Day 8: Travels to a Himalayan Kingdom – Bhutan

Day 8
Monday October 13,  2008
Trongsa and Bumthang, Bhutan 
Bhutan Temperature:  Glorious but cool and crisp
Samden  Guest House

I got up early again after a restful sleep.  The cold air and comfortable bed was perfect for a good nights sleep.  I got up to a view of the morning sun shining on the Trongsa Dzong.  Since Caryn was still in process of getting out of bed, I went to the office to work on my diary where I ran into Margot.  We started talking to a young girl who is a guide named Jimba and found out she is good friends with Kunzang.  Apparently they are neighbors and have been best friends for quite sometime.  She told us to call Kunzang by his nickname which is chuchupela which means lucky penis! 

View of the Dzong in the morning

We met up with Caryn who still had back problems for breakfast where they served waffles at our fancy hotel!  We told Caryn of what we need to do to embarrass Kunzang and we agreed to do it in front of Chencho.  Since I do not like waffles, I just had toast with their fantastic butter and tea.  The tea is so good here!

We checked out of our hotel, and it was time for some more sightseeing. But before we took off , in the car and in front of Chencho we said “Good Morning Chuchupela!”  Kunzang and Chencho laughed and Kunzang said that we must have met Jimba and she talks too much! Our first stop was the Trongsa Dzong which was built by a disciple of Shabdrung Ngawan Namgyal. But before entering we saw a litter of puppies getting fed by their mother.  I have to say the dogs here are lucky in that they live a good life.  Perhaps not as good as Skipper and the lucky dogs in the US, but given the tough conditions the people live in this part of the country, their life is as good as it gets.

 I found out that all of the Dzongs in Bhutan were built by the Shabdrung.  Today one enters from the East Gate but traditionally one enters from another gate after a hike  and this is the only Dzong in old days that one had to pay a tariff.  When one enters the courtyard, there is a special window which is where the King stays and its special because the King can see who is entering the Dzong.  We also learned that the first King was born in this Dzong.  Its an important Dzong because the King is a descendant of the governor of Trongsa who was a very powerful man.  Both the 1st and 2nd King ruled Bhutan from the Trongsa Dzong. 

The tourist entrance to the Dzong

The window at the top is for the King

The great grandfather of Shabdrung saw a light shine on the location of the Dzong and saw a horse footprint of the Bhutan Deity so built a monastery at the current location of the Dzong and named it Trongsa which means New Village. 

When entering the place one sees the wheel of Dharma painted on each door.  Inside the monastery portion of the Dzong was amazing with the rich paintings and magnificent alters.  We also saw a magnificent stupa which seemed to be made of silver where the ashes of Ngagi Wangchuck the great-grandfather of Shabdrung Namgyal are kept. 

The Trongsa Dzong

 

The Wheel of Dharma

From the Dzong we got a great view of the Black Mountains and also the Watch Tower which is closed as it is being renovated as a museum.  Its an unusual Watch Tower in that it has three pillars.  Its also infamous because the British prisoners of war were kept there.
On the way out of the Dzong, we heard a large thrashing sound.  When the abbot of the monastery enters the building the monks make use a leather whip and lash the floors to let everyone know that the abbot of the monastery is coming.

View from the Trongsa Dzong

The WatchTower

Chicken and Tiger at Trongsa Dzong

It was then time for our roadtrip to Bumthang.  We go back on the same windy highway and its about a 2.5 hour drive.  I sit in the backseat this time and Margot is in the front seat.  On the way we will go over another pass called the Yotongla pass which is 3400 meters in altitude.   At the pass we run into Kunzang’s friend Jimpa and they have a good laugh about her telling us his nickname.  As we take off in our Toyota, Jimba yells “ Bye Bye Chuchupela!” so loud that everyone at the pass who understands what it means laughs.  At the pass we finally enter Bumthang which is probably the holiest part of  Bhutan.  We descend and then ascend into the beautiful valley and all of a sudden we have a patch of the road that is straight!  That is where we run into cyclists!  We also see beautiful deep red patches of fields and learn that they are buckwheat fields.  Cezanne would have had a blast with this part of Bhutan painting the beautiful landscape which consists or gold, red and blue (the skies).  

