Bhutan - A Dream Come True

After no wake up call and the broken watch alarm, we still made the 4:30am shuttle to the Bangkok airport to catch our flight to Bhutan. Our adventure started a few days earlier in Bangkok - the land where nothing is what it seems. We had a great time taking the boat to the floating markets, visiting the grand palace, eating fantastic foods, praying to the standing Buddha, sleeping Buddha, the sitting Buddha, and the emerald (actually jade) Buddha. We crammed the must see sites in a few short days.

Arriving in Paro Bhutan was a total trip. The flight was beautiful with clear skies and views of Everest and other majestic peaks of the Himalayas. As we approached Paro the pilot announced that the landing will be like no other landing we've experienced. Good thing he did because I was about to have a heart attack. Paro is in a valley surrounded with high ridges. The approach to Paro is through a curvy valley where the sides of the mountains are RIGHT outside the plane windows. They turn right, then left through this valley before landing on the airstrip. I giggled through the whole thing and asked Kevin to pinch me to make sure this was all real. Great way to arrive in the Kingdom of Bhutan!

We met our guide, Kunzang, who immediately started our tour of Paro. First we experienced the National Archery Competition. The competition consisted of 3 teams of 4 players each. The arrows were shot 150 yards! Teammates stood right next to the bulls-eye to encourage a good shot. Brave souls... Their precision is impeccable. We saw one guy hit the bulls-eye and and his teammates performed a little dance. I'll just say it was nothing like the NFL touchdown dance. Next we visited Drugyal Dzong. Drugyal means "Thunder Dragon" which is the ancient name of of Bhutan. Last night we drove to the capital city of Thimpu. The drive was along a windy mountain road littered with blue pines, weeping cypress and monkeys. It was a crazy drive since it’s all under construction and everyone is passing each other. Thimpu is a city with no traffic lights but lots of barking dogs. Fortunately we are staying at a nice hotel across the river so the dogs aren't so bothersome. Prayer flags hang everywhere spreading prayers down the rivers, up and over the mountains so they reach all sentient beings. Including all of you! we must go eat now, which is one of the best parts of the trip. The food is actually awesome. Lots of vegetables, cheesy potatoes, fish, and my favorite, cheese dumplings. Kevin is eating the native chili cheese dish which he can't wait to cook for you all when we get home.

On our way home killing time in Taipei... Computers were far and few between on this trip, and the 2 days we made special trips to town to write, the power was down. Some towns share power; one gets it one day and the other gets power the next. Although both towns get power after 5 pm. Brilliant idea, really... That should give you an idea of Bhutan. Once you leave Paro and Thimpu, it’s like the twilight zone. I felt like we were warped back to the medieval days, except with modern cars. Bhutan's ancient world and traditions are being bombarded by westernization - TV was introduced 10 years ago, cell phones 3 years ago and the computer somewhere in between. Since the introduction of this communication, the younger generation desires western materials and thought. Unfortunately this is creating more violence, pollution and conflicting thought. Nevertheless, people are proud of their country and their ability to have sheltered themselves from the modern world for so long. People are well taken care of with free education and medical services. Most of the HIGH tourism fees support the social programs. Of course there are a few forgotten populations, but for the most part everyone has access to education and healthcare.

I think Bhutan is like Tibet was before China massacred the Tibetan Buddhists and destroyed their monasteries and temples. Bhutan is a religious and cultural trip and people would be cheating themselves if they just went to trek. Bhutan is rich in culture, traditions, festivals celebrating local protectors and deities and of course the Buddha's, bodhivistas and their manifestations. Buddhism is much more complex than I even thought! It's not just about the 8 fold path...

The trek was amazing. We had phenomenal views of the Himalayan peaks bordering TIbet and India. The highest we hiked was 15,600 ft for lunch and camped at about 14,500 ft. The trekking is vertical; lots of up and down. Unfortunately our guide was sick with a head cold, which got Kevin sick, but nothing too debilitating. It was great to breathe the fresh air, camp in the high altitudes, hike the high passes above tree line and in. The landscape above tree line looks like high desert. We started in blue pines, bamboo, oaks and Rhododendrons which gave away to silver firs, junipers, more species of rhodedendrons, Laurels and other species our guide unfortunately didn't know. Nevertheless, we did a pretty good idea of guessing since some plants seemed similar to home. Trees were draped with spanish moss which made for an enchanted forest feel.

After crapping in the woods for 5 days and freezing our butts off at night, we were taken to a luxurious (for Paro standards) resort where I soaked in a hot bath in our upgraded junior suite (I love traveling with Myths and Mountains!). We were able to hike up to Tigers Nest the following day which is one of the most sacred temples in Bhutan. It's located on the side of a cliff, literally. Not so sure how the temple doesn't fall off because it’s literally hanging on the side of sheer cliff. It was amazing... I will have to share pics of this when we return to give you an idea. We left Paro yesterday and have had a string of good luck. We were upgraded to business class on the Kolkata-Bangkok flight for being such nice folks. Not really sure why, but it was damn nice. Table cloths, wine, and a fine meal. I love Bhutan Royal Airlines! They also have some damn good pilots...

KT and Kevin Hickey

Blogging from Bhutan...

