Day 10: Thimphu to Paro

So today brings one of the highlights of the trip, a hike up to the breathtakingly beautiful Tiger’s Nest monastery.  In a country full of unbelievable beauty, this is in a league of its own, which is saying something.   The photo of the monastery, clinging to the cliff face, with ribbons of prayer flags stretching out across a sheer ravine is probably one of the most iconic images people have of Bhutan and its certainly one of the photographs that I’m hoping to bag.

We left the hotel bright and early, around 8am.  Alas, I’d spoken too soon about not suffering any Bhutan Belly since arriving – with perfect timing, given today’s scheduled 5hr hike, last night’s rumbles had developed into full blown protestations (perhaps the riverweed had been the last straw).   Now I would have to hike and clench at the same time – that’s a lot of co-ordination in anyone’s books, let alone first thing in the morning when I‘m barely awake with the minimal requisite cognitive processing required for basic locomotion (no pun intended).  

Anyway, gastric miseries to one side, here’s what my itinerary says about Tiger’s Nest:

After breakfast, we will take you for a morning hike up to Taktsang Monastery, also known as ‘Tiger’s Nest’. Hanging precariously and magically from a rather steep cliff, the Taktshang monastery is a monument of genuine pride for the Bhutanese nation. It defies architectural principles to the core and amazes tourists from around the world. It is a sight to behold. Taktshang or the Tigers lair as the monastery is called, it is widely regarded is one of the most important monuments of spiritual significance in Bhutan. Its history is deeply associated with the visit of Guru Padmasambhava, the revered Indian saint who came to Bhutan in the 8th century AD.

The cave was named Taktshang after Guru Rinpoche flew into the cave from Kurtoe Singye Dzong in eastern Bhutan while riding on a tigress. When he landed in the cave, he took the wrathful form of Guru Dorji Drolo who is regarded as one of the eight manifestations of Guru Rinpoche to decimate the demon.

Several saints have chosen this sanctuary to pray and meditate in solitude. The monastery was built in 1692 by Gyalse Tenzin Rabgaye who is said to be one of the reincarnations of Guru Rinpoche. The Monastery consists of four main temples along with their residences that are constructed along the rock ledge. There 8 caves in total out of which 4 are relatively easy to access.

The monastery was ravaged by fire twice in the 1900s first in 1951 and later the fire of 1998, which nearly destroyed the monastery completely. The government then undertook a comprehensive reconstruction in 200 with funding from foreign donors. The monastery was recreated to its original splendor and re-opened to the public shortly thereafter.

From the road, the hike toward Taktshang follows an uphill route and takes approximately 3-4 hours at an average walking pace on a clear, sunny day. We recommend that you carry sunscreen lotion, large quantities of drinking water, a walking stick just in case you need to shoo of the birds and a hat to further protect yourself from the sun.

3-4 hours?  Try 1.5hrs!!  BOOOYAH!!!   So, again, proving that I hike faster than I cycle, swim or , we made absolutely cracking time and made it up to the Tea House restaurant place in just over 45mins.  Usually, according to my trusty, puffing guide, it takes at least 1.5hrs to get to that point.  I wasn’t trying to go super-fast (although the thought of the restroom at the tea house was a little bit of an incentive) – I just kept up a steady pace and only rested for a couple of minutes at a few points on the way up.  It was a bloody hard slog, I tell ya (even though the slacker tracker ranked it only as “moderate” exercise!!) and I was puffing and panting and sweating my little heart out.  But what made it worthwhile were that the views, both of the valley below but also of Tiger’s Nest monastery kept getting more and more spectacular the higher we ascended.   Un-frigging-believable. 

At the tea house, we stopped for the obligatory cup or two of hot, sweet black tea and some yummy biscuits to take in the incredible view and catch our breath for a few moments.  I, um, tried to avail myself of the facilities but I think my body was in shock and total lockdown mode cos there weren’t nothing moving!!    Not sure if that was a good sign or not, but too late to worry about it, because after about 20mins, we started up again for the final leg of the climb up – this time, involving over 800 steps, up and down, traversing the steep cliffs that flanked both sides of the Tiger’s Nest.   And that’s where the magic happened and I got the picture of the trip – the iconic prayer flag across the abyss towards the monastery shot.  Absolutely freaking stunning.

In keeping with the hard-core, lets-rock –this-out tradition that I’d set in the first half, the final push took us only another 40mins where it usually takes at least an hour.  Again, I don’t know why this gave me a lot of pleasure but it did (well….OK…yes, I do….its my crazy competitive nature that’s annoyingly ever-present despite my best efforts to ignore it …).  When we finally reached the monastery, we had to check my bag and camera and ensure we were appropriately dressed and, different to some of the other monasteries and Dzong’s I’d visited, there was a visible police presence at this one.  Well, when I say visible, there was a police chap at the
gate with prayer beads, reciting mantras to himself and giving you the once over before letting you in, plus another couple of police folk dotted throughout the monastery – again, presumably, to stop people taking unauthorized photographs.

The monastery itself was amazing – dark and light at the same time, full of warren-like corridors and prayer rooms.   Despite there having been quite a few people on the hike up, because we’d made such good time, we’d managed to beat most people there, so I had the unexpected luxury of being able to enjoy it in the same relative peace and tranquility as some of the other monasteries I’d visited previously.  As well as the usual collection of shrines and temples with fantastic golden statues of Mr B and friends, there was also a fun relic stone – the idea being that you stand on the starting line, close your eyes, take three steps forward and try and put your thumb into a small hole in the rock as a form of karmic test.  No prizes for guessing the result!!

