Takin Preserve-- Bhutan's National Animal

Today we hiked up to the Takin preserve located in Thimphu.  Takins are unique looking animals and according to the park sign are the largest of the goat species.  I'd say they look more like a buffalo.  Some years ago the king decided zoos were not in alignment with Bhutan's environmental and religious principles.  All animals in captivity were released into the wild.  The takins were so tame they were found wandering the streets of Thimphu looking for food.  The only solution was to put them back into captivity.

We visited the preserve only to see the takins.
Oh, but they're selling scarves!  Guess we'll buy some!

Other Trongsa and Bumtang Sites

Trongsa Dzong

 Wheel of Life- A favorite Buddhist scene of mine

To briefly explain:

                     
         

      Shoot arrows thru here to protect Dzong

  

The Burning Lake

More of a creek with a widened area…  Mona, Wangchuck and I drove up to a path and walked for about 10 minutes to reach the lake.  There were so many prayer flags, you could barely see anything.  Story goes that a man named Pema Langley declared if he was a genuine revealer of treasures, he would jump into the lake with a burning lamp and  would emerge with the lamp still burning.  Not only did his prediction hold, but he also came out with a statue and a treasure chest.

Jakar Dzong

Amidst Chokhor Valley

Look who we bumped into inside dzong:

We then coincidently stayed at the same guest house and ate dinner at the same place.  When Mona and I walked into the restaurant, the youngest said "Why do these people keep following us?"

Kurjey Lhakhang

Tamshing Goemba

Built 1501

If you can see the paintings, they are thought to be the original.

Pema Lingpa's chain mail, weighs 25kg.  You wear it and run around the inner sanctuary three times as an auspicious act?

The heater at Phuntsho Guest House.  We had to burn wood to heat up the room.  We threw a log in at about 10pm.  Mona woke up at 1am to throw another in but the fire was already out.  We learned different types of logs burn longer than others.  It was a cold morning!

Yearly festival at Chumey

Traditional Ladies Dance:

Masked Dance:

Phobjikha Valley

Home of the Black Necked Crane

We didn't see any of these birds as they only reside in this valley between October and March, but we did watch a video in the nature center.  Should count for something!  When not in Bhutan, the cranes live in Tibet-- yes they fly over the Himalayas twice a year!  The cranes takeoff is rather elaborate and requires so much space the government does not allow any above ground wiring in the valley or surrounding areas.  The birds circle one of the temples before leaving for Tibet every year.  Cute.  It just so happens when the large number of cranes visit these valleys, which are snow bound, the village community migrate to warmer regions, therefore avoiding human conflict with the cranes' habitat.  The birds feed in the marshy lands that are ploughed before winter providing insects and plant material and seeds. Llivestock also helps by grazing on grass which in turn helps in bamboo regeneration on which the cranes feed.  What a perfect ecosystem!

Nature Center:

See the cranes in the painting?  The Bhutanese really love these birds.  There are many songs, dances and a yearly festival to honor them.

Wangchuck grew up near this valley.  He took us to his house where his parents served us lunch!

Hike from Pelseling Goemba

After Mona and I ate breakfast, we decided to join our Thimphu upstair neighbors, the Mortons, and hike down from the Pelseling Goemba (11,400 feet) back to our guest house.  The simple plan was to have our drivers drop us off at the top.  The ride up became much more difficult than expected.  It had been raining and the cars struggled to get up the rocky mountain road.  At one point we all got out and decided to start our hike down.  Mona stayed back in the car for what we thought was the easiest option.  Turns out driving down was harder than driving up! 

On the walk, we came across cattle and sheep.  I guess these animals needed to go from point A to point B?  

See the two people in the back?  They are the ones directing the animals.  The man wearing what you think is a poncho but actually just a piece of plastic is my Dad but of a different nationality.  We weren't sure where we were and this man only speaks Dzongza.  He was all smiles and kept explaining something with a stick and some rocks.  Just kept pointing to the rocks and making lines with his sticks smiling and repeating.   Meanwhile the animals were all over the place.  He kinda looked like dad, too.

Ngaire, me, Oliver, Elise, Bronte

Photographed by Tom the dad

These kids are awesome.  The baby is four and they hike all over.
   Plus, look how cute they are!

Meanwhile, Mona's way down.  Much more treacherous, steep, and slippery than it looks.  It was almost faster to walk down the trail than drive.

'Highway' to Bumtang

This weekend we went to Bumtang for some sight-seeing.  Bumtang is a fertile valley located in central Bhutan.  Jakar is the main town in the Bumtang valley and our final destination.  Thimphu to Jakar is about a 10 hour drive though only 264 miles.  As the guidebook says "Short distance but long journey."  Here are some maps that only Dad and Uncle Pete will look at:

Driving thru the Himalayas is quite the experience.  This 'highway' is actually a narrow road full of big diesel trucks, tight turns, steep drop-offs, rock-slides, huge pot-holes, and areas with no pavement.  You have to go up and around the mountain to get to the bridge at the bottom to cross the river to get to the other mountain to do it all over again.  As I was getting car sick, I designed big bridges and tunnels to spare all this agony-- but there is no such thing, Bhutan just goes with it!  As we go whipping around the bends, we see people casually walking, all sorts of animals, and once we saw someone's furniture on the road.  Mind you there is no shoulder and often there is only room for one car.  Here are some highlights:

Lunch.  Notice the detail.  See the green 'wallpaper' on the back wall?  Oh no, it's all hand painted!

