Day Nine In Bhutan
Entry door to Trongsa Dzong showing the thunder dragon motif representing the country of Bhutan.
New Year’s Day in Bhutan is just like any other Monday here. In Western and Central Bhutan tomorrow is going to be a holiday though so although it is an ordinary Monday people are preparing for an extra day off. I didn’t really think about this as I got ready for the day ahead. After my breakfast we checked out of the hotel and drove back into the small town of Trongsa to tour the Dzong there.
The Trongsa Dzong is the longest one in Bhutan. As per the usual lay out one end of it is for administration and the other end is for religion. The old foot trail goes right through the middle so anyone passing through would be taxed as they passed through the Dzong. As it is an official building Tsering had to put on his formal shawl on top of his Gho. This is a custom and everyone inside we wearing their formal shawls. He also showed me the old house he grew up in just across from the Dzong. We walked around and I saw lots of amazing murals on the walls which Tsering explained to me. I am starting to get some of the aspects of the Bhuddist art but it is complicated. After our tour of the Dzong we headed out for our drive to Punakha, our next stop.
We stopped briefly by Tsering’s house to drop off some things there. As we climbed out of the valley the rhythmic sway of the card made me quite sleepy so I had a bit of a nap. Shortly after that we stopped at a roadside cafe and had some tea and a stretch. It was a nice and much needed stop. We chatted with the owner a bit and he gave us our drinks complimentary. As we pulled out a bus load of travelers stopped in as well. We drove on up to the pass and started to see yaks grazing on the side of the road. After almost 2 hours drive we topped the pass and started our descent. We were going to go from over 11,000 feet to 4,000 feet in the valley below. That is a lot of descent. Along the way we stopped at the same lunch spot we had stopped on our way up several days ago. The restaurant was quieter this time with just a couple guests. We drove on and had various conversations in the car as we drove but mostly just silently enjoyed the scenery which as in just about everywhere in this country was amazing. After what seemed like a long time we got to the valley floor and passed by the Wangdue Dzong before turning off towards the Punakha valley.
We stopped in a small town called Lobse and started a short walk to the temple we were visiting. We walked down through the village and then out across the rice fields to the temple up on a hill in the distance. This was the temple of the diving madman. This temple is dedicated to Lama Drupka Kuenley who ran around the countryside drinking and womanizing while dressed shabbily all the while using a huge phallus to subdue the local demons. So, all round here there are decorations and carvings of huge phalluses. People come to this temple because it is believed that childless women will conceive if they carry a giant phallus three times around the temple and receive the blessings from the resident monks. The local craft shops have leaned into this tradition in a rather large way.
On our walk to the temple we stopped in an art store and I saw a couple paintings that I might be interested in. One in particular caught my eye. I am thinking about buying it. It is not cheap but it is reasonable for what it is. Problem would be framing it when I got home.
After our tour of the temple we headed for our home stay house where I will be staying for the next two nights. We passed Punakha on the other side of the river and continued up through farmlands for a short distance before pulling into a local farm house. The owners were there to greet us and we did some introductions. The owner is retired and used to work with Tsering as a trekking cook in the same company. Now he farms and manages his home stay house. We went in and got settled. We went to the family room for tea. I sat and read my book while Tsering stepped into their offering room to do his prayers. It was rather hypnotic listening to him chant his mantras in the other room while I read. Just before dinner we had some warm arak. It had scrambled egg and butter in it. It was surprisingly better than that sounds. Luckily they had some low couches for me to sit on as sitting on the ground gathered around the low table was going to be challenging for me. Tsering was enjoying connecting with his old friend and would share occasional stories they were talking about. There is no WiFi in the house as everyone just uses their phone signal. I have been having some troubles getting data on my phone. I was able to fiddle around with it and change carriers so that I was finally able to get a data connection. So, I am writing this blog post connected to my phones weak internet connection. So far, it is working okay.
My room is comfortable and I slept well last night. The toilet is basic but fine. I am psyching myself up for how to have a shower but I am sure I will manage it. I slept very well last night and am ready for the day ahead.