After that, in one of the shrines, was a hatchway that, when opened, revealed one of the entrances to the Dubkhang or Pelphu Lakhang, the cave where the Guru Rinpoche meditated for three months (apparently without food or water).  Outside the cave is a statue of Dorje Drolo, the manifestation the Guru assumed to fly to Taktshang on a tigress and banish the demons (hence the name!). After wandering into a few more places (including peering directly into the original Tiger’s Nest cave which is just above the chapel but is, unfortunately, too dangerous to climb down into), we headed back to the exit, collected our stuff and started our journey back down the cafeteria.  

On reaching the cafeteria, I once again availed myself of the facilities – and this time, all hell broke loose.  Quite literally.   So – my sincerest apologies if you were that person either waiting outside the restroom at around 1.15pm wondering what was taking so long or, probably worse, the poor soul entering said restroom at about 1.25pm.  Blame the chili cheese.  I, on the other hand, felt GREAT and, duly unburdened, pretty much skipped my way back down the mountain, taking only 25mins to descend from the restaurant to the car park.  Michael had taken full possession of my camera by this stage, so was happily off trying to get me good shots of butterflies, water prayer wheels and birds (gotta love having my own personal guide who carries my stuff and does my chores for me - think I need to find myself a BF when I get back to SF to carry out the same functions).  The birds and butterflies here in Bhutan are especially beautiful – in addition to the hoopoe, I saw in my first week, there are also loads of beautiful yellow-billed blue tailed magpies as well as ENORMOUS butterflies that look more like birds than insects. 

After a quick bit of retail therapy with some local vendors in the car park (that’s when I knew I would pull through from my recent incapacitation), we headed to the Uma Resort in Paro, where I was very happy to return and to check in.   It was around 2.30pm, so I toyed with the idea of getting a hot stone treatment, but there wasn’t really enough time (they need 2hrs notice), so I simply relaxed, had a nice hot shower and then spent the time photo-editing and catching up on my blog.  One of the fabulous things about this hotel is that there are so many wonderful places to just sit and relax and reflect.  After plonking myself down by the pool, then in the outdoor patio, then in the spa relaxation area, I finally found my spot in the library and got settled in for an hour of blogging and relaxing.  Only problem was there were a million sodding flies and, as soon as I entered the room, they all made a bee-line (fly-line?) for me so soon I was surrounded by the buzzing buggers.  I don’t know what it is about Bhutanese flies, but they’re not content to buzz you from a distance – no, this lot want to get up close and personal with you.  I had the distinct impression that they had some sort of private bet going on as to who could get the closest to completing a buzz landing in my ear or on the very tip of my nose.  Incredibly conscious I was in a Buddhist country where the killing of any living being is strictly forbidden and being caught fishing is rewarded with a prison sentence, I guiltily got even by swatting a couple of the annoying sods with the Birds of Bhutan book I’d borrowed from the bookshelf.   However, karma is a bitch, as one of the buzzy blighters got the last word because – as I swatted it through the window netting – it seemed to basically explode in a splurgy cascade of bloody fly guts.  Great.   A big fat fly splat as evidence of my murderous nature.  As I tried to flick the squidged fly body out of the netting to the floor to hide the shame of my karmic crime, it fell from the netting and hit the wall directly below, leaving another bloody streak of fly goo on the pristine white paint.  Oh, brilliant.  Definitely time to leave the library (it was Dr. Holloway, in the library with the Birds of Bhutan book) and head to the bar to try and recover.

So after the day’s exertions and insecty transgressions, I felt I’d earned a decent glass of wine after the day’s endeavors, so got cracking on a lovely bottle of Graves Riserve Bordeaux.  Delicious.   The Fly Episode was soon forgotten (-ish) as I chatted with Amber in the bar and a lovely lady from Calcutta who was staying in one of the Villas.  (ps note to self – if you ever come back, you have to stay in one of the villas as it sounded amazing! ).  Then it was time for dinner and this time, I tried the fabulous Uma burger, made from a combo of beef and yak.  Absolutely delicious, if completely impossible to describe the flavor!  After the burger, I also repeated the previous highlight of the yummy ice-cream I’d had before – only problem being I was too full to eat it all!!  Finally, complete replete and very very happy, I staggered off to bed and a well-earned sleep, before my last full day in Bhutan.

Day 10:Bhutan, you continue to take my breath away.

Day 9:

Day 9

At large in Thimphu

Got up a bit earlier to sit on my balcony, have a cup of tea and update my blog.  Sadly, it was time to wash all the oil out of my hair from the phenomenal massage yesterday before heading down to breakfast.  The food was a bit better today but the man on the Egg Station must have been extremely bored cos I was asked if I wanted eggs at least 8 times!!!  No, thank you, I don’t want eggs.  No, I still don’t want eggs, thank you.  Nope, still good.  (repeat several times).  I’ve already eaten my way round half the world with a gastronomically schizophrenic breakfast (indian chickpea curry and indian pancakes teamed up with herbed potatoes, chicken sausage (bad move) and baked beans with a croissant and doughnut chaser.  Washed down with watermelon juice and coffee.  Add eggs into that mix and God only knows what’ll happen to my guts (which have been remarkably well behaved during this trip, I’m sure you’ll be relieved to know).

