Bhutan Day 3
Trip Start
Aug 23, 1996
1
407
450
Trip End
Ongoing
Punakha,
Bhutan
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Chimi Lakhang
Just down the road from where we were staying was the Chimi Lakhang. Chimi means no dogs, but they were everywhere !!! Actually, from a distance, it looks like a temple on top of a woman's breast !!! But it is meant to be the temple for fetility !!! So off we went, across the paddies until we arrived. There is the usual prayer wheel, which we spun and did the Bhuddist prayer
Om Ma Ni Pe Me Hung
And as I had impressed the local monks, they let us in the temple !!! It was small with three statues, so we left a donation because Lucy wanted to be blessed by a ten inch dick !!! That's another thing about this country, they are painted everywhere !!! And even after a donation, Lucy never got the dick, so we moved on
Punakha Dzong
Our guide said that as we are tourists, we must walk across the longest suspension bridge to get to the Dzong. Actually, I think we had seen longer in Nepal, but we made the right noises and walked across the river to the Dzong.
Now I have never been to the Chinese part called Tibet, and have only seen pictures of the Potala Palace, but I think this would be the closest you could get to it. It was big and old, and the winter home to the chief Lama of the country. Basically, he is on the same level as the Dalai Lama. There were some nice paintings around and his throne was made of gold. Around the courtyard there were loads of kids dancing as they were practising for the centenary celebrations. It was quite nice to watch, but most were a little of the same !!!
Khamsum Yulephelma Chorten
Off we drove again, until we arrived at the next site. Khamsum Yulephelma Chorten is on top of a hill, and after yesterdays walk, my knees felt like shit !!! But off we went, and 28 minutes of power walking, we had arrived. All around were little stupas, and in the large one, there were the usual Bhuddist images and paintings. These were spread over four floors, and as an added bonus, you could go on to the roof, and the views were great. Mountains all around and a river at the bottom of the valley. No pollution, what more could you want ??? On the way down, we got stuck behind a group of Blamers, so it took ages, but not everything works out the way you want it to !!!
Rinchen Gang Village
The day was finishing fast, but we had another hill climb to do, and that was to go through this old mud village. Apparently, it is the oldest one around, and as we were making our way around, an old local started following us. He actually looked as though he had been there since the beginning !!! Up the top, was another temple, and inside, I pointed out what each image meant, which was the past, present and future Bhudda. Fuck I'm getting good at this !!! And then we went back down, to the last site.
Wangdue
In Wangdue, on top of a ridge sits another Dzong. This one had not been restored, which made it more special. There were monks everywhere, and we walked around spinning the prayer wheels until once again, we were in the temple and I was wearing my tour guide hat doing the explaining. Actually, I'm getting quite good at this and I'm thinking of starting my own business here !!!
The town however is tiny. All little shops built upon a ridge, and in two minutes, you've seen it all !!! But it has a certain charm, which will be lost as the country is building a new Wangdue, which is sad, but then again, that's progress !!!
And Finally
Day three had been good. The sites were impressive, the weather great and was so much better than yesterday. We are glad we took the decision to move on, and things did indeed get better.
