March 22-24
Hi All,
Ok…..the last blog on the Nepal/Bhutan 18-day trip!!!!! We left the last blog at lunch in Paro on Day 16. We first visited the National Museum……a small museum but a lot on culture, over 3000 works of art covering more than 1500 years of Bhutanese culture heritage and the environment……again no pictures allowed. We watched a documentary film on the various cultural dances…..called Chams….the masks and costumes are quite elaborate. From there we went to the Paro Dzong……another massive fortress…..that had an elaborate “wheel of life” that Pratap spent 15 minutes or so explaining!!!
Then it was time to shop for a souvenir…..Paro had a whole street for shopping…..we ended up debating between a mask of Garuda and a “happy face” mask. Kathy really liked the mask of Garuda but it seemed a bit frightful/scary to me…..as in gave me the creeps so we decided on the “happy mask”……it is over 100 years old, authenticated by the government…..it is supposed to bring happiness and joy into your home/life……sounds good to me…..then again, Garudu is supposed to protect your home from evil spirits…hmmm, tough choice!!!!
OK…..drum roll please……one of the “must do” treks in Bhutan is to climb to Tiger’s Nest……this is really how we started to research and decided to visit Bhutan. Your tour typically ends with the day long climb……they want you to get acclimated to the altitude, plus, they are checking out your fitness level to ensure you can make it. We got various information about how much elevation you climb……some sources said 3000’……Pratap said 800m or 2625’…….and the hike is about 9 miles round trip…..all done in 7,000-10,000′ elevation!!! I definitely was in and Kathy said she would give it a go…..yes, her back was bothering her….but, there is a cafeteria about half way up and she thought she could make it that far and then wait for me to complete the climb…..in the end she made it up all the way……very proud of her…..this is the most physical workout she has done since her back surgery…..but she was pretty sore the next day and she’s still a bit hurting:(((((
“Paro Taktsang (Tiger’s Nest), is a prominent Himalayan Buddhist sacred site and the temple complex is located in the cliffside of the upper Paro valley in Bhutan. A temple complex was first built in 1692, around the Taktsang Senge Samdup cave where Guru Padmasambhava is said to have meditated for three years, three months, three weeks, three days and three hours in the 8th century. Padmasambhava is credited with introducing Buddhism to Bhutan and is the tutelary deity of the country. Today, Paro Taktsang is the best known of the thirteen taktsang or “tiger lair” caves in which he meditated. The temple devoted to Padmasambhava is an elegant structure built around the cave in 1692 by Gyalse Tenzin Rabgye; and has become the cultural icon of Bhutan.
According to the legend related to this Taktsang (which literally means “Tiger’s lair) it is believed that Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche) flew to this location from Tibet on the back of a tigress from Khenpajong Tibet This place was consecrated to tame the Tiger demon. An alternative legend holds that a former wife of an emperor, known as Yeshe Tsogyal, willingly became a disciple of Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambahva) in Tibet. She transformed herself into a tigress and carried the Guru on her back from Tibet to the present location of the Taktsang in Bhutan. In one of the caves here, the Guru then performed meditation and emerged in eight incarnated forms (manifestations) and the place became holy. Subsequently, the place came to be known as the “Tiger’s Nest”. The popular legend of the Taktsang monastery is further embellished with the story of Tenzin Rabgye, who built the temple here in 1692. It has been mentioned by authors that the 8th century guru Padmasmabhava had reincarnated again in the form of Tenzin Rabgye. The corroborative proofs mooted are: that Tenzin Rabgye was seen (by his friends) concurrently inside and outside his cave; even a small quantity of food was adequate to feed all visitors; no one was injured during worship (in spite of the approach track to the monastery being dangerous and slippery); and the people of the Paro valley saw in the sky various animal forms and religious symbols including a shower of flowers that appeared and also vanished in the air without touching the earth.”