Paro Dzong
Hi! We are currently in Trongsa, Bhutan, and this is the first internet access we've had since our trip began. Everything is wonderful. We have a great guide named Dorji and we are really bonding with him.

We started out in Paro and went to a dzong (monastery) and an incredible medieval fortress-turned-museum. Then it was off to the capital city of Thimpu where we visited another even more spectacular dzong (they have so many adornments - almost every square inch is elaborately painted, there are awe-inspiring brightly colored wood carvings, butter sculptures, musical instruments, gorgeous silk textiles, a 30 foot golden Buddha statue...you could spend hours and hours in every dzong, and there is one in every district of the country).

Dzong in Thimpu

We went to an artisan school where high school students were learning traditional arts (painting, weaving, sculpting, carving, sewing, etc). We went to the "zoo", which is really just a fenced-in area for the endangered national animal, the takin. There is a legend that the second Buddha (Guru Rinpoche) created it with the head of a goat and body of a cow. Even taxonomists have given up trying to classify it and have put it in a category all its own.
View of capital city Thimpu

We were supposed to hike over a very high (14,400 foot) mountain pass to get to the village of Shelmakha for their yearly festival, but the altitude was really getting to Craig. When he felt disoriented and dizzy, needing to lay down before lunch on the first day, we decided a change in plans was in order. Sometimes things happen for a reason. We ended up camping right next to the hostel for a local boarding school. The students immediately befriended us and won our hearts. they took us up to show us their rooms and how they live. We carry a little album of photos from home and they wanted to keep pictures of us. They were really sweet and we were so glad to have met them. They brought down their photo albums for us and presented us with a photo to keep.

Our friends from Genekha Lower Secondary School - Passang Dem (Class 7) and Phub Dem (Class 8 school captain)

We decided we were still determined to get to Shelmakha on foot, so we "hiked" and camped along the mostly dirt roads. When we finally reached Shelmakha, it was goreous. We arrived a day early and got to see festival preparations.

Dasho Karma Dorjee and one of the festival dancers in Shelmakha

Here we met (Dasho) Karma Dorjee, the Bhutanese Secretary of Industry and Tourism. He is a very important man who was raised in Shelmakha and returned for the festival. It was raining lightly the day prior to the festival and he was carrying a Today Show umbrella that he got from Matt Lauer's crew when the NBC show was here earlier this year. He took us under his wing for the next two days and explained everything to us and treated us like dignitaries.

"The Peekaboo Crew" - who kept us entertained while watching the festival

The weather cleared up for the festival for the first time in 3 years. We met a lot of wonderful people including children who were so generous and were always presenting us with gifts of food. The dancing and singing at the festival were amazing.

"Angel Dance" at Shelmakha Festival

At night they had a campfire and taugh us some dances (and yes, Craig even danced! When the Secretary asked, he jumped right in. You don't say no to Dasho!) They insisted that we teach them "one of our cultural dances". Ummm...we were put on the spot and all the kids kept encouraging us. They wanted to learn a dance from the USA. What were we to do? The Electric Slide to the rescue (I never thought I would ever use those words together!) The kids LOVED it.

We camped for 3 nights in Shelmakha and then stayed in a farmhouse for two nights with a local family. We attened a community HIV-awareness comedy/musical show (2 hours and 45 minutes of live entertainment for $1.50 - you can't beat that) and everyone seemed totally happy that we stayed in town for a couple of days.

HIV Awareness show at the school auditorium

On our free day in Shelmakha we brought a Frisbee and played with the kids for hours. It was a big success. We presented the Frisbee to the family we stayed with and the young boy held it to his heart and gave it a kiss. We were then invited into someone's home for tea and a movie ("Enter the Dragon" with Bruce Lee). It was sad to leave the village, but we had to move on.

Our host family in their altar room

Next we went to Punakha, our guide Dorji's hometown. We met his twin brother and his little 12 year old brother. We went to his mother's house and she prepared an authentic Bhutanese meal for us. The chilies and cheese are so delicious but talk about hot! Almost as hot as the weather!

We went to Punakha dzong and the temple of the Divine Madman (who is famous for having subdued a demon with his phallus). We hiked up to a gorgeous Buddhist stupa (aka chorten) which is a momument containing holy statues and texts. We climbed to the top and had a gorgeous view of the valley and river below. Today we drove through WhangduePhodrang and visited their dzong, and then continued on our 5 hour car journey to Trongsa.

View from the top of the Khamsum Yuly Namgyal Chorten

Painting Detail in Punakha Dzong Courtyard

Now, here we are, in a really beautiful hotel. Our room overlooks Trongsa Dzong and the valley below. We even saw golden langur monkeys on the side of the road. We have dinner in about an hour and a half (it's 5:30 PM here now) and then a nice long sleep. We'll be up early tomorrow to head to the National Library, Trongsa Dzong, and then on to Bumthang Valley.

View of Tronsga Dzong from our hotel room

We have already taken over 2100 photos. Luckily we still have lots of memory cards left. We have about 6 more days in Bhutan and then we are off to the Taj Mahal. Home on the 26th.I don't know if we'll have another chance to write (I kind of doubt it) but please know that we are safe and having the time of our lives!

Steph & Craig

Buthan - October 2007