Day 16
Tuesday October 21, 2008
Back to Thimphu, Bhutan
Bhutan Temperature: Glorious with clear skies
Hotel: Hotel Druk
I woke up early again in Gangtey to the cold crisp air and the silence outside. I was the first one up in the hotel and there was complete silence. The valley was covered in mist and was mesmerizing. I am going to miss the silence.
As it was chilly outside, I went to the dining hall to find no one and the chairs all on top of the table. It was just past 6am so I guess they were having a late start. The wood burning stove was not lit either! However, after a few minutes, one of the handsome hotel staff showed up, completely surprised to see me and quickly lit the stove. Shortly after he lit the stove, one of the ladies came by to bring me tea. Margot was again up early too!
I was thinking about the second graders I met and would really like to pursue a cultural exchange program with Jackson’s school. I’ll have to work on that when I get back to the States.
Today we leave at 8am as we have a long drive back to Thimphu. We are not planning on stopping anywhere except for lunch as we have done all of the sightseeing. However, on the way, Kunzang suggested we stop at Wangdi town as we have not walked around the town. It was a good stop as we had to go to the bathrooms. The town was run down and small but there was a small vegetable and fruit market going on so I checked it out. I found a lady selling Szechuan peppercorns in a small bag for 20 NG! Kunzang confirmed what it was so I took a chance and bought it. I can’t wait to make my Ma-Bo Tofu and try it. The Szechuan peppercorns are not available in the US and are super expensive in Japan!
The Wangdi Dzong
My First Sighting of River Weed
We then had lunch at Dochula pass but this time the mountains were covered with clouds. However, there was a telescope installed at the pass so Kunzang finds the Gasa Dzong and points it out to me. It seems to be deep into the mountains and Kunzang says that there is no road to the Dzong. The only way to reach it is via a 2-3 day walk!
Kunzang did not tell many stories today and I spent the long drive mostly reflecting what I’ve experienced these past 3 weeks. I am in love with Bhutan despite its hardships. It truly is a special place.
Kunzang though did tell us about Chencho getting bitten on the ear by something in the middle of the night and he really believes it was a rat! I saw it and it did look like a bite mark. Apparently it bled also. Chencho though was cool as a cat! He also displayed how strong his teeth are by using his teeth as a can opener to open Caryn’s apple juice!
I did learn from Kunzang on the drive that there are prisons in Bhutan and he pointed out the Wangdi prison which is on the river surrounded by fence and cacti! He said the most severe crime is murder which happens when there is a lot of drinking that turns into fights and someone gets killed. According to Kunzang there is no premeditated murder in Bhutan. However, alcohol consumption is a problem and the government is trying to fix it in many ways including raising the tax on alcohol but that has not stopped the problem.
View of the valley by Wangdi
I also learnt more about Shabdrung Namgyel. He had 3 signs that led him to go to Bhutan. He had a dream about rice paddies, 2 ravens and a lama. Its this dream that lead him to Bhutan. When he left he took relics from Tibet and thus there have been many wars with Tibet.
Before you knew it we were in Thimphu which this time definitely felt like a city. We stopped at the Paper Factory and saw beautiful Bhutanese paper. I bought a letter set but I bought it mostly for the folder so I can file key brochures , letters, etc that I got from Bhutan. Unfortunately people were on a lunch break so we could not see them make paper but the visit was definitely worth it to see the unique and beautiful paper.
We then headed to our hotel the Druk which we arrived early 130pm! And had the rest of the day to ourselves. I did the bills and got my suitcase organized at the hotel. After checking email etc, I decided to venture out and go look for my tea. Fortunately, I was able to find it! I also bought the book I left on the plane “The Circle of Karma”. I’m down to about 10 USD as I don’t want any NG left so hopefully that’s enough for the rest of the trip!
I noticed that police is everywhere! Kunzang said that the police are getting ready for the inauguration of the 5th King on Nov. 7 so they are starting now in making the city safe. I also noticed police guarding the beauty salon in our hotel. It seems a VIP is getting her hair done and the salon in our hotel is the top salon in Bhutan!
For dinner we met up with Lemo at her restaurant and our favorite – Jampa. I am so fortunate to have met her. I always admire women who go off on their own to set up a business and for Lemo to do it in Bhutan and establish herself through word of mouth is incredible. She went overboard in treating us to a fabulous dinner of vegetarian curries, fabulous eze and of course chile cheese. She even had the chef make us a very special Naan that was stuffed with raisins and walnuts. I learned that she is from the Trongsa region and her grandfather was a governor. Her mother was from Punakha and met her father when she traveled by horse to deliver Punakha’s tax which was rice to Trongsa. (Barter was the means of exchanging goods in Bhutan until the 60s!) Her father was the tax collector and that’s how they met! She gave us posters and copies of her brother’s thesis from Narupa college and the letter from the chief abbot of Bhutan on vegetarianism. I believe we will always be friends and although I thought I would not be back to Bhutan and am seriously thinking of returning in a couple of years as I’m very sad that the vacation is almost over. However, I do miss Skipper and have Yuki to take care of.
A construction sight in Thimphu. They use bamboo to hold the structure – it is something they learned from the Indians
View of Thimphu from the window of our room in the Druk