Bhutan day 6
Trip Start
Aug 23, 1996
1
410
450
Trip End
Ongoing
Paro,
Bhutan
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
And finally it had to happen, it was our last full day in Bhutan and we still had a few sites to see, so we made sure we were up and at it early. Boots on as today we had another small trek to do up another mountain
Cheri Monastry
we had a nice drive out to god knows where, when our guide pointed up and said, "friends, this where you are trekking to today". We looked up, and fuck it looked a long way, but after walking everyday, we thought that this would be easy, but then again, it doesn't matter how many hills we go up, I still struggle !!!
Off we went, past a couple of stupas, and everytime we looked up, we were getting closer. I suppose that this is the added bonus of going straight up. After around thirty minutes of struggling and shooting, we had arrived. We did a lap of the monastery first of all, spinning all the prayer wheels whilst reciting the first poem once again. Om, you get the drift !!! Inside, we were greeted by a few monks, and inside was your usual three icons, the Bhudda, the Unifier and the Bringer. It was pretty nice. Once out, we moved on upstairs to another temple, The Demon Subjicating temple. There were no demons and all over the place were Bhuddas. It was different to anything we had seen so we left a donation and walked out.
One other thing about Cheri Monastery is that there are loads of mountain goats, and as they won't be eaten, they are multiplying fast !!!
On the way down, we ran into loads of other tourists. It goes to show that getting up early pays as we had the site to ourselves.
Dechen Phodrang
How many monasteries does this country have? Fuck knows, but from a distance, this one looked like a Dzong sitting on top of a hill. Once there, we found out that it was actually a school for monks, and judging by their horn playing, they needed more lessons !!! We did a lap of the temple whilst waiting for it to be opened, and once done, it was your usual fare. It is a pity that no photos are allowed as there were some impressive ones. Oh well, you will all just have to come here for yourselves !!!
Once we had finished, we drove back to Paro. whilst driving, I asked our guide why independent tourists were not allowed in, and he told me that Bhutan's motto was, low in volume, high in value. I sat back and thought about this, and personally, I didn't think it was high value that we were getting.
And basically, our trip was over.
And Finally
Bhutan had been fun, the small bit that we saw. Some call it the last shangri-la, whilst I just think of it as a small country with around 600000 people with loads of monasteries. Now would I go back again? Well most probably not for these three reasons
1) The price is going up by US$50 per day, and it was bad enough paying out US$230 per day
2) When we booked the trip, we got a great exchange rate. With the current climate, the pound is getting weaker, and I am feeling the hit.
3) Lucy and I are not tour people, so until this country opens up, I would rather do a tour in another country where it has to be done like North Korea
So, if you do get the chance to go, do, because there are some great sites to see.
Comments
north korea..
is there a plan to go see kim jong II within the next year?