Bhutan – General Observations

1. Driving – is crazy – there are no stoplights in this country, however, at the busiset interestion in Thimpu there is a traffic guard directing traffic. Also, they drive on the left, with people, dogs, cows and other assorted animal on the road. All roads are very windy. Somehow it works for them.
2. Dogs – everywhere – people do not have them as pets but will give street dogs food so they hang around. They sleep in the sun all day, bark all night. I can’t really say which breed most of them are – a blank/tan long haired shepherd. Apparently, a western organization came a few years ago and fixed about 50,000 dogs, so hopefully now the population will stabilize or decrease. There are only a couple so far I have considered bringing home with me. 

3. Food- interesting – so far we’ve had buckwheat noodles, pumpkin soup, asparagus (in season here) dumplings with spinach and cheese, potatoes and cheese (I didn’t think there’d be this much cheese…) cabbage, root vegetables like carrots, watermelon (surprising really good here), vanilla ice cream, mango juice (again, surprising and good), eggplant,  red rice

4. People- 99% Buddhist – this is a very gentle society. People are quiet but friendly, will always return smiles. Honest with shop prices and there is virtually no crime. English is their second language and taught in schools so we were able to communicate for the most part.

Thimphu, Bhutan

We began the day by visiting the gigantic statue of Bhuddha Dordenma, possibly the largest seated Buddha statue in the world – the views were amazing.  Pics to come!

Next, we stopped at the National Institute Zoring Chusum which is a school for traditional arts and crafts. It’s a 6 year program which can replace high school or can replace college. We saw students painting, wood carving, sculpting, etc. They were very talented. 

We then drove up the valley to visit the Takin Sanctuary. Takin is the national animal, an antelope which is now endangered. They look like a goat and a cow.We also saw mountain goats and native deer, which when injured are taken to the sanctuary.

Zilukha Nunnery was our next stop where we saw nuns (obviously) and also young monks. The religious sites are already starting to run together.

My favorite stop of the day was at the National Library. There are 2 sections, one for publications in Bhutanese, and one for all other languages. Bhutanese written language was given to Bhutan by Tibet, so they share a written language, however it is spoken differently so the 2 cultures cannot understand each other when speaking. 
Next we stopped at Archery grounds where a competition between 2 rural teams who came to the capital to compete were playing. Archery is the national sport and they get very into it. They also play soccer – if they can find flat enough land to play on and tennis. Back to archery though – the target was about 300 feet from the shooter and members from your same team would stand next to the target and based on your last shots would scream suggestions across the field – half the team was shooting and half by the target. The whole team would shoot (2 shots each) then the opposing team would start. If the board is hit, it’s 2 points and if the bullseye is hit, 3 points. Each time someone scored a point, they did a vicory dance with song.

Bhutan living museum was very helpful to learn about the culture. We started in a traditional welcome house in which guests receive a wheat distilled drink (like rice wine but with wheat) and are then invited into the home. 

We tried on the traditional dress – for men is the gho, a knee length robe tied at the waist and for women is the kira, an ankle length dress with a long sleeved jacket over.  Social class and status determine the texture, color and fabric used for the traditional dress. Bhutanese law requires all citizens to wear the national dress at work and while visiting schools and government offices.

We practiced our archery skills (or lack thereof) on a traditional Bhutanese bamboo bow. We also saw traditional dancers practicing for their next performance while enjoying butter tea with popped rice (I passed on that).

Finally, we went to the Astrological Center where there was a Buddhist ceremony for determining what is to come in the next year. So again, lots of chanting.

Travel to Bhutan & Day 1 in Thimphu

Minneapolis to Chicago to Tokyo to Bangkok to Paro — I do not recommend doing these flights without a long-ish layover somewhere, it was not fun. Paro is considered one of the world’s most challenging airport. It’s in a valley surrounded by mountains as high as 18,000 feet. Don’t worry Mom!

We then drove one hour to Thimphu, the largest city and capital of Bhutan – the entire country’s population is around 750,000. It was the windiest road I’ve been on. 

First stop, diving right into sights, was the 13th century temple of Tamchong Lakhang. The temple was built by a famous Tibetan iron bridge builder. The original iron bridge is still there, but has been upgraded with chain link so people can cross with less chance of falling into the river below. And yes, we crossed.

Next stop was in Thimphu, at our hotel which is very nice. We have a large balcony and no central heat but heated floors and a space heater. 

We headed out again to the National Textile Academy where we saw Bhutanese women weave traditional fabrics. They are very colorful with various patterns.  We also visited an art gallery and a handmade paper factory. 

In the late afternoon, we visited Trasichoe Dzong that houses the Royal Throne, National Assembly and the seat of the Chief Abbot of the central monastic body.

Dinner was at the hotel, which consisted of pumpkin soup, buckwheat noodles, cabbage and chicken.

More about the food later.