Day 10
Wednesday October 15, 2008
Bumthang and Mongar Bhutan
Bhutan Temperature: Glorious but cool and crisp in Bumthang, LA like weather in Mongar
Wangchuck Resort Hotel
I got up early again 4am or so to sound of the Japanese ladies getting ready for their long drive back to Thimphu. But it was fun listening to the Japanese ladies putter around getting ready for the 5am sharp bus ride.
After a breakfast of buckwheat pancakes made Bhutanese style(which was OK with butter and honey but would have been much better traditional style with chile cheese sauce) and red rice porridge which I requested and got chile sauce to spice it up. Margot mixed cheese and chile sauce so made a Bhutanese style risotto.
Then it was time for our long road trip to Mongar. The hotel packed us a lunch as there is no where to eat on the way. Caryn sat in the front row, me in the second row next to Kunzang and Margot in the back row. Since we will be coming back to the guest house we did not say our goodbyes but instead our “see you laters”. Off we were to our longest ride in Bhutan.
Kunzang told us some interesting stories on the way to keep the ride interesting. The first story was about the caretaker in Gangtey that stole one of the most important statues in Bhutan. He told us this story when we started talking about what the Chinese government is doing to the Tibetans. He told us those people who are terrorizing and murdering the Tibetans because of their religious beliefs will be going to a “black hell”. He then said that in Bhutan there have been thieves that tried to steal relics from stupas and developed leprosy – this is a sign of the black hell. Then in 2001, a caretaker stole the sacred but small statue from the Gangtey temple. Because the statue was so sacred that despite setting up deals to sell the statue to a black market dealer for one reason or the other could not meet him. While continuing to try and sell the sacred statue, he was caught. The fourth king was very angry at him and has locked in prison for the rest of his life. Kunzang said he will go to the “black hell” which is the worst type of hell and is the most difficult to get out of.
He then proceeded to tell us there are 16 hells in Buddhism and depending on the hell, the difficulty of getting out it changes. There is even a special hell if one tortures him or herself. He gave us an example which is when one feels sad and hurt when one’s feeling for another person is not reciprocated. This is considered torturing yourself.
We also talked about death because I told him how Japanese people can easily move on with regards to death but some have problems at work because of they could not perform to others expectations. He said in Tantric Buddhism in death one has to be strong because we need to let them go so that they can go to the next realm and we need to hope that we can meet at the next realm. When one dies, he sees the Lord of Death who is the judge and depending on the sins he is sent either to a good world or to one of the 16 hells. There is also a Mirror of Truth, so that lies cannot be told when getting judged.
He also said that Guru Rimpoche predicted that Tibet will be destroyed under a very dark cloud. Interesting…
Everytime I listen to Kunzang I realize how deep their belief is in Tantric Buddhism which is why they all seem to be very pure and the most earnest people I have ever met.
We then made a quick bathroom break stop at LeLala pass which was a 3300 meters. Our bathroom break was behind some bushes surrounded by a ground covering with these cute red berries. Margot wanted to try one but we convinced her not too as they might be poisonous!
Dwarf Bamboo everywhere in this part of Bhutan!
The "highway" to Mongar
The two guys did their bathroom break somewhere far away and then it was time to continue our drive. The first portion of our drive was all uphill and on this portion (hour 2) we will be driving downward to the Ura valley which was just beautiful. I kept on repeating myself by telling Kunzang that this is a painters paradise. Actually I’m inspired now to paint.
Ura Valley
We had a great picnic in a small town about an hours drive from Ura valley in Sengor. Our picnic lunch totally exceeded our expectations where we had rice, chile cheese, spinach and French fried potatoes! I noticed that both Chencho and Kunzong waited for us to take our portions first and they took very little. They are VERY conscientious. Anyhow, they finally got a healthier portion and we still had leftovers. The crows were waiting for the leftovers but they only got a little because we saw two girls herding cows staring at us. Chencho called to them to come over but they were very shy. Margot took the initiative and brought them some apples which helped them overcome their shyness and they came over. The elder girl was 15 and the tiny girl was 3 and was her sisters child. They were very very cute and sweet. Chencho and Kunzang game them our leftovers which the eldest girl ate enthusiastically with her hands. I asked the 3 year old if I can carry her and got a very firm NO! I was amazed that the people of this tiny tiny village that just got electricity a few months ago has a school and they all speak English!