Today was going to be a mixture of sightseeing and shopping (yey!) – the first stop was at a local temple in town, the Changangkha Lhakhang.  Here’s what my itinerary says about it:

Changangkha lhakhang

The Chagkha Lhakahng temple is a early medieval Buddhist temple in the capital city Thimphu. The temple is situated on a ridge overlooking the city, near Mohitang on the outskirts of Thimphu. The temple is the oldest temple in Thimphu and was constructed by Lama Phajo Drukgom Zhigpo in the 12 century AD. Lama Phajo Drukgom Zhigpo is also the founder of the Drukpa Kaygo School of Buddhism. The Lhakhang’s central deity is Chenirizig. There is a large statue of Chenrizig, the 11 headed, thousand arm manifestation of Avolokiteshwara. The prayer books in the temple are larger in size compared to the usual Buddhist texts. There are also large prayer wheels and paintings in the walls of the temple. The temple offers an excellent view of the city of Thimphu from its courtyard.

It was here I realized just how lucky I’d been in my visits to all the previous monasteries and temples, as this one was packed with tourists, mainly Korean.  It was a completely different atmosphere to the one I’d got used to experiencing – for one thing, they were taking pictures!!!  TAKING PICTURES!!!  One of the things EVERYONE should know that is completely forbidden inside the temple (along with wearing shoes).  I guess their tour guide hadn’t briefed them well enough and eventually Michael mentioned it to one of the monks inside and they told them to stop.  DURRR.  Though I would never have broken the rules like that, I was a little envious, as they’d got some great pictures of a monk reading from an enormous prayer book – apparently the largest in Bhutan.   Ah well.  Another thing that was different was that I wasn’t allowed into one of the shrines as it was men only – apparently every temple has a particular area that’s just for men, but I hadn’t come across that discrimination before, so it was a little surprising but pointless being annoyed.  Its just the way it is.  Despite not being let into the shrine, though, I did receive yet another blessing – this time, being struck over the head with a dorj, which is supposed to banish demons (and what the Guru Rinpoche used to subdue the demons at Tiger’s Nest – but more on that later!).

Next stop after the less than reverential temple, was the first shopping opportunity of the day – the Jungshi Handmade Paper factory!  It was VERY smelly but fascinating to see how the paper was made - here’s what my itinerary says about it:

Jungshi Handmade Paper Factory

The Jungshi Handmade Paper Factory is a small paper factory located in Thimphu that produces paper using traditional Bhutanese methods. The paper products produced at the factory are made from Daphne or Mulberry plant bark. On you visit to the factory you will see the process from the beginning to the end. The process starts with people pulling the bark off the plant to the process of cooking to create wood pulp to the creation of the final product. There is a small shop at the factory that sells a variety of paper and stationary that is produced from paper made here.

The small shop proved to be a bonanza and I picked up a load of stuff here.   Hand painted paper scrolls, hand made paper and envelopes plus a fantastic photo album with a hand painted picture of the Bhutanese Thunder Dragon on the front that will be perfect for my favourite pictures of the trip.

After the paper factory, it was time to recover from the smell with a nice cup of tea.   Not sure why we stopped for mid-morning tea today (we haven’t been usually) but I’ll never say no to the chance for a good old cuppa, so it was a nice stop.  Bizarrely enough, since coming to Bhutan, I’ve been taking both my tea and coffee black and sweetened with a couple of lumps of sugar.  Sugar!!  I never take sugar in my drinks – what is going on?  But somehow it feels right to drink hot, black sweet tea here.  Strange.

After tea, back into the car and drive out of town a little bit to this viewpoint with an incredible view overlooking the Thimphu valley.  Despite being here over a week now, I haven’t tired of the views yet and they remain unbelievably spectacular. 

 

Then it was time for a trip to the Tapin zoo – a reserve housing the national animal of Bhutan, the Tapin.  My guide described them as lazy and ugly (sounds like a couple of my ex’s) but actually they were kinda cute in their weird goat head, cow body cloven-hooved oddness.   One of them seemed to take an interest so we communed for a bit before he got bored and wandered off, presumably to compare pedicures with his fellow inmates.  There were some deer there too, but no-one really payed them much attention, cos they looked normal rather than their Beelzebubesque neighbours. 

On the way to lunch, the drive took us past the impressive National Parliament buildings and the somewhat less impressive, quite modest in size, Royal Palace.  We took piccies from a distance as its not allowed to take photos up close.  Duly noted and on goes the zoom lens…

Lunch was at the fabtastic Bhutan kitchen again, although today, I think there was extra chili in the Chili and Cheese cos it was fooking hot.  But other than that, the rest of the food was excellent – especially the fresh spinach thing and cabbage.  Yum.

As a post-lunch digestif, it was time to Hit the Huts, the row of 50 traditional craft huts that line the street just directly behind the Tashi Taj.  Here you could buy all the authentic Bhutanese souvenirs your heart desired (plus a sizeable number that are made in India and imported in!) – lots of textiles, woven fabrics for the traditional dress and embroidered silks, masks a’plenty, all manner of fabric bags, purses, scarves, little wine bottle covers fashioned into ghos, lots of paintings of Mr B. and friends as well as prayer flags, embroidered alter decorations and a couple other choices for the pennant hanging thing I’d seen yesterday. 

