March 21-22,
Hi All,
We are off for Punakha around 9am….it will be about a 3 hour drive. Once again you do not measure travel by distance but by time…yikes. It looks like a beautiful day and we are going over Dochula pass with hopefully great views of the Himalayas….Pratap had told us to dress warmly!!! And wow, what an improvement in roads…..excellent…..most of the construction is done by India and it is in much better shape than Nepal. Once again Kathy and I are struck with how everything is clean and fresh in Bhutan. We learn that there is a major effort to protect the environment……Buddhism strives for harmony with nature….plus a hefty fine for littering……I know the later worked in USA and Bhutan is the cleanest country we have been in since USA!!!!
We also learn that India has the major influence in Bhutan, not too dissimilar than in Nepal. Bhutan is not on good terms with China (China annexed some land up north that Bhutan is still grieving over) although the #1 tourist is China, followed by India then Korea and Japan. Not that many Western tourists, especially from USA.
“Punakha is the administrative centre of Punakha dzongkhag, one of the 20 districts of Bhutan. Punakha was the capital of Bhutan and the seat of government until 1955, when the capital was moved to Thimphu. It is about 72 km away from Thimphu and it takes about 3 hours by car from the capital Thimphu. Unlike Thimphu it is quite warm in winter and hot in summer. It is located at an elevation of 1,200 metres above sea level and rice is grown as the main crop along the river valleys of two main rivers of Bhutan, the Pho Chu and Mo Chu. Dzongkha is widely spoken in this district.”
“It’s known for the Punakha Dzong, a 17th-century fortress at the juncture of the Pho and Mo Chhu rivers. The fortress hosts the Punakha Tshechu, a religious festival featuring masked dances and music. In the surrounding Punakha Valley, temples include the fertility-focused Chimi Lhakhang and the hilltop Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten, which has river and mountain views.”
And indeed it was a perfect day over the pass…..after rain in Bardia and clouds over Everest it was nice Mother Nature gave us a break today. Just yesterday it was snowing and the pass was closed with snow…..today just a few patches to remind everyone…..whoa!!! This was really our first excellent view of the Himalayas…..wow, just awesome, impressive….the pictures we took captured some of the majestic beauty!!
Also at Dochula pass is the Druk Wangyal Chortens……108 (a sacred # in Buddhism) stupas built by the Queen Mother in 2003 to “commemorate the Bhutanese soldiers who died fighting Assamese insurgents from India. It particularly marks the victory of King Jigme Singye Wangchuck who dislodged the rebels from their camps (there were 30 camps) in Bhutanese territory from where they were raiding Indian territory of Assam.”
Before lunch we visited Chimi Lhakhnag and learned about the phallus symbols we have been seeing painted on various homes/buildings:
“Chimi Lhakhang, also known as Chime Lhakhang or Monastery or temple, is a Buddhist monastery in Punakha District, Bhutan. Located near Lobesa, it stands on a round hillock and was built in 1499 by the 14th Drukpa hierarch, Ngawang Choegyel, after the site was blessed by the “Divine Madman” the maverick saint Drukpa Kunley (1455–1529) who built a chorten on the site. In founding the site it is said that Lama Kunley subdued a demon of Dochu La with his “magic thunderbolt of wisdom” and trapped it in a rock at the location close to where the chorten now stands. He was known as the “Mad Saint” or “Divine Madman” for his unorthodox ways of teaching Buddhism by singing, humour and outrageous behaviour, which amounted to being bizarre, shocking and with sexual overtones. He is also the saint who advocated the use of phallus symbols as paintings on walls and as flying carved wooden phalluses on house tops at four corners of the eves. The monastery is the repository of the original wooden symbol of phallus that Kunley brought from Tibet. This wooden phallus is decorated with a silver handle and is used to bless people who visit the monastery on pilgrimage, particularly women seeking blessings to beget children. The tradition at the monastery is to strike pilgrims on the head with a 10-inch (25 cm) wooden phallus (erect penis). Traditionally symbols of an erect penis in Bhutan have been intended to drive away the evil eye and malicious gossip.”
“For most foreigners, the omnipresence of depictions of phalli, always erected and often ejaculating on many walls of traditional houses is a stunning impression.The popularity of these displays goes back to the “Holy Madman” Drukpa Kunley (1455-1529) who made generous use of his penis to fight demons, convert women to Buddhism and mock the religious establishment. Although there is a vast written and oral tradition on the religious and historical significance of the phallus-symbol, for most Bhutanese today it merely means a sign of good luck and an instrument to ward off evil spirits.”
