Bhutan Day 5
Trip Start
Aug 23, 1996
1
409
450
Trip End
Ongoing
Thimphu,
Bhutan
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
And then we left, and made our way to Thimphu
Sangha Zabdhoen Phodrang Dzong
This is the oldest Dzong in Bhutan. It's not very big, but there are some nice paintings. We did go inside of the temple, and it was covered with monks, all banging drums and chanting. We watched it for a while, and then once it was over, all the monks received tea and rice. Three metres to my left, a guy with glasses sat on a throne. And then the word came out, it was the head honcho himself, the chief Abbot, the highest Lama in Bhutan. Our guide got down and started praying, and on the way out, I pulled out a sneaky wobbly video. I've never been this close to royalty !!!
National Memorial Chorten
A small Stupa built in honour of the third King who died at the age of 44. You are meant to be able to go inside, but it was locked up, so we joined the locals doing laps, whilst chanting the first prayer. Om, blah, blah, blah !!!
Changangkha Lhakhang
Another monastery on top of a hill. It was pretty old, and there were oldies doing laps of this one, so we joined in spinning the prayer wheels again. Actually, I find it quite relaxing, whilst the locals all laugh with their betel nut smile !!!
Radio Tower
Kind of like a lovers hangout as it gave great views of the city, and seeing that we were on top of a hill, there were prayer flags everywhere, but we didn't join in. It was ok, but nothing compared to what we had seen previously.
Takin Reserve
A zoo built for Yetis, but as they have not been captured yet, they filled it up with Takins. There were only three that we could see, and they were weird looking. Kind of looked like what you would get if you cut off a goat's head and stuck it on a cow !!!
Folk Heritage Museum
Basically an old house !!! It showed old tools and utensils. Was it interesting? Not really, but we ticked it off of the list !!!
Textile Museum
Same as above, but there were some clothes donated by the Royal family, which made us interested slightly more. And like all good museums, we ended up at the shop !!!
Trashi Chhoe Dzong
The Mother of all Dzongs, and as this one is used for Government business, we could not enter until after 17:00. We walked into the temple, but after this mornings effort, it was a bit of a let down. Out in the courtyard, we tried to go everywhere, but the police stopped us. We asked why, but they would not tell us, and as they had guns, and they kept pointing them at us, we thought it best to believe them !!!
Thimphu Town
Being the capital, it is the biggest place we have been to, but still no traffic lights. Out in the centre is a policeman giving out hand signals, but this being Asia
1) Nobody understands them
2) The locals ignored him !!!
We ended up in the shops, and realising the error of our way back when we were in Nepal, we spent up, and trust me, just like the entrance fee into this country, things are not cheap !!! Oh well, it is only money and what we bought was nice.
And Finally
Thimphu was just your typical big city. Shops and people every where. It was fun, but I only hope that Mr Lama doesn't point the evil finger at me for videoing him. Oh well. I can only come back as a cockroach in my next life !!!
