Hello from Bhutan, by Craig

After 6 days here we have finally found an internet cafe. That's one of the things that makes this country so wonderful. One of the MANY things. Bhutan is the most incredible country I've been to yet. It's not exactly like you're going back in time, this is still a fairly modern place. But they have struck a balance between the old and the new that works just right.

The flight into Paro, Bhutan (the only valley in the whole country that is wide enough for an airport) was an experience I will never forget. After leaving Dakka, Bangladesh, you head north then turn east. Suddenly, the Himalaya range is right out the window. The pilot pointed out Everest, which was very obvious, it being the highest peak out there. Soon, we were coming down and flying right down a valley. Little Bhutanese houses were right outside the window, it seemed like you could almost touch them. Swinging right, then left, then right again, we were flying low and fast through valleys. I think I held my breath the whole way. We landed and put on the brakes and stopped quite quickly! We were in Bhutan!

After immigration we were met by out wonderful guide, Twongsa Dorje and our driver, Rajim. We drove to the capital of Bhutan, Thimpu. On the way we walked to a small monastary and met one of the monks.

On our way into Thimpu we stopped at an archery field. Here, several very good archers were having a match. Archery is the national sport here and it is hard to believe how good these guys are. Get this: the archery field is 140 meters long. The target is about 1 x 2 FEET!!! Almost everytime these guys shoot, they hit the target. Two teams were playing with about 10 on each team and the players on the target end would all stand about 5 feet away from the target. Talk about trust in your shooters that they won't be far off the mark. When they hit the target, then there team mates do a little dance of celebration. When they miss, the opposing players do a taunting dance saying something negative about the opponents sexual prowess, or lack there of. It's all quite hilarious and fun. Some of the men tried to explain the rules, but it is very complicated.

After lunch of some local delicacies, including the national dish of Ema Datzi (chillies cooked in a cheese sauce), we headed over to the Thimpu Dzong (fortress/monastary) for the big festival. We were quite lucky to arrive on the last day of the biggest festival of the year. There were thousands of local people all dressed up in their finest clothes and having a grand old time. Very few tourists were in evidence, so I got some great crowd pictures, including many of children who just love to have their photos taken. Then when you show them the photo you just took they just laugh! We saw 4 or 5 dances, all with religious implications. The costumes of the dancers were quite beautiful and the dances each lasted about 1/2 hour or so.

That evening we stayed at the Druk Hotel, right on the square. I forgot one of my rules of travel...never have a room on the town square. Well, this night it was especially true as they were having a dance contest with very loud recorded music. Luckily, we were so tired after our long journey, that we slept pretty well.

The next day was a 200 kilomter journey to the town of Trongsa. Now, 200 k in America goes by pretty fast. Here in Bhutan, it takes about 10 hours. Imagine a country that is not flat anywere and a road that, per kilometer, has an average of 17 curves and is only about 1 1/2 lanes wide. Two cars barely can pass each other and when you meet a big truck or a bus you just close your eyes and pray. But it is so beautiful that you just don't care! The views our the car window were amazing and when we got to the first big pass, at about 10,000 feet, you could see a great view of the high Himalaya, many miles away. The passes were all have chortens (small religious buildings) and millions of prayer flags. The first big pass had 108 chortens, which is some kind of very auspicious number. Often you have 108 chortens or 108 prayer flags at an important spot. We reached out destination, Trongsa, well after dark. It was great to be out of the car.

The next morning we woke up to an amazing view of a deep valley below us and above us some huge mountains with glaciers. Also below, was the Trongsa Dzong. This was one of the most important Dzongs in Bhutan and was a place you had to pass through if going across the country. We visited the Dzong, which is also a school for monks. So there were may teenage monk students running around, looking out windows, praying and chanting here and there. Great spot for photos. We visited the temple, where you have to take off your shoes and photos are forbidden. But we saw many of the religious objects, which are usually statues of Buddha, Guru Rimpoche, or some other religious figures. A monk also gave us some holy water, where he pours it in your right hand and then you take a sip and pour the rest over your head.

From here, we headed over another pass (11,000 feet) and down into Bumthang Valley. Here, the valleys are much wider and the road is almost straight! It's a very fertile valley where their main crops are millet and potatoes. We checked into our hotel and had a lunch of some local delicacies including some of the best lamb I've ever had. From there,we visited some very old monastaries, one of which was from the 6th century! Dorje took us on a short hike where we were quite lucky to come upon a group of about 10 school girls, ages 6 to 12. We got to talking with them and one of them asked us to sing a song. So we sang Hanalei Moon and Amy danced a hula...could be the first time hula has ever been performed in Bumthang Valley. Well, taking this cue, all of a sudden the girls got together and started dancing and singing some of their traditional songs! I was taking movies the whole time and the girlst just loved to come behind me to see what was going on with the camera. I think they did about 6 songs and then asked us to do another, so we did Beautiful Kauai. What a treat! The girls were having so much fun and so were we.

That night we had a real H Bhutanese treat...a hot stone bath. You have a private room with two long wooden baths, like a Japanese Ufuro. Then you have these little switches above the bath to let the stone heaters know if you need more hot stones put in the water. When you turn the switch on, soon you here the rumbling of stones being put in the water (on the other side of the wall) and you hear the hissing of the water boiling. Soon you feel the hot water coming into your tub. It is quite a treat!

The next morning we went to the big local festival at a monastary, called the Thangbi Mani. From what I had heard, we would be one of very few tourists there. Well, unfortunately, tourists outnumberd locals about 2 to 1! It seems that this is the high season in Bhutan and there are lots of tourists here. There are about 20,000 tourists a year in Bhutuan and it seems that most are here now. But the festival was great. Mostly dancing and lots of music. At first, these two clowns come out and hassle the tourist with a wooden phallis. It is important to note here the here in Bhutan you see lots of phallis symbols...painted on the sides of houses, hanging from there eaves, in the handicraft shops, everywhere. It has to do with a lama long ago that apparently spread he seed all over the place. Anyway, these clowns would come up to you with the donation box and if you didn't give anything would poke and prod you with their wooden penis. After awhile, most tourist gave some money. It was quite hot and the ground was very hard to sit on, so we stayed for about three hours.

The next morning we drove three hours, mostly on dirt roads, to Ogyen Choling, which is an old palace and village above the Tang Valley. Once you get to the end of the road you have to hike about an hour up to the palace, which has a small guest house with 6 rooms. After a lunch of potatoes and Ema Datzi (the Bhutanese dish of chillies and cheese) we went on an hour hike above town. On our way out of town, a nice lady stopped us and asked if we would like to visit her house. We sat in the meditation room, filled with photos of Buddha and the King of Bhutan. She served us Araa, the Bhutanese wheat wine. Here, if you take one, you have to take two cups. And this is pretty strong stuff. Poor Dorje, who doesn't drink, also had two cups.

This morning we woke up to a beautiful view of the Tang Valley shrouded in fog. Spent most of the morning walking around the village and even bought a scarf from a local lady. For about an hour, we just hung out in this village and watched how they live. It was like being transported back in time 500 years! Everyone seems to be a cattle herder, as there were cows being herded here and there throught town. By the way, the village consists of maybe 20 homes and all of them are pretty nice.