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October 2001
Phuentsholing, Paro, Thimphu, Bumthang District
Brett Voegele2005-11-14 18:40:19
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and danced for us. They were shy at first, but eventually got into it and were still going 3 1/2 hours later. It was a magical evening.
Road Back to Thimphu
After completing the trek and spending another night in Jakar we were on the road back towards Thimphu. We stopped for lunch at Chendebji Chorten, a large Nepalese-style stupa by a small stream, surrounded by prayer flags. Very peaceful. We made a side trip up the Phobjikha Valley to the Gangte Goemba - an impressive monastery, before finally reaching Wangdi and our stopping point for the night. Throughout the Bumthang district we saw people harvesting buckwheat - cutting it by hand, and separating the grain by repeatedly throwing everything into the air and whacking it with a stick until all the grains had fallen to a tarp on the ground. The grain was then fed into a water-driven mill to be ground into flour.
The next day we progressed to Punakha and it's dzong - fortress/monastery. This is impressive, and is the site of one of the many Bhutanese festivals, though I wasn't lucky enough to witness one....next time.
Thimphu
Back in Thimphu I did a bit of wandering around, and attended the weekend market. It's geared more to the locals with the selling of fruits and vegetables, but there is also a fairly extensive handicraft section for tourists.
I also witnessed the national sport - archery. Teams shoot arrows from about 150 yards at a 1' x 2' target, and perform specific dances when the target is hit. They also play the same game with darts which are thrown by hand, from about 30 yards, at a 3" x 10" target. Entertaining to witness.
We decided to do another short two-day hike above Thimphu, so hiked a few hours above town to a monastery - a mini Tiger's Next perched on a steep cliff. We had to wait
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See photographs from:
Bhutan Gallery