The sisters from Sengor
Our First Picnic!
It was then time to continue our long drive. This time Kunzang told us how they do prostrations. The hands have to be in prayer position. I find it interesting that in very religion the hands have to be in prayer position. First he has to put his hands to his head to wash away his sins from the mind. Secondly, he puts his hands to his mouth to wash away his sins from speech. Thirdly, he puts his hads to his heart to wash away his sins caused by the body. And then he has to sit Japanese style and bow down and let all the sins wash away into the earth and through the mouth of the Lord of the Death.
We then reached our next photo spot and break for Chencho which is the Thrumshing La pass at 3750 meters! I definitely felt the altitude! But OMG! What a view!! It was chilly but the mountains were glorious!
Thrumshing La and Chencho!
We then continued our drive to the next break area which is where the very very scary part of the drive starts. The is very windy and drops like 2000 meters in about 20 kilometers it seems. Over 250 Indians died making this road as they fell from the cliff. There are some cement blocks but not many and it’s a single lane road with a sheer drop. VERY SCARY! We did some stops on the way to take photos of some of the small but most beautiful waterfalls I’ve ever seen. Then before you knew it were in a valley where we crossed a bridge and did another stop so that Chencho can show the paperwork. I walked through a small pasture where I saw the most beautiful red dragon flies. They were tiny but very beautiful. From the rest stop it was another hour to Mongar.
The scary part of the road. I could not bring myself to look down the cliff!
One of the many waterfalls we saw
The red dragonfly
The Mongar Immigration Checkpoint, you can see the road we took to the right
Once we got to Mongar, Kunzang said we got to town early. Well, there was a reason for it Our hotel reservations were screwed up. Kunzang was as perturbed as we ever saw him but very calm if you go by how Western standards. The hotel we originally were supposed to be in is the best but honestly they were expecting a group of about 20 people which would not have been a fun dining experience I believe especially since it was chaos in the lobby. No shouting etc though which was interesting. So Kunzang says we can’t stay at the hotel but we have two choices. We walk to the first one which is a converted apartment. Its OK and very clean. The next one is the Wangchuck Resort with a view. The rooms again were OK but it had a great courtyard and great view. It looked fancy but the toilet stinked and was not cleaned properly. We however, decided to stay at the hotel for the view so I called the cleaning lady and taught her how to clean the bathroom. She was very apologetic as they were overwhelmed by the number of visitors!
We decided to enjoy the view and had some drinks by the balcony until dinner time which is when we were meeting up with Kenzong and Chencho for another slide show of the photos. They fortunately were able to get a room in the hotel to our relief as we were worried what would happen to them. We also shared wine with Kunzang (Chencho had a taste) but shared the beer. While doing the slide show Caryn was getting very tired and sleepy so as soon as the dinner arrived, she got some dinner which really did not satisfy her but ate nonetheless and then went straight to bed. Margot and I continued eating and were joined by Kenzang. We told him we were disappointed as there was no chile cheese! So Kenzong brings us a small dish of the chile cheese which was served to the guides! I finish my plate and decide to get some more rice to enjoy the chile cheese. I take a big scoop of what I’m thinking are potatoes, chile , onions in the cheese sauce until I see a black strip on the potatoes. So now I’m thinking the potatoes are fish to which Ms. Margot says its pork and its VERY tender. So the potatoes are actually pork fat. Since I have Kunzang staring at me to eat the food, I eat a healthy portion of the pork fat with chile cheese sauce which actually tasted like bacon so was OK, but do not like the texture of the fat. Anyhow, the sauce was very spicy so my mouth was burning too. The sauce was very good though! Kunzang then joined his friends and Margot and I chatted while finishing the wine and then called it a nite!
Dusk in Mongar: View from our hotel