Another Wow for the trip…..just a picture perfect day……thanks Mother Nature……it indeed to took us 2.5 hours to climb to the top……Pratap thought it would take us 3-3.5 hours but I think we had acclimated more than he thought…..nevertheless….we were breathing very hard for those 2.5 hours!!!! You can take horses up for half the climb but we opted out thinking not good for Kathy’s back. After we had climbed for about 2 hours, you are finally level with the Temple…..but there is a rock outcropping overlooking a vast chasm, with the monastery on the other side. Beneath the promontory of rock, and across the chasm from the monastery, the cliff drops a couple of thousand feet to the gorge below. Carved into the exposed cliff face are stone steps with absolutely no handrails. This is the way to the Tiger’s Nest monastery. You first go down 450 steps and then you go back up 275 steps…..yep I counted on the way back:)))) There are handrails going down but none going up….but we made it with no trips, slips or falls….high fives all around!!!!
The Temple was amazing…..again no pictures inside……we went into 5-6 of the rooms plus saw several of the caves where the Guru meditated. Again, it was a very spiritual emotion after the big climb……can’t imagine building this temple in 1692……carrying all the material up from the valley…..yikes!!!!
We made it back down and in all it took us about 5 hours……actually not too bad for a couple of cruisers living at sea level. We did stop at the cafeteria for a quick lunch and of course a semi-cold beer:))))) From there we went to the oldest monastery in Bhutan…..have to tell the truth here…..we were pretty tired and about monasteried out……
“Kyichu Lhakhang is a Buddhist temple in Paro. It is one of the oldest monasteries in the country built in the 7th century by the Tibetan King Songsten Gampo. The story goes that a giant demoness lay across the whole area of Tibet and the Himalayas and was preventing the spread of Buddhism. To overcome her, King Songtsen Gampo decided to build 108 temples, which would be placed on all the points of her body. Of these 108 temples, 12 were built by precise plans. Thus, it happened that in about the year AD 638 the temple of Jokhang in Lhasa was built in the very heart of the demoness. This is one of the oldest monasteries in Paro district. There’s a belief that the two orange trees here in Kyichu Lakhang bears fruit throughout the year.”
So that was the trip…..or so we thought……when we got back to the hotel Pratap says he has a surprise…..we are all going out to dinner…..pick you up at 6:30…..ok then, quick nap, hot shower, a little cocktail and some Advil and we are good to go. Turns out for the last night they take you to a local Bhutanese traditional home for dinner. Our host was Ginny, mother of two small boys and her husband is a diplomat living in New Dehli. The house was 8 generations old…..she really did not know how many years but we guessed ~400 years…..big, massive timbers……11 people lived in the house. The only room that was heated with a wood stove was in the living room where we had dinner…..the stove was not lit….yep, a little chilly for us!! We had a delightful evening……we learned this is a matriarchal society…..the woman owns the land, the husband comes to live at her house, both keep their family names, they have a 7 acre farm, grow most of what they eat and sell maybe 60%….mainly rice and vegetables, her mom manages the farm, her dad works in a sawmill, she gets paid “very well” for doing these dinners for tourists. We had a common meal…..dried beef, like beef jerky, rehydrated in a sauce with onions…..I actually liked it, Kathy not so much as it was too tough…..maybe I just liked it as it was not chicken:))) We also had rice, veges with an added spice…..when mixed with the rice it was excellent and mashed potatoes…..which were excellent!!! She served hot tea with milk and sugar…..nope, still don’t like tea that way and after the meal we had a local rice wine….made by her aunt. She said no one in her family drinks alcohol as all of them are allergic. This wine was made from rice and wheat, had a mild grainy flavor and was not that strong…..we both had a glass and Pratap several….he said he has had much stronger wine in other houses!!! We had a several hour meal/conversation…..she was on Facebook with many of her friends…..had a picture of herself and the King at a student convention in New Delhi…….just an amazing experience…..some of the conversation about kids we could have had in USA!!!!
The next day found us getting up early and heading to the airport…..saying good bye to Pratap and Ishie was hard and very sad….we then get to the ticket counter and the lady says would you like to be upgraded to Economy plus…..$20/pp….you got it…..and she says I got you seats on the right hand side…..this should be a good day to see the Himalayas…..and Kathy, being the good person she is, says ok…..you take the window this time……and there you go…..Mt Everest in all her glory…..wow, I had goose bumps…..very, very impressive. Yes, I know seeing Everest from a plane at 30,000′ is not the same as seeing it from land….but, hey, it was pure joy for me after all our failed attempts last week!!!!
