Punakha and beyond

10 November
At breakfast time we met the hotel owner, a very energetic, "up" lady, Tshering Wangmo, who we chatted to for a little while. She built this place 3 years ago and is finding it a big challenge, responsible for 20 staff. She is married, with a husband who is a professional, with 3 daughters. As her father is dead, and she is the eldest daughter, she has "inherited" responsibility for her extended family, so a great deal rests on her shoulders. Her eldest daughter is acting up, just like an western teenager would, about everything and Facebook, etc. Just simple things like sourcing sink plugs for the hotel is a chore; she has to go to India to search them out and order them. She loves getting feedback, and has a Feedback Book, as well as a list of 5 things that require attention for each day, otherwise there is too much to get done. She is the first to arrive at 5:30, last to leave at 11pm, 2 of her daughters are boarding in India, and she has a 6 year old here. She is the first in her generation of her family to receive an education, and there is a real conflict between buddhism and capitalism; she is a go-getter, but how do you reconcile that with the "not wanting of things" of buddhism? One thing I did say to her is she needs a sign, as Jigme had difficulty finding the driveway - apparently it was taken by some kids from a nearby villlage, who like it  because if was the reflective type of sign, she knows where it is as her mum found out; the boys can't read, so don't know what it says, and have stuck it up at their home … Tshering hasn't the heart to ask for it back!
   A yummy breakfast — I got to personally thank the chef, especially for the food last night. Off we drove, out of town, via a bridge over the river, along a narrow, winding road, barely 1.5 cars wide, in various states of disrepair, sometimes very bumpy, other times just having been made or in the process of being made, with sheer drops in many parts with nothing much to stop vehicles going over the side.  The scenery changed, deep valleys, cyprus pines everywhere, rivulets and small waterfalls off the side of the road, occasional water-driven prayer wheels, farmers in motorised 2-wheel tractors pulling a cart filled with straw, steering was rack-and-pinion, moving a wide handlebar from side to side, sounded like a 2-stroke, put-putting up the hills; every now and then a cow or a few cows on the road or on the side, walking, stopped, grazing … a few small settlements with shops here and there … lots of trucks — EICHER, TATA, AMW — as well as taxis and vans, Hyundai seems the car  or 4WD of choice, as well as the Mahindra, looked to be Jeep-knockoffs. Brightly decorated trucks from India, to and fro, they look fantastic! Speed limit c30-40 kmh, there is no way you could go any faster. On the back of one truck I saw "Don't kiss" …  as usual, you need to toot is you want to pass, it's a well-timed and well-choreographed piece of movement to achieve in tight spaces and corners. I was also amazed to see dwellings just under the road line, so had the thought if a truck went over and a family were in there, that'd be the end of them …
   We stopped at a hill overlooking a temple, outside of the Buddhist Institute, Wandi. Jigme asked a passerby, a woman, about the black-necked crane - there have been some arrivals; the Gandte Valley below is where they arrive from Tibet to nest, or whatever they do in the marshy land. On we drove to a farmhouse, used as a hotel, on a hill above the Black necked Crane Information centre, Phobjikha. A table was set up in the courtyard, the sun was shining, washing on various lines. We had hot drinks, it was just the 2 of us as well as Jigme and Ugyen. Lunch was brought out to us, which was the most delicious meal we've had so far in Bhutan, again very simple: a dish with onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, garlic and ginger; a dish of cooked spinach in a liquidy cheese sauce; unprocessed rice; and, the most amazing potatoes we've ever had - prick potatoes with knife and get pepper in the holes, boil in salted water, fry in oil along with chilli pepper, cut in half and fry again … yummmmmmmmmmm!
Afterwards took pix of the old woman there, said out thanks and off we went to the Centre, where we read some of the information, looked at the displays, and looked at some cranes thru some spotting monoculars. There were about 40+ birds there, including 3 juveniles.
   Drove back from where we came, stopped off at a primary school, where the kids were about to practice dances for tomorrow's Black Necked Crane Festival, to be held at the nearby temple. Had a short chat with one of the teachers there: 187 students, 6 teachers, vacancy for a head teacher. Took lots of pix of the children going thru their paces, while others sat in groups watching, and some playing. Another teacher came up to me to chat, and we asked questions of eachother. Stayed maybe an hour before heading off to the 16th century temple, had a look around, being given information about various aspects of what we were seeing in the temple sacred rooms: the paintings, deities, decoration, etc. We received a blessing from a monk and made a small contribution. As foreigners we weren't allowed in some of the rooms, and managed to say hello to lines of people entering the rooms we couldn't, much to theirs and our delight, these people looked to be simple farmer folk. While waiting for Ugyen, had a chat with a couple of teachers in the temple courtyard, before heading off to the car, and coming across a bunch of kids we had fun with.
