Paro and Thimpu, Bhutan
Trip Start
Feb 01, 2009
1
16
28
Trip End
May 08, 2009
Paro, Bhutan
Monday, March 16, 2009
In order to travel through Bhutan, all tourists must pay in advance a fee of US$200 per person per day (which pretty much covers everything in your trip) and you must have a guide throughout your trip. So, we were greeted by 'T', our 28 year old guide at the airport. 'T' (short for Tshering), we soon found out, was quite the man about town. His job as a Bhutanese tour guide was only part time, as he is quite the movie star in Bhutan, having appeared in several local films and co-hosted the final of Bhutan Idol! It felt slightly odd having a Bhutanese celebrity heartthrob insiting that he carry your bags to the car and opening the door for you in restaurants!
The first few days were jam-packed with activities and many monastaries and forts were visited, with T explaining the history behind them all (It soon became apparent that T was quite the Triple Threat as he could also sing to complement his acting and guiding!). It was quite strange to visit sites of historical interest and have absolutely no other people at them - things like this just don't happen in India. We felt our stress levels of the previous few days of transit dissipating with each cup of tea. That afternoon we visited one of the oldest temples in Bhutan (Kyichu Lhakhang) and sat in a darkened room full of meditators chanting passages from the Bhuddist manuscripts. It was an amazing experience.
Within 15 hours of arrival, Jeremy became violently ill and spent the night close to the bathroom. Wiz, not wanting to waste our short time in Bhutan, explored the villages around Paro with T while Jeremy was curled up in the feotal position. By mid afternoon on the second day, however, he was well enough to take the 45 minute drive to Thimpu, the capital of Bhutan. There are very few main roads in Bhutan - 2 in fact - and the newly completed 2 lane highway was both a source of pride for the Bhutanese and a relief from the bumpiness of the narrower, bumpier roads for Jeremy. By that afternoon, with the sun setting behind the mountains, we realised that our decision back in Kochi to send home some of our warmer gear was, perhaps, slightly over-enthusiastic. It got cold. About 2 degrees cold.
The following day, we hiked up to the Tango monastery out of town where it began to hail, which was quite beautiful as it was soft and looked like snow. The monastery, perched on top of a cliff (which seems to be the place to put monasteries), was home to 100 or so monks and we watched a philosophy lesson take place where one of the senior monks was explaining the intricacies of Bhuddism to the student monks. One monk, we found out, was the reincarnation of the 4th Daise and, apparently, once he has mastered these teachings, he will actually teach these back to those who taught him. Another monk we heard about, who was also a reincarnation of an important Bhuddist figure, was currently in India finishing his studies and when he is done, he will begin preaching to the Dalai Lama. He's 14.
Bhuddism permeates every aspect of Bhutanese life and so many of the places we visited, or stories we were told, revolved around these monasteries and their teachings. Quite a change coming from a predominantly secular culture. The brightly coloured paintings inside each monastery are amazing and never ceased to impress us.