Lunch included a spread of red rice (common in Bhutan), Fiddlehead (the green stuff, a type of fern), fried pumpkin, mixed vegetables (lots of cauliflower), and of course milky tea.

For the record, Mona and I ate 3X this portion

Chorten on side of road

A lady crushing stone into pebbles.  The pebbles are then used to fill the road potholes.

Rhododendrons.  Bhutan has over 700 species of rhododendrons ranging in colors from pink, red, white and yellow.  They are in full bloom now and can be seen at elevations from 4000-15,000 feet!  Mona especially loves them and has quite the photo/video collection.  Family, note your postcard stamp!  Some rhododendrons are bushes but others are moderate size trees.  As we near a mountain pass, the rhododendrons are abundant.  Hot pink flowers all over the Himalayas- lovely!

Our rear view mirror

Guess what is sticking out there

We stayed in Trongsa for the night.  Here is the view from our hotel room:

Trongsa Dzong:

@7000 feet

Not bad! The Trongsa Dzong and our hotel sit atop a gorge with the Black Mountains in the distance.  The views are spectacular and probably my favorite spot so far.  The mountains are huge with sheer drop offs.  Thick forests to the tops of the peaks.  Those low lying clouds.  If you look closely, there is a rice plantation on the side of the mountain.  You can hear the sound of the river below you.

Just in case you're interested about tree lines, I think I'm figuring it out.  Write to me if you think what I'm blogging is a bit off!  Mona and I drive over all sorts of passes having no idea what the elevation is.  When we look out the window, there are many mountains higher than the road.  I have yet to see a bald mountain.  The trees are thick and cover the mountains all the way to the top.  Apparently the tree-line in Bhutan is almost 15,000 feet (we're close to the equator).  Frame of reference, in the Rockies--the highest tree line is at 11,000 feet, East coast ~ 4000 feet. Highest tree-line in the world is in Bolivia at 17,000 feet.  Also the snow line is at 18,000 feet here- Mona and I haven't seen a snow capped mountain top!

Really big mountains but the pictures don't do them justice!

This picture looks like PA, but believe me these mountains are HUGE!

I actually got very car sick which turned into a migraine.  I left my medicine back in Thimphu and thought I was never going to recover.  Before dinner, Mona went up to a bunch of Americans and was able to find someone with Excedrin.  As we were sitting for dinner, the smell of the candle was making me nauseous.  I decided to go back to my room without eating.  Two hours later one of the staff brought me a whole pot of ginger tea!  These people are so nice!  By morning I felt perfect.

Hike to Phajoding Monastery

Today, Mona and I did a 3 hour hike (one way) to the Phajoding Monastery.  I thought we were going to walk up a steep hill, get to the top, then turn around.  Once again, Mona and I began our day not knowing what lay ahead and walking straight up the side of a mountain.  Of note, yesterday was the steep climb to Tiger's Nest and today involved another strenuous climb.  Cheers to Mona!

Mona and I enjoy seeing the cute dogs around town but we don't touch them-- they've never been bathed and carry fleas.  Well, it's been two weeks and we can't help but feel attached!  These two followed us for about two hours until some pack animals scared them away.

 The black one really liked Mona

So snuggly!

As we were getting higher up in elevation we saw a herd of wild yaks grazing.  If you make them mad they will attack.  Your defense is to run as fast as you can and climb a tree.   I never got a clear answer as to what it means to make a yak mad so I avoided eye contact.  It worked!  Good thing cause me running and climbing a tree.....

See our little dog friend on the right side, staying out of the way?  It was one of these pack animals who charged both our dogs.  We never saw them again  ) :

We could see the old monastery ahead and as we were entering I heard our names being called by a monk I never met:

Turns out he is Lama Namgay, the monastery's head teacher.  Ngaire our neighbor knew we were hiking to Phajoding and texted the Lama (yes, a strange statement).  He greeted us, showed us around and fed us a full lunch!!!!  Lunch included about half a thermos of tea, 2 huge servings of rice, potatoes, chili's, tomatoes, and cheese.  I had to unbutton my pants I ate so much.  Very good!

  

Mona really liked her fork

The student monks looking at Mona's iPad.  This monastery is for underprivileged boys, many of whom are orphaned.  In speaking to one of the boys, I found he lost both his parents.  

Their soccer field-- hate to over kick a ball here!

This monastery was built in the 13th century and houses some of the most sacred Buddhist artifacts.  In one of the buildings, associates of Oxford University are digitally archiving ancient scripts:

Entrance Sign:

Overall, Mona and I were unexpectedly touched by the hospitality and gentleness we discovered at our destination.  Lama Namgay has devoted his life to bettering the lives of these children.  All the kids were happy, educated, and loved.  It's a place you hope exists.

http://phajodingmonastery.com

(donations accepted)