Punakha

Friday, September 18

We made a short drive from Wangdue to Punakha in the morning, to take a (supposedly) level, easy walk and then to visit the Dzong (combination fortress, monastery, and Buddhist temple). The walk turned out to be unexpectedly difficult due to water, mud, and irregular stones on many of the paths. But it was pretty, and we eventually made it. The Dzong was very impressive. It is the largest in Bhutan, as befits Punakha's role as the old capital of the country. It was also the place where the 4th King of Bhutan was installed. And it is beautiful. We returned to the Wangdue Eco Lodge for another pleasant evening.

Fence and grassy field at the beginning of our walk

Old staffs for prayer flags

Guide Yeshey on the trail

View of the Dzong at the end of our walk

Spinning a giant prayer wheel

Sculpture of a fierce guardian

Detail of a painting in the courtyard

Young monk at a window

Wangdue

Thursday, September 17

We drove from Phobjikha to Wangdue, where we checked into an exceptionally nice hotel, the Wangdue Eco Lodge. It has good, fast internet, which has enabled me to clear the backlog of blogs about our Bhutan trip.

View from our approach to the hotel down to the terraced rice fields and farm buildings:

Today was a festival day for the Indian saint of machinery and carpentry, 

so many of the cars and trucks were gaily decorated.

After getting ourselves situated in Wangdue, we went down into the village, which is associated with a small temple founded by the "divine mad monk" Drukpa Kinley. He challenged the conformity of the Buddhism of his time (about 500 years ago) by "employing a shocking and lascivious sense of humor", expressed in phallic imagery. The town has made this theme one of their main businesses.

We walked to the temple through rice fields.

After returning through the fields from the temple, we spent some time in the Vegetable Market, admiring the abundance of chili peppers and other produce.

Exploring Phobjikha

Wednesday, September 16

A day of exploring various aspects of this beautiful valley, including visits to the Black-Necked Crane Center, a monastery village festival, and a rural village; and an easy-going nature walk.

Front yard of the Black-Necked Crane Center. Cranes migrate south to here from Tibet in November, and spend about five months before returning north.

Old women chatting at a village festival in the Gangteng Gompa, a 17th C monastery

Intricate decoration, perhaps the finest anywhere according to our guide, at the Gongtang Gompa

Bovine lazing in a meadow near the start of our nature walk

Two potato farmers whose truck had gotten stuck in the mud. They were waiting for a tractor to pull them out so they could bring the potatoes to market.

Young woman working in the sales room of the hotel where we had lunch. I was struck by her  shirt; we have seen virtually no propaganda, either pro- or con-USA, in Bhutan.

Woman and baby in a doorway near the hotel.

Horses grazing in the valley beneath the village.

Woman with baby in the village.

Daughter in a village family sacking potatoes for shipment to Bangladesh.

Village woman and a cow she has just milked.

Bumthang to Phobjikha

Tuesday, September 15

A long and difficult driving day between districts and their valleys.

The lady of the house dishing out breakfast

Driver Suba, in his stylish fedora, at the pass separating the valleys

Stones hold down roofs in high winds.

Monkeys playing on a cliff beside the road

Much of the road was being widened and (eventually) improved. 

There were a lot of machines at work in this section.

Just a few seconds after this picture was taken, the big rock on the upper left and some of the hillside above fell down. Fortunately, the workers saw it coming and got out of the way. With so many machines on site, they were able to clear the road fairly quickly and we could go on our way. But we went as fast as possible through this section.

The beautiful, verdant Phobjikha Valley

Silhouettes of trees against a dramatic, cloudy sky

Chokhor to Cummey Valley

Monday, September 14

Big nature hike today, through some of the most beautiful terrain we've ever seen. Then to the home of a farm family, where we ate dinner, enjoyed hot stone baths, and spent the night.

Scenes along the Tharpaling Nature Trail, a paradise for nature photographers

Guide Yeshey holding a giant mushroom

Some of the family in Chummey Valley in whose house we spent a homestay and

 enjoyed hot stone baths

Note the portraits of Bhutanese kings 4 and 5 on the calendars.

Yeshey dishing out dinner