Dwarf Bamboo which is a yak's fav food  was growing wild by the highway to Bumthang

Man Carrying Buckwheat

During the drive, we learn a bit more about Kunzang and the training most guides get when they start.  Basically it’s a 3month course where after one passes you are on your on and start guiding.  No on the job training.   Kunzang said his first client was a French couple that wanted to go all the way to Eastern Bhutan and his hand was shaking when he carried the placard for the first time to greet them at the airport. 

We also learned about an interesting Buddhist story.  Long time ago,  a lady had a dream where the Goddess of Compassion told her that a stranger will come to her house and will try and kill her so what she needs to do is to show compassion to him and feed him and nurture him.  The next day,  a man comes to her house and she does exactly as what the Goddess of Compassion tells her to do.  The man then admits to her that he had intentions of killing her but because of her kindness he has changed his mind and also will change his ways.  He has always been a killer even in his past life and her kindness helped break that cycle so now he can continue life as a good man.  Kunzang’s point is that Buddhism is about the Wheel of Life and therefore unless a person changes on earth the cycle will continue.
Before long we made our first stop which are stores that sell hand made Yathra textile a specialty of Bhutan.  Basically, they are wool textiles with geometric patterns that are unique to Bhutan. I did not buy any as I knew professor would destroy them so instead I bought the softest scarf that was made of baby yak hair.  I’ve never owned anything made by yak hair so I’m pretty excited about what I bought. 
We then got back onto the road and our next destination was our hotel which happened to not be a hotel but a new guest house called the Samden Guest House.  Its new and is SO QUAINT!   We first had lunch and then we checked into our rooms which reminded me of a Swiss Chalet.  It was not luxurious but made up for the lack of luxury with the kindness of the people and the charm factor of the rooms. 
After another buffet lunch it was time for some sightseeing we went to 4 temples today.  Each was very special as Guru Rimpoche spent a lot of time here and so did the famous treasure hunter Pema Limpa.

Yathra Weaving

The first temple we went to is Jampa Lhakhang THE oldest temple in Bhutan.  It was built by a 7th century Tibetan monk when the Goddess of Compassion said there is a huge demon that is out there and will destroy the earth if you don’t do anything.  She said he had to build 108 temples at each of the joints.  This temple is built on one of the joints.  Another temple is built in another joint in Paro.  When we got inside the temple the first thing he points out our the 3 steps.  One step is already underground as it represents the 1st Buddha and the remaining 2 steps represent the current Buddha and future Buddha.  The altar is protected by iron rings made by Pemo Limpa.  We noticed that a lot of old people walk around the temple clockwise.  Kunzang said that the people are praying for them to be reborn at the time of the new Buddha so that they have an easier time to reach enlightenment.   We also found that they have a yearly naked festival where the monks dance butt naked to keep the demons distracted.

An elegant lady praying at Jampa

People Praying to be re-born during the time of the Future Buddha

Entrance to the Deity Shrine of Jampa:  Only local men can enter as demons many times disguise themselves as women

  

The visit to Jampa temple was very special to me

It was then time for the next stop which is known as the Kurje Lhakhang which is one of the most sacred sites in Bhutan and Guru Rimpoche meditated here and left the imprint of his body on a rock.  There are 3 temples, the original, the second temple which was built by the 1st king and the 3rd temple built by the Queen Mother.  The first temple was the most interesting as legend has it that the Guru Rimpoche battled a demon in a stone and it was a tough battle but finally was able to win when the demon came out of the stone as a snow leopard and Guru Rimpoche turned into one of his manifestations  the Garuda and subdued the demon.  One can still see the scratches from the snow leopard and the cypress tree behind the temple grew from Guru Rimpoche’s cane which he planted after subduing the demon.  On the grounds is a huge chorten which contains the 1st Kings ashes.   We also learned that the royal family is cremated in these holy grounds.  Also while walking around we saw a cute cat.  The cats here are very exotic looking at do not look like the strays we find in the States or in Japan.  They too have a life that is as good as it gets in this devoutly Buddhist country. 
The highlight of the  though was seeing the cave where Guru Rimpoche meditated and saw the imprint of his head!  The altar was decorated with the most beautiful offerings made of butter – tormas.