He really must have been quite a character….and the paintings and souvenirs in Paro are everyhere. And, the monastery is quite impressive. We saw many phalli…..not sure if we saw the one w/the silver handle….once again no pictures allowed!!! Pratap told us a story that when he was young and got scared at night over something, his mom told him to get naked and he would be happy……well, did it work…..well, sometimes!!!!
For lunch we stopped at a local restaurant………we are now getting the hang of Pratap’s adventures…..he is single and seems to have friends/girls in every port. This restaurant was run by a mom and two very cute young women who seemed very friendly with Pratap. He finished his lunch in record time and we found him later giggling with the girls….oh, to be young again….he said he was 29 but we think much younger!!!! After a delightful lunch…yep, chicken, veges, rice and beer…..we went to the Punakha Dzong or fortress and once again we were amazed at how big it was!!!! We also saw many very, very old homes, heard the Bhutan version of Romeo and Juliet, crossed over a very large foot suspension bridge and made it back to the hotel around 5pm. We were actually disappointed in the hotel…..very small rooms and once again rock hard pillows and mattress…. and no heat in the restaurant…..ugh!!!!
“The Punakha Dzong, (meaning very awesome dzong “the palace of great happiness or bliss” is the administrative centre of Punakha District in Punakha, Bhutan. Constructed by Ngawang Namgyal, 1st Zhabdrung Rinpoche, in 1637–38, it is the second oldest and second largest dzong in Bhutan and one of its most majestic structures. The dzong houses the sacred relics of the southern Drukpa Lineage of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism, including the Rangjung Kasarpani and the sacred remains of Ngawang Namgyal and the tertön Pema Lingpa. Punakha Dzong was the administrative centre and the seat of the Government of Bhutan until 1955, when the capital was moved to Thimphu. It is listed as a tentative site in Bhutan’s Tentative List for UNESCO inclusion. The Dzong is located at the confluence of the Pho Chhu (father) and Mo Chhu (mother) rivers in the Punakha–Wangdue valley. The source of the Mo chu river is in the northern hills of Lighsi and Laya in Bhutan, and in Tibet. The Po Chu River is fed by glaciers in the Lunana region of the Punakha valley. After the confluence of these two rivers, the main river is known as Puna Tsang chu or Sankosh River and flows down through Wangdue Phodrang, crosses the Bhutan–India border at Kalikhola and eventually meets the Brahmaputra River.
According to a local legend, the sage Padmasambhava (the monk who founded Tiger’s Nest we will see in a few days) prophesized that “a person named Namgyal will arrive at a hill that looks like an elephant”. Ngawang Namgyal, 1st Zhabdrung Rinpoche, found the peak of the hill, which appeared in the shape of trunk of an elephant as prophesized, and built the dzong in 1637-38. Another legend tells how Zowe Palep, the architect, had a vision in a dream after the Zhabdrung ordered him to sleep under a small structure which contained a statue of the Buddha, known as Dzong Chug “small dzong”. In his dream, prompted by the psychic powers of the Zhabdrung, he had a clear vision of a palace for Guru Rinpoche. The vision was imprinted on the architect’s mind, enabling him to conceive the plan for the dzong without putting the vision on paper and to build it. On the basis of the dream vision of the architect, the building of the dzong was started in 1637 and completed in 1638, at the place where the Dzong Chug had existed. During this period, Ngawang Namgyal became the first leader of a unified Bhutan, following his concerted efforts to unify the country into one unit. The dzong was consecrated in the name of Pungthang Dechen Phodrang. In 1639, a commemorative chapel was erected to house the arms seized from the Tibetans who were defeated by the Bhutanese on this spot. The Zhabdrung also set up a monastic order with 600 monks (brought from Cheri Gompa of upper Thimphu valley) and he lived here till his death.”
The next day we were up early and away for the 5 hour trip back through Thimphu and onto Paro (where the international airport is located). Once again over the pass……some clouds today so yesterday was just perfect for viewing the Himalayas.. Mr Ishe stopped for some local fruit and rice puffs……Kathy liked the rice puffs but I didn’t care for them…..the fruit was delicious!! And, we saw our first Yak…..whoa….just grazing by the highway….yep, pretty big!!!
OK…..I’ll stop here and pick up the all the Paro stops in the next blog!!!
Hope all is well!!
John
Mystic Moon
PS: I’m writing this blog on Thursday March 30…..yep, way behind on blog writing…..we have now splashed Mystic and are at the Royal Phuket Marina, much closer to Phuket town!!!!
PSS: Pictures on the website: http://mysticmoonvoyages.com/photo-gallery/nggallery/main-album/Punakha
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