   Time to head back 'home', stopped a couple of times to take pix of the breathtaking Himalayan range, back down the winding roads as darkness started to fall. It was dark when we returned to our hotel, and we were both quite tired, we wanted to offer Jingwe and Ugyen a beer or some other drink as thanks, but neither of them drink, so that was that. Made arrangements for us to leave 8.30am tomorrow. Two girls were waiting with our key, which was great.
   Turned 7pm and time to have dinner, so off to the restaurant, shown to a table, saw Tshering in her kira, looked so different. She looked busy, restaurant was full, so even though we asked for her to join us, it was obvious she would not be able to. Ordered drinks, had chicken soup, then Tshering joined us, with a bag of her grandmother's cooked/fried rice nibblies, which she shared with us, while she talked, mainly about herself and her life, how she started the hotel, the stresses and strains, family life, etc, fascinating. She certainly is lively and fun. She went off and we managed to get dinner and as we were eating Tshering rejoined us. She had told us her husband was a professional with a low-paying government job, with an office and chauffeur, but she told us more: he's an engineer with an MBA. He was personally appointed by the present king, in person, to head the Bank of Bhutan and bring it into the 21st century! He now heads the renewable energy part of the Government, overseeing the hydro and infrastructure of the nation, and has had heaps of travel, and she's joined him, to New York, Cairo, Canada, Europe … she would really love to visit Australia one day, and we would love to catch up and show her round. She also told us of some delightful stories relating to the 4th King, who is almost revered here, who is still highly active in government and national affairs, as well as cycling and hiking, being very physically active, interacting with the common person, etc. Tshering told us her husband hopes to be a Minister in the Bhutanese government within a few years, and that we'll get a red carpet invitation to visit! The power went out, and we spoke in the dark for a little while We were the last 2 left, and it was almost 9, so we parted ways as the staff were ready to close up. What an amazing woman, and wonderful stories she told us, incredible!
Things Jigme told us today:
Need to be 18 here to get drivers license, vote, etc. Takes 3–6 months to learn and earn their licence.
By road it takes 2–3 days to traverse Bhutan east to west, 3–4 days to get to India
Roadside repairs — a family is allocated a section of road to maintain, maybe 50kms. It's their fulltime job, men and women together
Soccer is big in Bhutan, as well as archery; cricket is being played here, about 5–6 years now

11 November
Once showered [cold water this morning as it had run out of hot water – we blame everything on the Americans! – dressed, packed up our stuff, off to have breakfast, ordered our hot drinks, had a simple brekky, toast with potatoes as Tshering remembered that we loved the ones we had yesterday – how sweet of her! A little chat with Tshering before we had to leave, swapped email addresses; she is serious about us returning as her special guests, to stay at her grandmother's and for us to have a homestay experience, me to milk the cows and work in the fields! She hopes to visit Australia when her husband makes Minister! Told us that one hours of the work of a power-tiller is worth 3 days of a man's manual labour in the fields! Hugs goodbye, and off we went. Drove back the way we came via Thimphu, the closer we got to the city the better the roads were. Then back along the road we took to get from Paro, feeling as if we knew the lay and look of the land now. This road is probably the best road we've been on, no wonder as it links the airport to the capital. Arriving in Paro – Jigme rang the restaurant ahead of time to let them know we were on our way – we passed a field where there was an archery competition taking place, headed off to a small restaurant, a short distance away from the main street. Offered mint tea – yum, and good for my headache – as well as a coffee. A short wait and we were told lunch was ready, another buffet, unprocessed rice, eggplant with some ind of coating which was delicious, rolled up mashed potato with some form of veg and spice included which was deep fried a la arancini which was also yum yum yummmm; pork, mixed veg, mushrooms in cheese sauce [i think reconstituted dried mushroom] which i love … had seconds of the potato and mushrooms. Dessert was a small bowl of slices of watermelon with ginger in a tart orange syrup … yum!
