Somewhere in either Bhutan or India....not sure
Trip Start
Sep 18, 2007
1
5
7
Trip End
Oct 07, 2007
Phuntsholing, Bhutan
Sunday, September 30, 2007
I'm writing from either Bhutan or India (can't tell, because there is no border here...you just walk back and forth). Going by the time on the wall, I'm guessing I'm in India ;)
We are all a bit sad to be leaving Bhutan's cool weather and its friendly, accommodating people. We're also leaving our Bhutanese guides tonight and meeting the new Indian guide and driver.
My last day in Bhutan was the best: we spent the morning hiking to Taktsang Monastery (Tiger Leaping Gorge; the welcome photo I have used). It was a 3 hour hike uphill all the way, at 2000m, so there was quite a bit of huffing and puffing involved, but completely worth the sweat. It is not quite as precarious as the photos make it out to be, but we still clung to the rock face in several places, since the waterfalls were making the trail slippery. Then to recover, I arranged for a traditional Bhutanese stone bath with two other members of the group. We were led to an open sided wooden hut at the edge of the woods; inside were three wooden troughs with partitions at the ends. The baths were filled with cold water, then red hot stones were dropped behind the partition, which made the water boil. We were encouraged to get in immediately and not to move. Sangay then lit some candles and sat around talking to us, adding more molten stones and laughing at our pain. I was still red this morning! A defining moment to the trip.
Hope all is as well with everyone at home.
love Vicki
