Travel

Thursday Thoughts – Beyond Beauty

/ Leya / 21 kommentarer

In the fertile Punakha Valley, where the Mo Chhu (Mother river) and the Pho Chhu (Father river) meet, lies Punakha Dzong – Pungthang Dechen Phodrang (Palace of Great Happiness). It was constructed in 1637 and maybe the most impressive building in Bhutan – also considered the most beautiful dzong in the country.

Bhutan 2018 663

The very size of Punakha Dzong is impressive, 180m long and 72m wide, but the elaborately painted gold, red and black carved woods, the brass roof and the location adds to the light perfection.

You walk the bridge, and enter through this gate…
…pups lying in the sand under the trees…
The first court yard with the huge chorten and the old bodhi tree.

Punakha served as Bhutan’s capital for over 300 years and the first king was crowned here in 1907. Since the mid 1950’s, Thimpu is the capital, but Punakha is still the center for official meetings, the kings’ weddings and other important ceremonies.

In this temple, in the southernmost courtyard, lies important relics in a sealed casket. Only the King and the highest Lama may enter this room …
– except for the guards.

The dzong, like all the other dzongs in Bhutan, has suffered fires several times, but is always restored. Due to its location by the two rivers, it is also vulnerable to the floods following climate change. In 1994 a glacial lake burst and destroyed parts of the building, and before that, in 1897, there was also a severe earthquake.

The temple is grand and holds thrones for the King as well as for the high Lama.

There are 300 monks in the dzong, and our guide told us that today the monastery schools are almost like ordinary schools – you take different subjects like science and mathematics along with languages and the scriptures.

Meeting over…
…two of the monks carrying the books, the scripture rolls, back.

The young monks are very curious and good at English.

The junction of the two rivers, seen from inside the dzong.

And so we left this magnificent fortress – without using the middle, golden steps, made for the King only. A breathtaking visit – only there was so much more we wanted to see, hear and learn – but maybe next time…

 

Man’s Best Friend – For Real

/ Leya / 23 kommentarer

I have never, during my travels, seen so many dogs as I did in Bhutan. And definitely never dogs that well kept. They were everywhere, and they were all quite lovely. Our guide, Rinzen, told us that a dog chooses a door – a house – to which it will return and wait for food every day. And they are fed. With joy.

Here are some of all those that I met, and something of their tasks…named by me…

Housewatchers
Wardoffers
Streetroamers
Childguardians
Bridgeholders
Relaxhelpers
Patientlywaiters
Hotelentertainers

In Thimpu, we had a hotel with a view – of dogs. There was a construction site outside our window, and some dogs had made it their home. Here is, in short, their story with us.

We silently threw them in the sand beside them, and some faces lifted from the ground. Only the leader moved towards the food – he ate it all.
The last day we decided to give them some of our old sandwiches and waffles.
When we had finished our hotel breakfast, we went for a longer walk…
…passing by the dogs again.

There is rabies in the country, but mostly on the border to India in the southern part of Bhutan. Thousands of dogs have been vaccinated, and there are many sterilized as well. The government is dealing with it in a constructive and loving way.

Bhutan had many special dogs…but a couple of them more special than the others.

We had lunch at a farmstead one day – an interesting experience and very good food. Then, when we were about to leave, I saw a beautiful dog standing in the garden, looking at me. I lifted my camera slowly while talking to him. But no, he shied away and tried to hide around the corner. I kept talking in a soft voice.

Finally – when I had given up on a photo – he came out on the road to our car, went straight up to me and let me pat him on the head and on the back – touching his thick, shining coat. Surely you can understand from his gentle eyes how sweet he was.

Then he slowly turned around and walked away.

 

 

 

 

 

Earth Day

/ Leya / 11 kommentarer

The theme this year is to put an end to plastic pollution.

I hope we will all do our best not to use plastic. Bags, for example. Every day in media, we see turtles, birds, sharks, etc. entangled and dying. Not to talk about all the micro plastics killing lives in the ocean and in our lakes. On a trip to Morocco some years ago I was shocked to see millions of plastic bags blowing over the desert sand.

As I recently came back from Bhutan, I want you to know, they have banned plastic bags. So should we all. This is an easy starter, then it will be even easier to follow that road of sustainability. Even if you might think it difficult – just imagine what lies at the end of this winding and narrow path! And think of what awaits our planet, and us all, if we don’t follow that road. So let us Do instead of think and talk.

 

 

Saving the World – And the Contents of a Pouch

/ Leya / 14 kommentarer

Listen to this hopeful and brilliant TED talk by an intelligent and sound soul. Humor and sensibility are essential in this approach. This is Bhutan and its people in a nutshell.

My contribution is my own pouch findings in Bhutan…Tshering will show you the whole potential of his Gho.

