Day Five in Bhutan

Trongsa Dzong (fort) from across the valley

Getting into a routine with my mornings here. Wake up, read e-mails, work on my blog post for the previous day, get ready for the day, have breakfast and then head out. This morning was no exception. When I stepped out of the tent to go to breakfast I was greeted with a cloudy morning and snow on the hills above us. I had fried rice and egg topped off with the local chili sauce. It was very good and much better than the western style breakfast I had previously. After breakfast I packed up and checked out. I got my luggage about halfway down to the lodge before one of the staff came running up to take it out of my hands and the rest of the way to the car. Today’s plan was for a lot of driving and not a lot of activity. 

We set out back out of the Gantey valley on the single track windy paved road we came in on. We got to the pass with just a bit of snow and icy places by the road; however, on the way down back to the main highway we got to a traffic jam where there was an icy bit in the road that people were not going across so there were about 50 cars all jammed up. Our driver got out to investigate and after about 15 minutes things started to move. We went over the icy but gingerly but it didn’t seem that bad. Apparently someone had come and put some salt down while we were waiting. We headed off and back to the main highway to climb over yet another pass. 

We dropped down into the valley below through virgin forest. There were small waterfalls on the side of the road and the occasional house. We dropped for quite a while slowly making our way down into the valley below. At one point we stopped for a stretch at a chorten on the side of the road and then stopped again at a cafe with a particularly pretty waterfall behind it. Tsering explained as we passed by a particular village that he taught primary school there. A little further down the road he mentioned that we would pass by his wife’s village where she was now looking after renovating their house. When we got to the village we stopped for a couple minutes while he went to say hi. We drove on down the valley and around a bend to yet another valley. We soon could see Trongsa appearing way down the valley. We got to a great view point where we could see the Dzong and the town of Trongsa hanging off the valley side. Tsering offer an optional hike to climb down the 500 feet to the bottom of the valley and up the other side to the town. I decided I didn’t really feel like doing that to we pushed on. It was still a 30 minute drive as we made our way down a side valley and back up the other side to get across the gap we saw. As we crossed to the other side of the valley we went through a checkpoint. Tsering explained that the government likes to track the movement of people through the country and has a couple of these checkpoints set up. 

We pulled into the town of Trongsa and made our way up to the imposing watchtower above the town. It has been converted to a museum dedicated to the history of the region. This region is important as it is where the current ruling family comes from and the area is a crossroads for the country. The museum was very interesting with some Buddhist history and also history of the ruling family in the area. I am continually surprised by the history of this little country. There has only been a monarchy here since 1907. At that time all the various powerful people in the country got together and agreed that the Wangchuk family should become the hereditary monarchy. The Wangchuk family were the essential rulers of the Trongsa area and were thus the most powerful family in the country. Documents were written up and every important person in the country signed off on them becoming the monarchy. They, by all accounts, seem to be doing a great job and everyone is happy. After going through the museum we had lunch in the cafeteria there and had the usual meal that I am getting rather used to. After a quick stretch we head out up the valley and on to the next pass. 

After about 1 hour of climbing up a snaking highway we get to the pass which is at over 11,000ft. A quick stop and then begin the descent. We have now entered the Bumthang region which is composed of four adjoining valleys. The first valley we are in is the Choomi valley which is where the current queen’s family is from. Tsering points out the queen’s mothers house as we drive by. There is a lot of logging industry around here and Tsering explains that this is a region where a lot of buckwheat is grown. A little further on we stop at a weaving shop. Weaving is done in several rooms out the back of the store but as it is a bit cool outside no one is actually weaving while we are there. I look around and am thinking about buying something. I eventually change my original idea and decide to get some shawls or scarfs for the kids. They have some lovely woven ones made from soft yak wool that are dyed with a natural indigo process right there. I buy them and use up some of the local currency I got while in Thimpu. Actually I use up most of it. I later do the calculations and realize they were quite reasonably priced. I hope the kids like them. 

We press on further down into the valley and then start climbing back out of the valley to the last pass of the day. This one is a a relatively small one but it does have the requisite Chorten at the top which we carefully pass clockwise. We are now in the Jakar valley and making our way to the town of Bumthang and our stop for the night. While we pass through the town we stop at a cobblers shop hoping to fix my hiking boot but the shop is closed. Our hotel is just out of town. We have a cup of tea and discuss the plan for the evening and next day before I head to my room. I am in a sort of cottage room with 25ft. High ceiling and a large fireplace in the middle. I decide to have a fire and the hotel staff come immediately to light the fire. It was lovely sitting and reading for a couple hours by the fire. At one point the power went out for about 20 minutes but I was toasty warm as I just put a couple more logs on the fire. The wood burned very quickly as it was very dry pine. The internet at this hotel is not good and I am struggling with connecting to anything. I am writing this post using Apple Notes and will past it into the web page builder later. I head out for dinner which is a buffet style. The hotel is quite full tonight mostly with some Indian travel groups. Nevertheless the buffet still is mostly the same dishes I have been having everywhere I go here. It is hearty tasty food and I am enjoying it. The buffet meant that I could take what I wanted and not feel quilts with serving bowls full of food on my table which I have hardly touched. Tsering joins me for dinner and we have some good conversation. I get back to my room and there is still enough of a fire going that I put on a couple more logs and stoke it up a bit before heading off to bed. I slept fairly well but tossed and turned a bit. I am thinking I need to lay off the pot of tea with dinner as that maybe messing up my sleep a bit. During the night I hear lots of dogs barking nearby.