I took a quick walk to 24/7 to get snacks. About 50 cents for 2 packages of nice cookies. Drove from Thimphu to Dochula Pass, where there are 128 stupas commemorating when the king drove out Indian militants from the south. On a clear day you can see most of the Himalayan peaks, but this was not a clear day. We walked to the temple at the top and around the stupas.
India is better to Bhutan than China. Bhutanese import a lot of their manual labor from India. We went to the Divine Madman Temple. Walked through rice paddies and other terraced fields.
Saw potatoes, coriander, and onions growing. Anyone can buy dryland but government controls irrigated land (“wetlands”). Divine Madman had many consorts. He subdued demons with his phallus, which he referred to as his flaming thunderbolt.
The stupa at his temple was black because that’s where something was subdued. There are 18-19 dialects of Dzongka. Choki speaks his from the east, and others from the west can’t understand him. We went to a nunnery which was established by the mothers of the 4 queens of the 4th king.
There were 8-10 young nuns chanting different Sanskrit words in a circle. The stupa is patterned after those in Nepal. The temple had scalloped floor pattern. The descriptions of different deities and auspicious persons run together after awhile. There was a young boy hanging around whose father had died. Orphans are often left at the monastery/nunnery for the monks or nuns to raise. There was a book of photographs of non-Bhutanese people at the Divine Madman Temple who’d gotten the fertility blessing and conceived. Also can get a Bhutanese name given to you there. We ate at Divine Madman Cafeteria, which was very good. Local sausage & pork belly was not great, but radishes were good. Took photos at confluence of Male (blue) and Female (blue-green) rivers to form Punakha River.
Toured Punakha Dzong - original capital of Bhutan.
Saw procession of monks after evening prayers. Was larger, more ornate version of other temples we’d seen. Was security check and armed guard on exit. Bangladeshis were there without guide (on a SAARC visa) and wearing Muslim head covering. Choki asked them to remove it in the temple. Senior monks cracked whips on exit, signifying discipline. We walked to the longest suspension bridge in Bhutan. It was beautiful, but we were worn out by that point.
We drove to the farmhouse and had a nap, then dinner. Food was OK and they made us eat more than we would have otherwise. Rice, pumpkin soup, carrots/potatoes, drive pepper, sausage, pork belly, radishes. Had ara with egg boiled in it, which was actually OK.
Talked politics for a bit and turned in at 8-ish. Only one doggo outbreak at 4 a.m. Mattresses were thin, but quantity over quality on sleep.
India is better to Bhutan than China. Bhutanese import a lot of their manual labor from India. We went to the Divine Madman Temple. Walked through rice paddies and other terraced fields.
Saw potatoes, coriander, and onions growing. Anyone can buy dryland but government controls irrigated land (“wetlands”). Divine Madman had many consorts. He subdued demons with his phallus, which he referred to as his flaming thunderbolt.
The stupa at his temple was black because that’s where something was subdued. There are 18-19 dialects of Dzongka. Choki speaks his from the east, and others from the west can’t understand him. We went to a nunnery which was established by the mothers of the 4 queens of the 4th king.
There were 8-10 young nuns chanting different Sanskrit words in a circle. The stupa is patterned after those in Nepal. The temple had scalloped floor pattern. The descriptions of different deities and auspicious persons run together after awhile. There was a young boy hanging around whose father had died. Orphans are often left at the monastery/nunnery for the monks or nuns to raise. There was a book of photographs of non-Bhutanese people at the Divine Madman Temple who’d gotten the fertility blessing and conceived. Also can get a Bhutanese name given to you there. We ate at Divine Madman Cafeteria, which was very good. Local sausage & pork belly was not great, but radishes were good. Took photos at confluence of Male (blue) and Female (blue-green) rivers to form Punakha River.
Toured Punakha Dzong - original capital of Bhutan.
Saw procession of monks after evening prayers. Was larger, more ornate version of other temples we’d seen. Was security check and armed guard on exit. Bangladeshis were there without guide (on a SAARC visa) and wearing Muslim head covering. Choki asked them to remove it in the temple. Senior monks cracked whips on exit, signifying discipline. We walked to the longest suspension bridge in Bhutan. It was beautiful, but we were worn out by that point.
We drove to the farmhouse and had a nap, then dinner. Food was OK and they made us eat more than we would have otherwise. Rice, pumpkin soup, carrots/potatoes, drive pepper, sausage, pork belly, radishes. Had ara with egg boiled in it, which was actually OK.
Talked politics for a bit and turned in at 8-ish. Only one doggo outbreak at 4 a.m. Mattresses were thin, but quantity over quality on sleep.
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