Bhutan Day 2

March 16, 2018

Today was a very busy day. We toured several sites around the capital city of Thimphu. The Bhutanese government is striving to preserve a lot of their traditional craftsmanship while slowly moving toward a more modern environment.

First stop this morning was at the Royal Textile Museum and Academy. It is dedicated to educating and promoting the preservation of traditional textiles. It was opened in 2005 and students are taught weaving and embroidery.

Back strap looms

Next we visited the Handicrafts Emporium where local craftsman sell their wares. They had a wide variety of textile goods, carvings and paintings. We couldn’t take pictures inside but here is the outside. You can that they are working on some renovations. I love the bamboo scaffolding.

Takin is the National animal of Bhutan and we visited the preserve. The sign tells about these unique creatures.

A mother with her children dressed in traditional wear.

I love seeing the prayer flags. It is very similar to what you would see in Tibet. 

Looking down into the valley at the town.

These mini stupas were placed along the side of the road. They contain the cremation remains of loved ones.

This is the Tashichho Dzong (fort). It houses a Buddhist monastery and the fortress serves as the seat of the head of Bhutan’s civil government. The king’s palace is located inside.

This represents the Bhutanese symbolism of Thuenpa Puen Zhi, the four harmonious friends. The story goes that the bird found the perfect place for the tree, the rabbit planted the seed, the monkey watered the seed and the elephant protected the tree. Thus, they all get to enjoy the shade.

Students at the Zorig Chusum - Arts and Crafts school that was established in 1971 to provide an opportunity for under privileged youth of the country to develop skills to help them create job opportunities. It is boarding school and the courses take from 1 - 6 years to complete.

Students can study carving, painting, sculpture, and embroidery.

This student was having the teacher check his work.

I like the five commitments of being a student.

Students working on large sculptures.  

We also visited the National Library which has a goal of maintaining a collection of Bhutanese literature, ancient rare books, and manuscripts.

This is the largest book in the world as certified by Genius Book of Records. 

This old document was dated from 1888.

These are old books written on flat pieces of paper and wrapped in  cloth

Another example of the traditional architecture. The students from the school do the painting of the wood trim.

Next stop was the Jungshi paper factory. They use traditional methods to produce authentic Bhutanese paper known as Deh-sho. The bark of the Daphine tree is soaked in water, then boiled.

The fibers are then separated by hand before being pressed into sheets.

The sheets are hung on heated drying panels.

The Memorial Chorten is a stupa built in 1974. It is one of the main attractions in Thimphu as many people visit daily to offer their prayers.

Prayer wheels are turned by worshippers.

There are some very ornate doorways.

Last stop of the day was a new Buddha- Dordenma. Construction started in 2006 and the inside is still not completed. It is one of the largest Buddhas in the world at 169 feet tall. The construction is being financed by a Chinese corporation and is at over $100 million.

This is our travel group. From the left is Stephanie, Amandalei, E, Joy, and myself.

Tomorrow we leave Thimphu and travel over the 10,000 foot elevation point of Dochula Pass to Punakha. 

Bhutan Day 1

March 15, 2018

Today I left Kolkata, India and flew to Paro, Bhutan. Had to shake the ol’ rooster this morning at 4:30 in order to have my bags packed and outside the door by 5:15 for the early ride to the airport. Traffic
wasn’t too bad but got heavier the closer we got to the airport. What was really bad was the smog. It was so thick they stopped flights for a while which delayed our take off.

At the airport people were congregating around the front door trying to get in. Guards were posted at the door checking passports and boarding passes before they would let you in. There were supposed to be 2 distinct lines but many were trying to force their way into the front. This made one of the guards mad so she just stopped letting anybody through until they backed up. Our guide went to the front and made them get back into the lines so we could get in. I’ve never experienced any thing like that before.

The clouds finally cleared as we were coming into Paro and could begin to see the mountains.

City of Paro in the valley.

Paro has a beautiful airport that is fairly new. 

After collecting our luggage we loaded up the van and headed towards Thimphu. The road followed along a river offering some great scenery.

The buildings in Bhutan are required to follow a traditional style.

Bridges had strings of prayer flags. The prayer flags are hung were the wind blows so as to carry the prayers out to cover the area. I will explain a little more about the different colors tomorrow.

Stupas were along the riverbank.

Houses on the way into Thimphu.

A shot of the Main Street.

Entry gate to downtown Thimphu 

The main square has a clock tower they call Little Ben. 

Pena, our tour leader, said that Thimphu has no traffic lights. He said they installed a couple but that the people didn’t know what to do so they took them down after a few months. They went back to using cops to direct the traffic.

I love the bamboo scaffolding. Can you imagine what OSHA would do if this was tried in the USA.

A traffic circle.

So today was mainly a travel day. We have a big day planned for tomorrow touring around the area.

Going to bed early tonight to get some rest.