Then for me, nap time…..but the plane is slowing down…..whaaat…..well, it makes a scheduled stop in Kolkata, India……Kathy thought we did but we asked Raj….don’t think so….we asked the ticket counter lady…..no stop….but it did anyway. Wow…the air quality was worse than Katmandu….ugh!!! So, we are having a debate…since we did not get off the plane and not touch India ground does that count as being in India????? I will have to check with Adrian our official “country counter”:)))))
Some random thoughts on the trip:
Food: Yes, not the culinary experience we had in Australia last year. I’m writing this on Friday, March 30, and it was last Friday we were flying home…..and neither of us has had rice, chicken or eggs yet. For breakfast every morning we had eggs……either fried or mostly in a plain omelet…..usually with potatoes and veges…..they also serve very watered down and sweet porridge (oatmeal) and corn flakes, except it is served with hot milk…..do you know how soggy corn flakes get in 10 sec with warm milk….ugh!!! Lunch and dinner was chicken…..how many ways can chicken be done….we had fried, grilled, and roasted done in different sauces…..lots of veges which were always yummy…..always rice….sometimes brown or red rice……always pasta/noodles……and sometimes veges or potatoes in a cheese sauce. Sometimes one of the dishes had spice which really helped on the flavor end!!! Usually fruit for desert, no sweets…..the best was watermelon…..Bhutan had a lot of apples and tangerines…..and of course bananas every meal!!!!
Money: We really do not know what things cost in either country…..we paid for the whole trip as a lump sum to Rhino travel which included almost everything….they did not want to use a credit card and wanted USD……yep, we carried a bundle into Nepal:)))) The few meals we paid for in Nepal were under USD20, except when we splurged on Australia beef and pork in Pokhara….then the meal was close to USD35…..still fairly inexpensive by USA standards. Beers were USD1.5-2, wine ~$15/bottle for ok quality, whiskey ~$2 for local and $4 for imported, Kathy’s jacket….USD20…..the best bargain of the trip….
Beds: Yikes……even the hotel we stayed in Phuket while Mystic was on the hard, Chandara……all had rock hard mattresses and pillows…..I mean when you get a bruise on your ear or face that is hard:))))…….28 nights total……ugh!!!!! One night in Thimphu I woke up with a splitting headache…..I threw the pillow across the room and used my clothes for a pillow…ugh!! We later sorted out that I either had an altitude headache or it was from sampling the local whiskey……I only had a 60ml glass so pretty sure it wasn’t from that but I didn’t try anymore local whiskey after that:))))
Kathy’s perspective as she wrote her mom about Bhutan and Nepal: “It is a gorgeous country, with fresh clean air and stunning vistas. We had great views of the Himalayas yesterday – just amazing! We particularly like the traditional architecture here – it is lovely, and even the new buildings follow the same lines. Very beautiful! We’ve also gotten a further education in Buddhism – just fascinating! Oddly, though, I miss the warmth and kindness of the Nepalese people — the Bhutanese, while nice, are just lacking the heart of the Nepalese. Our guide used the word “arrogance”, and I think that may be right! 🙂
As for us, we are loving Nepal! While it is truly a 3rd world country with all the attendant issues, and in spite of the many “hawkers” in Kathmandu, we have found the Nepalese people to be some of the sweetest and most caring people we’ve met thus far. They are truly a delight! And despite living in some of the direst conditions, they are eager to smile and even belly laugh at a good joke. They are wonderful! On the hawkers, which are also in places other than Kathmandu, I’ve found that a genuine smile and a no thank you is really all it takes to avoid any undue pressure to buy something. Anyhow, I find it a very special country and am very glad we chose to visit….”
Next blog……working on Mystic in exotic places…….
Hope all is well!!!
John
Mystic Moon
Royal Phuket Marina, Phuket Thailand
PS: Pictures on the website: https://www.mysticmoonvoyages.com/photo-gallery/nggallery/main-album/Paro-Bhutan
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