   After lunch, we drove down the road to the archery competition, saw 6 teenage girls in beautiful coloured hari perform [and sing] a couple of traditional dances, accompanied by the bhutanese lute and hammer harp. After about 15 minutes, the competition recommenced, between 3 teams, I think it was 3 archers per team, shooting at a white painted 2 foot high post, with a bullseye circle in the middle, 150 m away. The archers had the fancy modern bows and arrows, there was a crosswind, and very few hit the post, let alone a bullseye. If you hit the post, you are awarded a coloured ribbon which you attach to your waist, and 2 points, two of your teammates do a short dance with a song to celebrate the achievement. It's 3 points to hit the bullseye. Prizes awarded to the team and individuals, from flatscreen tvs, refrigerators and other appliances, to wooden sideboards to runners up; no trophies or cash prizes here.
   Stayed about an hour, then we headed off to a 7th century temple, Kichu, built by a Tibetan king called Songsengampo, a few minute's drive from town, via rice paddies. You could tell the age of the place just by looking at it, you could breathe it in. Multitudes of prayer wheels all along each wall. At the entrance to an outer courtyard, which itself led to the altar rooms, we were approached by a middle-aged Indian couple, the husband wanted to take pix of us with his wife. He loved the "nemasde", hands clasped together in front of his face, asked where we were from, told us they were from India – really? – wished us well with our journey. To the first of the altar rooms, which had a monk seated, and after a minute started banging a drum and ringing a bell while recorded the audio with my digital recorder … naughty me, I was almost sprung as he thought I was secretly filming or taking pix with a mobile. Jigme told him no I wasn't … [I would never do that] … oooo, naughty! While I was listening to what the monk was doing, Jigme was explaining some of the meanings behind the sculptures and deities and paintings, etc. We then wandered into another altar room which had perhaps 8 nuns in there, as well as a coupe of monks and a head monk who were chanting. We attracted some looks from the nuns, and it was humourous to see that while some were chanting others were having a conversation or a yawn … I just love the colour, smell, sights and sounds of these rooms, with thick, wide wooden floors which are cleaned with pieces of blanket rubbed with feet, to the intricate paintings on the walls, sometimes covered/protected with bright pieces of material, to the candles, 7 bowls of water, sculpture, deities, gods; brightly coloured walls, beams and ceiling hangings, paintings on the ceilings and beams … it's a visual riot really, so much to take in.
   Leaving, we walked round the outside walls of the temple, more prayer wheels, and at the rear spotted some earthquake damage, which occurred in September. There was also damage seen at the temple we saw yesterday afternoon.
   We then checked into our hotel, which was not far from the airport. On our way there we stopped at a lookout above the airport, which snow capped mountains in the distance, wow! The hotel is called the Tashi Namgay Resort, at Damsebu, Paro, It is quite a sumptuous place, the best hotel we've stayed at in Bhutan, 5 star really. Checked in had hot drinks, then arranged to meet Jigme and Ugyen at 4:30. To our room, which is the furthest away from Reception, which is fantastic, spacious, 2 king single beds, a bath and shower, which has stones at its base for foot massage as you stand having your shower. Also a nice sitting room area with tv, a small couch and one-seater.
   Met the guys at 4:30, drove into town, walked up and down the main street, looking at shops, checking out the souvenirs, handicrafts and jewellery. Dinner in the hotel restaurant, which was on the first floor, and rather swanky, a buffet, including shepherds pie, which which steered clear of, stuck to the Bhutanese food. At the service desk, there was a small electronic gizmo, which was a rotating prayer wheel, along with sung mantra, choice oif 5-6 mantras depending on what the staff felt like – flashing lights, very cool.
   Observations: the stray dogs really do lay down wherever they feel like it, on the sides of the roads, in the middle of the archery range, near shops, etc, etc. When the humans went to bed in Thimphu, the dogs came out and barked and barked and ruled the streets. Heard a little bit of barking the last 2 nights, wonder if they'll be as annoying here in Paro as they were in Thimphu …

12 November
5:45 wakeup today, after breakfast we had 1/2 hour wait for mum and dad, Jigme and Ugyen. Went outside and waited, a dull, overcast, grey day, a little cool, perfect weather for climbing/walking. Drove c15 minutes to a carpark at the base of Taktshang Goemba (Tiger's Nest Monastery), which is where horses pick up those that can't do the walk under their own legpower. Google it, and you should recognise it, it's kind of like Bhutan's version of the Sydney Opera House, an icon.