 

The Divine Madman

/ Leya / 27 kommentarer

The Divine Madman is of great importance to the Bhutanese. On almost every house you will find his imprint – a phallus symbol – painted on the wall or hanging from the roof as a wooden giant.  The phallus symbol is important to ward off evil and to bring luck.

Chimi Lhakang is situated on a hill in this beautiful rural area – the small white building to the left close to the mountain.

This day, we had some slow raindrops contributing to the green fields.

Clouds hanging low, but not a wind.

Blessings are important – even to the fields that should feed the people.

On our way up to Lobesa and the Lhakang, we had lunch and stopped by several shops selling masks and phalluses. The red mask is worn at the dances and the phallus on top is to swing out and bless people in the audience.

On reaching the temple, the rain had stopped, and young men and women were spinning the prayer wheels while circumambulating. Both men and women come to Chimi Lhakhang, and not only for fertility wishes. Often, when their child is born, they come back here to give him or her a name. Inside the temple there are bamboo sticks with names on them, if you prefer to let chance decide.

Equality is essential in Bhutan, and often it is the woman who inherits her parents. Marriage is no longer a business matter – people marry out of love.  It is also no big deal with a divorce – should the couple not be happy in their marriage. And, I think I said it before – I have never seen so many men taking good care of and playing openly with their children.

 

Thursday Thoughts – 108 Chortens and A Himalayan Panorama

/ Leya / 41 kommentarer

Between Paro and the Capital of Bhutan, Thimpu, the road takes you over the Dochula Pass (3140 m) with its 108 chortens. A chorten is a kind of stupa, often built at crossroads and passes to ward off evil. And all chortens contain religious relics.

The Druk Wangyal Khang Zhang Chortens are red-band or khangzang chortens, built in a central hillock at the pass, under the patronage of the Queen Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuk. In local language they are called ”chortens of victory”, because they were built as a memorial in honour of the Bhutanese soldiers who were killed in the December 2003 battle against Assamese insurgents from India. It also marks the victory of King Jigme Singye Wangchuck who dislodged the rebels from their camps in Bhutanese territory.

This is a peaceful place for slow walks – contemplating life, feeling the fresh air and nature’s beauty.

Circumambulating clockwise.

When the sun comes shining through – my heart shines too.

The rhododendrons and magnolias touch the sky.

After the completion of the chortens, the temple known as the Druk Wangyel Lhakhang was built in June 2008 – as a memorial to celebrate 100 years of monarchy in Bhutan.

From the Dochula Pass you will, on a clear day, have a panoramic view of the Himalayan  range. The best time is in October/November, but we were still quite lucky this day.

On the far right you will find the highest unclimbed mountain in the world, Gangkar Puensum, 7564 meters. It is also the highest mountain in Bhutan.

Since 1994, climbing of mountains in Bhutan higher than 6,000 meters has been prohibited out of respect for local spiritual beliefs, and since 2003 mountaineering has been completely forbidden.

But somewhere, far away behind the treetops, these enigmatic giants are waiting…

 

WPC: Prolific

/ Leya / 24 kommentarer

Krista, at WordPress, asks us to show what we think about when hearing the word ”prolific” My first thought went to the prolific Spanish sunflower fields – they made me happy just looking at them. They still do.

 

Walking Home – Slow Contemplation

/ Leya / 15 kommentarer

After Paro Tsechu, we decided to walk home to our hotel, Nak-Sel, in the lovely evening light. Some kilometers that would take about an hour on the narrow, dusty road.

 

A walk well worth the effort in the thin air – giving us the chance to take in the beautiful countryside and to talk to some of its harmonious inhabitants.

The Bhutanese houses are built to dry the hay on the open upper floor. Even if you don’t have any hay, you build this way – many washed clothes were hanging in this space, and old furniture leaning on the structures.

Many are the different devices and apparatuses…
Evening shopping and dogs resting
A handsome cat posing
A dog lying in the warmth of the sunny street…Do you see a painted phallus on the wall? There will be more of that further on…
We met quite many cows in the road as well
Another dog – on the lookout for something?
This lovely old man let me take a photo of him – but then he did not want to keep the close-up… Some small boys where playing by the road, and I asked them what the old man was saying: They answered that he thought his nose was too big!

The last hours of light for hard working farmers.

The old farmsteads lay mostly quiet in the setting sun – and the first cherry blossoms  enchantingly aglow.

Always 108 flags for the dead. Everywhere on the hills, where the wind is blowing. Naturally there is a religious meaning, but according to our guide, the exact reason to just 108 is lost in history.

An overwhelmingly interesting day had come to an end. And with the stunning views of Jomolhari, 7326 meters, we reached Nak-Sel and went to enjoy a lovely dinner.