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April 4

"After work Mona and I rushed home, changed into our kira's and went to to the Taschichodzong, just on the outskirts of Thimphu.  Our driver is Wangchuck (the 'ck' is silent), he's an ortho tech and we work together.  He drives HVO people around on the side.  He is so smart and knowledgeable and interesting (Sonny- he's married).  He'll be taking Mona and I around for the next 3 weeks.  Meaning he stays with us the entire time-- eat, hike, and bunk together!   Once we arrived to the dzong, we couldn't get in as the King was there until 5:30pm.  To kill time, Wangchuck took us to the nearby student art museum of Buddhist paintings.  Holy cow were they amazing.  Years ago, Aunt Catherine told me I should have bought a $5000 painting after the opportunity passed.  I've regretted it ever since.  Well I didn't spend anywhere near 5 grand, but I did some damage, thanks for the advice AC!  

Once we got to the dzong it was impressive.  I'll let the pictures do the talking.  Of note, the king lives across the street in a smaller house. Says a lot.  We weren't allowed to take pictures of his home or the inside of the dzong.  The whole place was ornate, detailed, hand done. Wangchuck told us the Buddhist stories behind all the paintings.  His calm demeanor, positiveness, and way of looking at the world is so different than what Mona and I are use to.  The three of us had such a nice time. " 

Mona and I in our Kiras

Ornate hand carved wood

Mona, Wangchuck, and myself