After much careful deliberation, I ended up buying a yak bell (as you do) as well as a wall hanging and some other various odds and Bhutanese sods.  We then went back into town (right next to where we’d had lunch) to buy the canopy thing I’d seen the previous day (it was bigger and, although the wrong colour, was embroidered with a cool kick ass Thunder Dragon).  We had to call the lady to come open the shop (which she actually did – amazeballs!) but when she got there, she realized she didn’t have her keys with her so her poor son had to then come running with them to let us in!!  So after all that, I didn’t really feel as if I couldn’t buy the canopy!  I also ended up buying some incense and some prayer flags for Loopy, so it was definitely worth her while to open up the store!! 

We were running a little behind schedule after that, so our final two stops were pretty quick.  One was just a very quick scoot round the National Institute of Traditional medicine.  For some reason, photography was not allowed, so it was a quick whizz round looking at various dried herbs and unidentifiable plant materials, with rather uninformative narrative labels, so I was only in there for less than 10 minutes.  Here’s what my itinerary says about it (it will take longer to read this description than I actually spent in the place):

 

National Institute of Traditional Medicine services

The National Institute of Traditional Medicine or the Institute of Traditional Medicine Services is located in the capital city Thimphu. The Institute is situated on a hilltop above the Traditional Arts Center and the National Library of Bhutan. The King directed the Bhutanese Department of Health to establish a traditional medicine system for the welfare of the people of Bhutan and preserve the traditional Bhutanese methods of treatment. An “ Indigenous Dispensary” was opened on 28 June 1968 at Dechencholing in Thimphu, staffed by doctors who were trained in Tibet, which later relocated to present location in Thimphu. The relocated “Indigenous Dispensary” was renamed the National Indigenous Hospital and then later the National Institute of Traditional Medicine. Finally in 1998 the institute was upgraded the Institute of Traditional Medicine Services (ITMS).

Traditional Medicine in Bhutan dates back to the 17th Century to the times of Shabdrung Nagwang Namgyal. Traditional medicine in Bhutan can trace its roots back to Tibet, but ever since it came to Bhutan, Bhutanese traditional medicine evolved and developed completely independent of its Tibetan Ancestors.

The institute produces tradition remedies in laboratories from minerals, animal parts, precious metals, gems and plants. Over 40,000 patients are treated annually at the hospital.  The institute has a training wing that trains people in traditional medicine. There is a 5 year bachelor’s degree course for people who want to become physicians and a three year course in nursing.

Traditional Arts School

After the somewhat underwhelming Trad Med place, it was time to turn our attention to the Traditional Arts, with a visit to the school where they teach all the traditional methods of painting, sculpting, embroidery, woodworking, weaving etc.  Basically, all the skills that are needed to make the houses and buildings I’ve been enjoying since I arrived look completely fab.  It was really interesting to go round the school and its numbered classrooms (you start off in Woodwork I, then progress to Woodwork II after a year, then Woodwork III etc until you graduate from Woodwork V, five years later!)  Its fascinating as absolutely everything they were doing or learning was Buddhist in nature – not one secular piece of arts or crafts in the whole place.   It just goes to remind you how different this world is.

 

After the Arts Institute, we headed back to the hotel, so I was back by 3.30pm.  As we pulled up, a member of the royal family was just leaving in big black SUV which proudly displayed the license plates BHUTAN-2.  Fantastic.  I guess its probably not a huge stretch of the imagination to figure out who has the plates BHUTAN-1?

Following yesterday’s bliss-fest, I’d decided to leave nothing to chance, so had actually booked another wrap and massage at the spa (I’d actually booked another package which included a facial but they said no, two facials in a row was not recommended), so I had to content myself with a mere 2hrs of pampering instead. 

So this time, I went for another scrub/wrap followed by a massage.  Here’s the blurb:

PRITHVI MRIT Earth’s Nectar: This rich detoxifying and firming wrap is made from 22 exotic Indian herbs and clay. Its therapeutic properties tighten the skin and leave it with a radiant, youthful glow. Excellent for all skin types.

VISHRĀM Relaxation Massage: A full-body relaxing massage to melt away your stress. Alternating palm and thumb strokes, skilled hands gently work on your tired and sore muscles. Fragrant signature oil blends with the richness of Kewda, Frankincense and Brahmi, infused in Sandalwood and Sesame are used for this massage to release tension, bringing ease and tranquility to your entire system.

So the wrap was lovely but I pretty much smelt like a chicken jalfrezi, all wrapped up in the special blend of Indian herbs and spices.  All I could think about, though, as she massaged the scrub into my body was how desperately I needed a pedicure and how ridiculously long and lethal my toenails had become.  I kept trying to point my foot downwards, so as to do my best to avoid stabbing her with my big toe talon, but all I could think about were the headlines “Therapist Killed in Freak Toenail Incident” and how I’d never get bail for such a heinous crime and end up spending the rest of my days in a (very nicely painted, no doubt) Bhutanese hell-hole prison.  Funny where your mind takes you when you’re completely immobile, smelling like curry, wearing a paper thong and trying not to fart.  Yes, I spoke too soon.  My guts had just decided, moments before heading down to the spa, to potentially think about starting to misbehave.  I think my schizophrenic breakfast was coming back to exact its revenge. 

Anyway, I didn’t stab my therapist to death by accident with my toenails, so all was well and the rest of the treatment was lovely (especially the shower where I had to wash off the scrub, so managed to concurrently deflate just a little…).  After my treatments, it was time for dinner, so this time I went to the authentic local Bhutanese restaurant at the Taj.  When I got there, I was the only person in there so, despite it being very stylish, it was a little lacking in atmosphere!  A couple other folk turned up, and got chatting to this couple from India and the guy was celebrating his 50^th birthday.  

