Day Eight in Bhutan
Wrapped up my three days in the Bumthang area today. Woke up after a very cozy night’s sleep as I had the fire going well when I went to bed. Got my blog post done and went for breakfast. I had my usual of fried rice with an egg on it. Packed up and checked out of the hotel. I had to pay for the laundry I did and they wanted local cash. Luckily I had enough and all my laundry had only come to less than $10.
The first stop for the day was only a couple minutes drive up the valley from the hotel. One of the oldest temples in Bhutan was where the driver dropped us off. It was built in the 7th century before Buddhism had even officially come to Bhutan. This temple is a UN World Heritage Site. We walked around it and then went in. Tsering gave me the explanations of all the various statues and wall frescoes inside. I am starting to follow some of what he is telling me and how it fits into the history of Bhutan but all the various manifestations of all the various figures in history kind of confuses me. He explained how there are two temples like this and they act as anchors to nail down the evil deity in the Himalayas and how there is a chain of these temples that were built across Himalayas in one day to nail down this evil deity. Okay, I am sure I have butchered that explanation. After this temple we walked up the valley about a mile to another temple.
The next temple is probably the most holy temple in the country. It was built in front of a small cave where Guru Rinpoche, the monk who formally brought Buddhism to Bhutan in the 8th century first came and meditated. He fought and subdued the local deity and then produced holy water to cure the king. There is the original temple and then two others built on the same site. Also there are Chortens there where the ashes from the first three kings of Bhutan are kept. We went into the oldest temple where the cave is that Guru Rinpoche meditated in. Out back there is a huge Cypress tree that is said to have sprouted from Guru Rinpoche’s walking stick. Cypress is the national tree of Bhutan.
As we got to the parking lot to load up, Tsering point out another temple on the other side of the valley and asked if I wanted to continue the walk over there. It was such a lovely morning and I was enjoying the walking so I agreed. It was a road walk up the valley, across a bridge and back down the other side of the valley to another temple there. This temple has an original core temple from the 15th century that burned down recently and has been renovated. The old temple was somewhat saved but now there is a much larger temple built round it which is pretty large. I am not going to go into all the details of this temple as I honestly don’t remember them except that there is some broken bell inside. What I do remember was a sign just at the entrance to the main temple that had a story on it about taking shoes off inside the temple. It was a classic story of a rebellious monk who wouldn’t take off his shoes being turned into a wretched ghost for 15,000 years for his lack of respect.
After this temple we headed into town. I stopped at an ATM to get a bit more local cash. The original plan was to have lunch in town but it was still too early for lunch so I suggested we just head out and have lunch along the way. We were heading back to Trongsa at this point back along the central highway that we had come down a couple days previous. I asked to stop at the weaving shop where I had bought the girls some scarves so I could get a picture of the place since I hadn’t done that before. We stopped and also used the toilets there while I got my picture. We couldn’t find the owner so I had to make due with a picture of the outside of the shop. We drove on but didn’t find any suitable lunch stops. There was one but it was closed. We decided to drive through and have a late lunch at the hotel when we arrived.
I was feeling a bit sad as we drove. Here it was New Year’s Eve and I was solo travelling in Bhutan. Yes, I am having fun and it is amazing but I was reflecting on being alone and not having anyone to share this experience with. I know I was being a bit self indulgent as I had made my choices in life but I still felt a but sad about it. After going over the pass and descending more than 4,000 feet in 25km we pulled into Trongsa and on to the hotel which is just on the other side of town. We immediately sat down to lunch. I ate by myself as there was a separate area for the guides and drivers. The view was amazing looking back on the town of Trongsa perched as it is on the side of hill controlling the valley below.
After lunch we decided to go into town and see if the cobbler shop was open and then walk around town. The cobbler shop was not open so we walked around town. We saw some of the local macaque monkeys on the edge of town. Tsering stopped in at a couple of the small shops in town. He had grown up here and was visiting old classmates to chat with them. I enjoyed looking around the small shops and watching the coming and going of people on a Sunday afternoon in Trongsa. People were coming into town to do their shopping and it was fascinating watching them. We walked through the local fresh market as well before heading back to the hotel. We got back to the hotel as the sun dipped behind the mountain.
We had a cup of tea before I went to check out my room. The room was modest but the view was amazing looking out into the valley and back to the town. I read for a bit as I am really enjoying my current book I started reading yesterday. Soon enough though it was it time for dinner. As we started dinner Tsering gave me a gift from the tour company. It included a small bottle of peach wine, some lemongrass essential oil and a fridge magnet of one of the terrifying gods. I opened the wine and we had it with our dinner. I shared it with the driver as well who joined us at the end of the meal. We had a good conversation about life, politics and the future of Bhutan. It was nice talking with Tsering. He is a little bit older than I am but is at a similar stage in his life thinking about retirement and making sure his kids are launched in life. He still enjoys guiding and intends to continue to do it on a contract basis. He also has some of his own private clients as well. Tsering teased about getting drunk and doing some Karaoke with hotel staff till mid-night as I went back to my room. I read a bunch more of my book before turning in for the night. I slept very well and although it is New Year’s day here it feels like any other day. I am sure I will be thinking about what this year will bring. Happy New Year everyone and best wishes for 2024!