   Warning, graphic description of extreme physical endurance follow … not one for the feint-hearted, unfit, or those that have fear of heights … essentially it's one of those "journeys" you need to do when you have health and fitness, although today there were quite a few elderly people making the attempt. One total [male] show-off - nationality unknown - complete the climb from carpark to temple in an hour! The walking track is rough and ready, horses use it as well, basically dirt and dirt steps, which winds up some 900 metres from the plain below, which we were told is 2100m. When I say winding, think plenty of hairpin bends, double and triple ones. It became soon apparent to me that altitude is not my forte and so had to catch my breath every 30–50 meters in height we travelled. It wasn't all that busy so we weren't being held up, or vice versa. The payoff as you rose above the glacier gouged valley were the views of the valley below, as well as distant mountains, covered in cypress pines.
   Along the way we saw rhododendron plants, being autumn there were no flowers. An enthusiastic bird-watcher, maybe 20 metres from us, exclaimed to his guide "Laughing Thrush" … they're a weird mob those bird-watchers! The higher we climber the more I grimaced, knowing my knees were going to cop it on the way back down, but was blown away by the views, the prayer flags and mounds of rocks people had piled up like natural sculptures, was well as the beautiful trees with fine mosses [I think that's what they are] hanging off their branches like whispy green fairy floss; as well as the occasional birdsong and whinny of horses in the distance below us.
   There is a cafe with viewpoint perhaps 300m down in height of Tiger's Nest, across a chasm and as we neared it, there were wonderful views though the trees … but once we reached the cafe, wow oh wow oh wow oh wowwwww! First question is "How in heaven's name did this Monastery ever get built?" and then "Why?". The things man creates for their gods and religion! It's incredible!
The Tiger's Nest Monastery is one of the most holy sites in Bhutan. The Guru Rinpoche is said to have flown here on the back of a tigeress and then meditated in a cave, contained within the present structure, for three months. The monastery was built in its present form in 1692. It suffered a devastating fire in April 1998. Old photographs and diaries were used to make the reconstruction as close to the original as possible.
   Admiring the views, we had a hot drink and some dried crackers, as well as patted a very friendly cat. I was looking at the distance and the terrain above me, thinking "this is going to be really difficult and a tough test, physically". Girding our loins and saying a mantra "I can do this, I can do this", we continued our ascent to a high point on a mountainside opposite the chasm and realised we had hundreds of steep steps, again with plenty of hairpin bends, to negotiate downwards, to the base of a waterfall, then up more steep steps towards the Monastery. The views to the Monastery were breathtaking and spectacular, a group of buildings it sits perched on a few ledges of a massive stony cliff that went up to the heavens as well as descended steeply below … I was too scared to look for fear I would faint as I'm not good with heights! The views down the the valley were equally spectacular, low cloud, farms and farmhouses way down below. There were a number of other monastery buildings above and opposite the main Monastery, and again wondered how did these get built? How long did it take? How many workers and artisans? We heard the legend that angels' hair fell down the cliff and men used that long hair to help bring the materials … Had to shake my head at the sheer incredible feat of faith and construction …
   Upon entering the walls we foreigners had to surrender our backpacks, any cameras and mobiles to the police stationed there, and were frisked as well. A couple more flights of steep steps to enter the buildings, which pretty much killed off my legs – how were we going to make it out and still be standing? I asked myself. Removing our shoes we were shown into a handful of altar rooms, each a variation on the theme of the temples we've already visited solemn holy places that were quiet and elicited respect. Piles of food offerings and bowls of money – as well as donation boxes outside – I will never tire of the incredible craftsmanship, design and decoration, the religious paraphenalia of major religious buildings of all faiths. In one of the altar rooms, to the side, in an alcove, a young monk  boy of 12 or so was reciting his prayers with a tiny orange-furred kitten in his lap – wish I could've taken that pic, it would've been a "classic".
   Time to leave, and it was quite an arduous descent, climb, then descent again to return to the cafe, where we collapsed for lunch and a hot drink. Gathering our energy we descended back down to the carpark, all in all a 8km round trip which took some 6 hours including the 2 breaks and visit to the Monastery itself. Wow, one of those things you need to do before you die, but my advice would be to do intensive stepping exercise – upwards and down – for a few months beforehand, and try to acclimatise to altitude if possible. But the experience is one of those incredible once-in-a-lifetime ones, and the pix are definitely worth it.
   We need to be at the airport 2 hours early for our 12:30 flight tomorrow, so we can take our time and relax for the rest of the afternoon/evening/night/morning. Next stop is an overnight at Bangkok tomorrow, then onto Istanbul.