The food was OK, better than in the main restaurant, but still not brilliant (I plumped for Set menu 2).   My waitress started off by pouring me a cup of Himalayan gooseberry tea from a very ornate teapot followed by a little amuse bouche dish of local puffed rice mixed with butter and sugar.  Crunch alert!!  Those little suckers were tasty but tough on the teeth!  Also on the menu was riverweed and pulled beef soup – god only knows what riverweed is, but it tasted like the same type of seaweedy stuff you get in miso soup, so I’m sure it was doing me good. 

 

Did a bit more blogging sitting out on the terrace after dinner – the Minister of Agriculture was there, on the patio below having a party.  Everyone seemed to be having a good time with lots of singing and dancing – it was very reminiscent of a Scottish ceileidgh, but with less violence and swearing.  

 

Then, after a quick scamper round to try and take some decent night time shots of the hotel (not possible, too close up!), it was time to call it a night, re-introduce myself to my Tranquility pillow and fall asleep reminiscing on what has been a fabulous few days at the Taj.

Day 9: Bhutan, a girl could get quite used to this sort of luxury, you know?

Day 8: At Large in Thimphu

So, not surprisingly perhaps, given the combination of Dom Perignon and the finest Bhutanaese Takin Red Wine, I wake to find myself enjoying a mild hangover.  Ugh.  Take a quick shower to attempt to get myself going and head down to breakfast which, disappointingly, is mediocre.   The service wasn’t really there and the food really wasn’t all that great.  The food at the Uma knocks this place into a hat, easy.

Anyway, after breakfast, it was time to head out for our hike to Tango monastery.  Brilliantly, as of last Tuesday, every Tuesday has been declared to be “Pedestrian Day”  in Thimphu which means that the use of private vehicles within Thimphu city limits between 8am- 6pm is banned!  Only buses, taxis and ambulances allowed!!  Fortunately,  Michael had a sign reading “on tourist duty” which is also allowed, so we were golden!!  Licence to drive and no traffic!!  Booyah!!  (as a side note, the same sign read “Happiness is a place” -  nice tag line - I wonder who Bhutan’s ad agency is?).  To add to the general suckiness of Tuesdays in the Land of the Thunder Dragon, its also a dry day in the Kingdom, so I’dve been shit out of luck with my DP-fest yesterday.  Glad my birthday was Monday. 

So, today’s fun involved a hike up to Tango monastery.  It was actually just the job to chase away my mild hangover, so a bit of yomping uphill for an hour was just what the doctor ordered.  I think I probably went a bit faster than I would have just to prove to Michael I wasn’t in the least hungover (why do I do this to myself??) and he was huffing and puffing far more that I was.  Not bad for an old lady.

Here’s what my itinerary says about Tango monastery (and no, Loopy, they don’t make the fizzy drink there):

Tango Monastery

The Tango Monastery is a Buddhist monastery located about 14 kilometer away from Thimphu- the capital of Bhutan. The monastery was established in the 13th century AD by Lama Gyalwa Lhanampa. The monastery is dedicated to the wrathful Hayagriva form of Avalokiteshavar. According to legend the monastery is closely associated with the origins of Drukpa Kagyu School of Buddhism.

According to a prophecy Phajo Drugom Zhigpo the founder of the Drukpa Kagyu School, saw an apparition of Hayagriva on the cliff and told him to establish a monastery at the site. He also told him that he will marry a Dakini and establish the Druka Kagyu School. Later in the 16th century Tenzin Rabgaye expanded the monastery to its modern day size. It is also said that in 1616, Shabdrung Nagwang Namgyal meditated in its cave before embarking on his historic campaign of unifying the country. This was refurbished by the Queen Mother Ashi Kesang Wangchuck in 1977 and then later another one in the 1990’s. The monastery is also the home of the 7th Tri Rinpoche, who is said to be a reincarnation of Tenzin Rabgye.

The monastery was as beautiful as I’d come to expect and, again, I was pretty much the only tourist there.  One of the highlights of this particular monastery visit, though, was sneaking into the back of the temple and seeing all the young monks in their lessons!  If it weren’t for all the maroon robes and holy texts in front of them, I could have been back at Sir Jims Secondary School in Camelford, the feeling was the same!  We caused a bit of a stir when I wandered in (despite my being extra quiet!) with lots of turning round and staring and whispering – it was a fab experience!

It didn’t take long to scamper back down to the car, so we were back in town pretty early.  Lunch today was at this fantastic place in town called Bhutan Kitchen – really really tasty local food, actually much better than the food at the Taj.   After lunch, it was back to the hotel by 12.30pm and a couple hours of before meeting back up again at 2.30pm to go shopping.  In the intervening couple of hours, I finally managed to talk to Loopy via Skype, so she could wish me a happy birthday and I could marvel at how much of a skinny minny she’s becoming!! 

So then, off out to check out the local shops at 2.30pm.  Unfortunately, the raft of shops directly behind the hotel were closed for the day (apparently, if you cant drive to work or drink at all, then a lot of people just write the day off and don’t even bother to come in!!), but we went round a few shops in town instead.   I gotta say, stuff is EXPENSIVE out here – well, at least the tourist prices are!  In amongst all the chotkes and crap, I did see a couple pieces that I liked (a cool dragon, for example) but they were crazy priced!!!    So, I didn’t buy anything in the shops until we finally went to the National Handicrafts Emporium where I bought some masks, similar to the ones I’d see at the Padtselling festival.  I also found this pennant hanging thing, but it was the wrong colour, so I decided to mull it over until I could check out whats in the little huts tomorrow. 