Entrance to Kurje Lhakhang

The original temple with the snow leopard claws and the Cypress Tree that grew from Guru Rimpoche's cane

The Chorten with the 1st King's Ashes

Then it was time for the third temple, the Tanshing which again was a very special temple where we got a blessing from the monk.  He showed us a very special altar of Guru Rimpoche where there were crocodiles behind the altar that cried blood during the Chinese invasion of Tibet.  We saw the blood stains that still exists!  The statue of Guru Rimpoche was made by a Darkani which is a fairy but before she finished she flew away and Guru Rimpoche looked up.  It was finished by Pema Limpa and thus the Guru Rimpoche is slightly looking up.  Next to the Guru is a small statue of Pema Limpa who has the same hat that Guru Rimpoche has.  We also saw a key to one of  Guru Rimpoche’s treasure which Pema Limpa found  It basically is a stone.  The next treasure hunter will use the stone to find the treasure. 
One cool thing I did is wear a cape Pema Limpa made of chains that weighs 25 kg and walked around the temple.  I only walked around once as I was holding it with my hands instead of having it hang over my shoulders.  Caryn walked around 3 times which is supposed to absolve you of all sins while we all wonder how her back is going to hold up as its been hurting throughout the trip.  Afterwards,  we  went upstairs where the pillars were built to Pema Limpa’s height.  He was a small man of only 5ft or so.  

We had to walk for about 30 minutes to get to Tanshing.  It was a glorious walk.  Here are some scenes from the walk:

Working Horses on a Break

The Bridge to Tanshing.  Jackson and BB would have loved it as it was an Indiana Jones Bridge!

The view of Kurje Lhakhang from the other side of the river.  It is surrounded by 108 chortens.

After being in awe with the surroundings, we finally made it to Tanshing

Tanshing Temple

We thought our day was over when Kunzang took us to a “bonus” temple.  He did not have the permit  but was able to get us in  It turned out to be another special temple as they were preparing for a celebration of the opening of the new monastery.  We were greeted by a young monk who offered us a sip of ara – their rice wine- and a taste of buckwheat flour.  We then went inside the temple where we saw a stone of about 2 feet high and 1ft in diameter that was the seal of Guru Rimpoche and inside  the temple we saw a bell that has been given to Guru Rimpoche by the lake diety.  It is said that if one rings the bell, people far away as far as Tibet can hear the bell.  The Tibetans tried to steal the bell and in the tussle the bell broke.  Thus was is in display is the broken bell.  We got a blessing at that temple also and I was able to get a picture with the caretaker.  The caretaker also told us that at night one can hear the waves of the lake while walking the courtyard.  The name of the temple is Kenchosum.

An ancient marker of the city

The entrance to the Temple:  Kunzang talking to the caretaker

 Burning incense to get ready for the festival

Guru Rimpoche's "hanko" which is Japanese or official stamp

The very kind caretaker and Kunzang

We then drove into the “city” which was pretty run down but I could see it start to grow.  I bought some CDs so I can copy some music for Chencho and Kunzang to enjoy.  They only had 2 CDs so I just got the two they had.  We then headed back to our guest house in the chilly , crisp air and had dinner.  Surprisingly we had a very good pasta dish flavored only with butter, salt and mushrooms.  But because the butter is so good here it was delicious.  Oh, I forgot, we also went to a local store where I bought some apple juice.  There is a Swiss gentleman who settled in Bhutan and introduced Jersey cows, swiss cheese, apple cider and apple wine!  The store we went to is also a bar so we took a picture of it as it more or less looked like someone’s family room.

The "Bar" in Bumthang.  In the next room they were selling the best apple juice I've ever had and Swiss Cheese and Apple Schnapps!

Downtown Jakar, Bumthang

During dinner I ran into 7 Japanese woman touring Bhutan.  I brought some origami  to give as gifts as was practicing making a crane.  I was struggling so one of the Japanese ladies helped me.  They were all from the Tokyo area and I thought it was pretty cool of them to travel together to Bhutan.  There is a sole guy traveling with them and I believe he is the travel guide.  Anyhow, they were shocked to hear me speak Japanese and we will probably run into them at the festival we are going to tomorrow.
I have to say our  guest house is fantastic.  Its new and there is abundant hot water.  My expectations have exceeded when it comes to hotel.  However, we shall see what happens when we venture East which so far no tourist we spoke with is going that far.