would be a large car.  And also all the cars seem to be new or at least I haven’t really seen any knackered out, rusty and falling apart cars a la standard mode of transportation in Cyprus.  So, again, from that perspective, I don’t really get Third World when I look around….

Another thing I’ve noticed (I only just twigged onto it yesterday) – there are no adverts plastered on the buses and – for that matter – very few adverts anywhere in the country.  Its only when they are gone do you realize just how jarring, loud and distracting they are – here, all the shop signs are painted in the same way, yellow paint onto wooden boards, gently advertising their wares, as opposed to screaming at you in neon or with massive billboards.

Because everyone speaks English (its their second language, so everyone learns it in school), the signs are in English and I’m not being stared at like I was in Vietnam and Cambodia, its easy for it not to feel that foreign.  As mentioned above, people are driving modern (if tiny!) cars, even monks have cell phones and my guide listens to Usher and wears Angry Birds, so it definitely feels very Western at times.  But then you come across the mandatory road side checkpoints, where the guide has to go in and show him that we are where we are supposed to be, as per my road permit visa and you are suddenly reminded there are very different rules here.  Also, with warning signs at the checkpoint telling you that if you illegally import tobacco, you will be liable for imprisonment of 3-5 years.   The uniformity of dress and architecture (all buildings have to be built in a certain style) all serve to remind you that this country’s version of democracy is very different to our.   Whilst the people can vote and elect representatives to Parliament, some of the more basic freedoms we don’t even think about most of the time are expressed and accessed differently here.

Anyway, after 3hrs of bumping along the roads, we finally got to Pele La pass, with its Tibetan chorten and tangle of prayer flags.

Chendebji chorten

Located 2 kilometers away from the village of Chendebji is the Chendebji Chorten, a large Buddhist Stupa. The Chendebji Chorten is a large white structure built in likeness to the famous Bodhunath Stupa located in Kathmandu in Nepal. The Chorten was constructed by Lama Shinda from Tibet in the 19th century AD. The Stupa is believed to have been constructed at a spot where an evil spirit was subdued by the Lama. Another striking feature of the Temple is the eyes painted at the four cardinal points of the temple.

Not that long after, it was time to stop for lunch (by which time I was busting for a pee – Bhutanese roads are NOT fun with a full bladder!!).  The restaurant was OK, fairly standard tourist fare for lunch (rather unexciting beef curry thing with potatoes and an assortment of vegetables – including some carrots which I think had been poached in butter!).  I did, though, thoroughly enjoy the knitted flowers which served as the centerpiece to each table.  Very stylish.  We timed our lunch well – just as I was finishing up, the whole place was inundated by a large group of Bhutanese tourists – reminded me of our trips with Cosmos in Italy!!

Trongsa Dzong

Then onwards to Trongsa and to the Dzong.   Here’s what my itinerary says about it:

The Trongsa Dzong or the Cheokhor Rabdentse is one of the largest and most impressive Dzongs in all of Bhutan. The Dzong is located on a cliff overlooking the Mangde Chu river gorge. The Dzong was built at the site of a temple that was constructed in 1543, by a Drukpa Lama. This huge multi-level fortress comprises of a series of courtyards and passageways that are built along the topography of the ridge. There are 25 temples located within the confines of the Dzong, most of these temples are dedicated to the deities important in Tantric Buddhism. In 2008 a small museum dedicated to the history of the Dzhong was opened following a generous donation from Austria. The Trongsa Dzhong served as the seat of the first and the second king of Bhutan, and its tradition for the crown prince of Bhutan to be appointed as the Penlop (Governor) of Trongsa before assuming the throne. This post is akin to the Prince of Wales where the heir to the British Thrones serves as the Prince of Wales.

It was truly spectacular.  Again, pictures don’t do it justice.  What I’ve been amazed about – not just here but everywhere I’ve been so far – is how much access I’ve had in these places.  Obviously, I’m not able to take any pictures inside any of the temples – I completely understand but, my God, the amazing things I’ve seen inside the various temples.  Its simply breathtaking.  The many many golden statues of the Buddha in his many incarnations, the painted walls, the carvings, the ancient murals with their colors still as vivid and bright as the day they were painted 400 years ago. The shrines with the array of offerings to the deities, the flickering and incredibly fragrant butter lamps, the delicately colored and intricate sugar offerings, the pewter bowls of

holy water ranged along the front of the altar, the brightly colored silk flags and hangings everywhere lending everything a festive air.  And the smell.  The smell of incense - combined with the fragrance of the butter lamps – hangs heavy in the air, intoxicating and heady (Mum – you would hate it!!).  And, for most of the time, its just me and my guide.  Walking through these amazing places, trying to imprint all these amazing sights and experiences into my memory.   Respectfully observing the monks at prayer and going about their business – again, its incredible how free I am (with my guide, of course!) to simply wander through their home and their temples, with no ropes to have to stand behind or specific times I have to visit (other than before sunset – no-one is allowed in the Dzongs after sunset).

Finally, after the Dzong, it was time to check in to the hotel, the Yanghill Resort.  It was pretty basic but I had a  2^nd storey room with a little balcony that faced directly the Dzong, so again, no complaints from me.  One observation in this place, though, is that the hotel staff obviously doesn’t believe in deodorant as the whole places reeks of stale BO!  It was truly stinky!!  What was worse, though, was that after about 15mins, you didn’t notice it anymore!!

Alas, the Internet not working, so it was the perfect opportunity to continue to edit all my pictures – both my haul from the day, as well as those from my trip to Iceland last year.  I even got started on those from the Canadian Rockies from a couple of years ago!  Picasa has got some great new processing features, so I played around with those for a bit, created some new online albums and collages, before finally calling it a night and hitting the sack.

Day 3 – Bhutan, I think I may have a crush on you.