After exhausting all shopping possibilities for the day, it was back to hotel just after 4pm.  On a whim, I decided to check out the spa services and, to my utter delight, discovered that they were super-reasonably priced – 3.5hrs for $180?? – I’m IN!!

Duly energized and excited by this bargain find in amongst the overpriced souvenir craziness, I decided to treat myself and go for the full monty, the Sukha (Bliss) which promised to soothe my senses and pamper my body.   I spent, in total, about 4hrs in the spa, including both the treatments and the pre-amble of sauna, steam room (that was HOT!) and shower, as well as post-amble fruit platter and relaxing by the pool.  Bloody marvellous.  So, the Sukha consisted of a body scrub and wrap, a massage and then a facial – 3.5hrs of complete pampering.  Somehow I managed to struggle through it.  First up, the therapist washed my feet (brave lady) and massaged fragrant oil into them.  Then, it was time for my coconut scrub and wrap – it smelt amazing and I wondered whether it would be bad form to start eating my treatment.  But I refrained and spent a happy hour smelling like the mallow coconut biscuits I remember troughing down as a kid.  Bliss, indeed.  After a quick shower to (sadly) wash the coconut away, it was time for my massage – holy crap.  My therapist, though tiny in stature, has steel for fingers.  OOOOOWWWW!!!  She got right in there, getting jiggy with my shoulder muscles – I don’t think they knew what hit them.  And at one stage, she had hopped on to the table and was just standing completely on me, working her elbows (of which she seemed to have more than the requisite number) into all the achy, tight muscly bits – it was kinda weird but felt really good, so whatever works, right?

After the massage came the facial – I’m always amazed with facials just how many different treatments they can dream up to rub in your face, such that the whole treatment takes the full hour.  I mean, you clean it, tone it and moisturize it, right?  How long should that take?  Anyway, it took a good hour and the cool thing about this facial is that they were using raw ingredients you basically find in your kitchen, so after the coconut body wrap, I find my face being slathered in mango.  Again, I had to stuff down the urge to lick my own face, but I did smell damn good.   I think I was distracted by my therapist proceeding to massage my eyeballs!!!  I’ve had one or two facials in my time, but I think this was a first that my therapist got in there and squished my occipital orbs!!  Anyway, here’s the full blurbage about each treatment:

Narikela Scrub (house favorite) – Coconut, a household ingredient in India, has many uses to its name.  As a natural skin softener, it has been used for centuries.  We will gently exfoliate your body with a  mix of ingredients.  This all-over treatment has a cooling effect on the body.

Pehlwan Malish massage – Warrior Massage.  For centuries, Indian wrestlers have taken powerful massages.  Experience this traditional vigorous massage with either our signature aromatherapy oil or mustard oil, which is extremely good for the skin and relieve aching, sore and tense muscles.

Anana Lepa facial – Many Indian women use homemade recipes passed down from mother to daughter to nourish their families and their skin.  Following this custom, we use fresh all natural ingredients straight from the kitchen.   Our facial will also include a face massage that tones and nourishes the skin, making it healthier and leaving it with a natural glow.

After the treatments were finished (happy sigh), it was time to sit out on a lounger by the pool with a fruit platter, and slowly try and come too.  After a few mins sitting there, it was time to get dressed and head to dinner.  I ate in the main restaurant, a cavernous space, and again – it was OK but not great.  I had some fishcakes to start with followed by a lamb curry – the lamb was pretty chewy, so it was really quite underwhelming.  I had a molten chocolate cake for dessert which was nice but not spectacular, so I called it a night (no bar hop stop for me tonight) and went back to my room.  I’d been in my room no longer than 5 mins, when there is a knock at the door and it’s a little chap delivering some birthday stamps with my face on them!  The picture they took while presenting me with my cake yesterday had been transferred onto their stamps, which was awesome!!    So, the food may suck at this hotel, but I have to say they certainly know how to spoil a girl on her 40^th birthday and make her feel special!

So, finally its time for bed after another fantastic day – all that was left to do was ponder the pillow menu and decide which pillow, from the 10 options available, would be enjoying the pleasure of spending the night with me.  I plumped for the Tranquility pillow which, with its genuine Tibetan and Himalayan herbs, promised to relax and soothe the body, and contained mind-purifying incenses to clear away past tensions and put the senses at ease.  A big ask for a 5 inch square green silk pillow.  Lets see if its up to the job….

Day 8: Bhutan, if you continue to be so completely awesome, how on earth am I ever going to be able to leave you?

Padtselling Festival:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luooXYpEb4Y&feature=plcp

Highlights of Week 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJqOe7hRgcs

Day 7: Gangtey to Thimphu

HAPPY 40^th BIRTHDAY TO MEEEEEEEE!!  Its finally here, my 40^th birthday and I’m spending it in a phenomenal country truly having the trip of a lifetime, so I feel very very blessed this morning!

I opened half my cards, looking out over the valley (thanks for the Sue Sylvester one, Mum!) and then headed over for Birthday Breakfast of eggs, toast, indian style rice noodles and tea.  After breakfast, packed up my cases ready to leave at 9am.  Michael came to knock on my door and wish me happy birthday and also said that he and his office would like to take me out in Thimphu for a birthday dinner tonight!  With a cake and a candle to help me celebrate!   Here’s a quick rundown of my immediate thought processes:

1.  OMG that is so sweet – what a lovely gesture!  How incredibly kind of him to give up an evening off in his home town to take me out for my birthday.
2. Its not a date, is it?
3. Oh no – but I’ve been dreaming for months about celebrating my birthday with a perfectly chilled glass of champagne in the bar at the Tashi Taj, dressed up to the nines!!
4. Don’t be so shallow, Sarah – you can drink champagne in the bar tomorrow night – this is one of those kindnesses that it would be incredibly rude to turn down, even though you’ve just vowed at 40 to not say yes to things just to please other people.
5. But its not the same!!  My birthday is today!!
6. But maybe there is a lesson (even a Buddhist one) in letting go of what I think my plans should have been and just going with the flow instead.  Hmm, yes, that’s it.
7. But hang on – screw that!  Perhaps I can do both!  Dinner with Michael and his friends and THEN come back to the Tashi bar and have my champagne – yes!  Got it!  Sarah – you are a strategic planning genius!

That was quite a lot of mental processing early in the morning, so I recovered by looking at beautiful scenery for the next 3 hrs as we drove from Gangtey back to Thimphu.  As there is only one road in Bhutan, we were traveling along some of the same crazy-assed narrow mud surface roads again, with lots of construction (done exclusively by Indian migrant workers – apparently, Buddhists don’t build roads for some reason – perhaps they are too permanent?).    So, as well as being my Birthday Bonanza, it became apparent that today’s theme was Try the Local Food Day.  On the road to Thimphu (another country and Western song right there), we passed through a number of small towns and villages, and we stopped at one to pick up snacks for the journey.  We’ve not picked up snacks before (unless pre-packaged betelnut counts – more on that later), so I guess these were Special Birthday Snacks.  Anyway, the first set of snacks were a puffy rice cracker thing called makhu that are made out of rice paste, then deep fried so they puff up, like a giant inflatable crisp.  You then basically poke the sucker in the middle so it shatters and then crunch your way through it.  It was OK – it didn’t actually really taste of much other than the grease it was fried in, but it was entertaining in its outrageous crunchiness  - it’s a wonder anyone has any teeth left if they are munching their way through that lot regularly.

 

Only about half an hour after CrunchFest, we pass a couple of peasants (I know, I’m so bourgeoise) by the side of the road roasting corn on the cob – so Michael duly buys a couple of those and another MunchFest starts.   Soon enough, I’m picking bits of corn out of my teeth, but it was nice enough and had a pleasant peasant char, so I’m sure I will be enjoying that again in another capacity later.

After 3hrs on the road, we arrive back at the Dochula pass, where this time we’ll be stopping for tea and for lunch.  Yet again, the pass is completely shrouded in mist and cloud, so nary a Himalayan mountain in sight.  So instead I took a picture of a picture of the mountain view and imagined in the rest.

In keeping with today’s theme of Try the Local Food Day, I ate some weird stuff at lunch.  First up is the famous Butter Tea or suja – made from some local tea leaves, melted BUTTER and salt.  OMG.  It was VILE!!  The taste was bad enough but it was the way it felt in your mouth that was really disconcerting – just like drinking liquid butter, in fact.  I sipped it a few times (it was piping hot, so at least that was something) to show just how world-travellery I was but in the end, I just couldn’t fake it, so let it gently grow cold (does it congeal as it gets colder?) beside me and switched to water instead.  I also tried a local chilli paste/relish thing which was supernova hot but actually pretty good, as well as trying the  “dried pork” or sekham, another local specialty.  Now, if someone says dried pork, you think of jerky or actual dried meat, yes?  Not here.  Obviously the drying process involves gelatinization because the pork turns up and its basically jellified rashers of fat, with the tiniest tiniest sliver of meat in there, as if to prove it originally did come from a pig.  Again, it wasn’t so much the taste as the texture –   oleaginous and chewy and fatty, and which weirdly kinda melted in your mouth but then didn’t and you’d have to chew your way through it.  It reminded me of the horrific Pig Trotters experience from Madrid – the less said about that, the better.

Anyway, the rest of lunch was less challenging so afterwards, it was only a short drive to get to Thimphu.  We drove past the 108 Druk Wangyal Khangzang Chortens and stopped to take a quick picture this time (am getting a bit Chortened out) as well as navigate a police checkpoint where they were checking everyone’s driving licenses to make sure all was in order.

On the road back, the entertainingly gentle road signs urging caution on the roads started to

reappear, as well as lots of the incredibly richly decorated trucks that are standard here. I love the way the trucks are all blinged out, Bollywood style, and how everything is painted by hand – again, it gives the whole country a very quaint appearance that makes you feel instantly fond of it and nostalgic at the same time.  Another brilliant spot on the way in was a truck that had emblazoned across the back “Marketing Van”.  Bloody brilliant. 

So, we finally arrive in Thimphu around 1pm, and instead of going straight to the hotel (the suspense keeps building and building!!), we go first to Buddha View with its ENORMOUS seated Buddha statue and incredible views of Thimphu below.  

Here’s what my itinerary says about it:

Kuensel phodrang

The Kuensel Phodrang or the Buddha point is the world’s largest sitting Buddha statue, the statue is 167 feet high. The statue is situated on top of a hill overlooking the city of Timphu, it can be accessed by road and is about 15 minutes away from the city’s center. The word Kuensel means everything is clear and from this place you will sure enjoy a great view of the Thimphu Valley on both sides. The statute will house a temple inside it, the statue and its adjoining car park and

Recreational center are currently under construction and is expected to be ready by December 2012. The statue is constructed out of bronze and is studded with many semi-precious stones. Since they are no factories in country that can make such a large bronze cast structure, statute is being manufactured in China and the pieces are brought to Bhutan and are assembled here. On the drive to the statue the steep winding hill road offers an unparalleled view of the city of Thimphu and is an excellent place to capture a view of the city especially after dark. A journalist once described the view as “seeing an osasis of light in the desert of darkness “as the city light of Thimphu shine very bright in an otherwise dark Thimphu valley.

 

After taking in the view at Mr.B View, it was time for our final sightseeing stop of the day, the National Memorial Chorten.  Here’s what my itinerary says about it:

National memorial chorten

The National Memorial was built by Bhutan's third king, H.M. Jigme Dorji Wangchuck who is also known as the "father of modern Bhutan." He wanted to erect a monument carrying the message of world peace and prosperity. However, he was unable to give shape to his idea in his lifetime due to pressures of state and other regal responsibilities. After his untimely demise in 1972, the Royal Family and Cabinet resolved to fulfill his wishes and erect a memorial that would perpetuate his memory and also serve as a monument to eternal peace, harmony and tranquility.

The National Memorial Chorten was gifted to the nation on 28 July, 1974. The exquisite wall paintings and the delicately carved statues reflect deep insights into Buddhist spirituality and a rich tradition of prayer and learning. The National Memorial Chorten is known as the ‘most visible religious landmark in Bhutan’.

The Chorten was consecrated by His Holiness, the Late Dudjorn Rinpoche. Unlike other Stupas the Chorten is not a shrine for the mortal of the late King. The Chorten on contains a photograph of the King in full ceremonial attire. The King had intend for the Chorten to be “ a Chorten that represents the mind of Bhuddha ”

The national Memorial Chorten is located in the center of the capital city, Thimphu and is designed like a Tibetan style Chorten. The Chorten is patterned of the classical Stupa design with a pyramidal pillar crowned by a crescent moon and sun. One of the most distinct features of the Chorten is its outwards flaring rounded part that makes the Chorten look more like a vase rather than the classical dome. The interior of the Chorten has a large number of paintings of Tantric deities, in explicit sexual poses that sometimes can be a little disconcerting to visitors.

 

After that, it was finally time to head to the Tashi Taj.  OMG.  This place is utterly stunning.  I was greeted with the traditional white silk scarf (same as how Michael had greeted me from the airport) and a cup of fragrant, sweet herbal tea as I waited in the lobby for them to check me in. Because it is my Birthday (its my birthday!! YEY!!), I got upgraded to a room with a large balcony (which is where I’m stretched out now, as I write this!).  The room is beautiful, stylishly decorated and with a lovely view of the courtyard below and the mountains directly in front of me.  So, I quickly dumped my stuff, got changed into a nice dress and headed to the bar for that glass of champers I’ve been looking forward to for so long.  Alas, they didn’t sell champagne by the glass, and I certainly wasn’t going to toast my 40th birthday with below par German sparkling wine, so a full bottle of Dom Perignon for me then!! 

As I waited for the bar tender to chill the bottle (it was the last one – huzzah!), I drank some tea on the terrace outside and opened the rest of my birthday cards.  All were fab but Mum’s made me cry, it was so lovely!!  Just before the waiter brought the champagne out, he returned with a birthday cake for me, iced with my name and lit with a candle!!  It was such a lovely gesture 

(particularly as they don’t celebrate birthdays here), I was very touched!!  I must be getting old already cos I blew the candle out and it kept relighting, so I’m obviously starting to lose my touch.  So, finally the champagne was chilled and, with a pop, it was Happy Birthday to Me!!  I read all my birthday wishes on Facebook, posted a couple of pictures of me enjoying the moment and had a thoroughly fabulous time.  

So, after about an hour or so, and a half bottle of DP, it was time to get ready to go out and meet Michael and his friends for dinner at 6.30pm.  It was actually really nice –they’d also bought me a birthday cake with my name on it as well as a bottle of wine and a couple little bottles of port wine (which they actually then proceeded to open!).  Dinner took ages to arrive, so the conversation got a little thin at times but all it all, it was a pleasant evening and it was very touching of them all to give up one of their free evenings to take me out to dinner.  I met Michael’s brother and other family/office 

members.  I didn’t ask if one of the office peeps was Sonam, the one who effed up my visa – I didn’t want to sour the mood. 

 

Anyway, I was back by 8.30pm/9pm and so came back to my room, changed into my long black dress and then headed back to the bar to finish off my bottle of Dom P.  And again, the birthday greetings just kept on coming (the whole hotel must know its my 40^th birthday!) as another couple members of staff brought me yet another birthday cake, took my piccie and gave me a pressie of a little Buddha in a box!  This place rocks for having birthdays in!!

Finally, I finished off my fantastic birthday with a long chat with Mumsie and Thomsk via Skype – it was the perfect way to end my birthday!!

Day 7: Bhutan – thank you for making my special birthday completely unforgettable, you rock!!