Sherab.
National Memorial Chorten.
Candles for the faithful.
A senior with a personal prayer wheel.
The Golden Buddha.
The capital city of Thimphu.
The Himalayas.
Weaving.
Traditional formal dress boots.
I haven't shaved for a while.
Rice paper painting.
The government buildings.
Tankin.
Temples are gathering places, where seniors like to hang out.
Spinning prayer wheels.
Don't we look great?
Monday, April 16th.
Today we had a tour of Thimphu, Bhutan’s capital city.
After our breakfast buffet we loaded up in the van with our diver Sherab and
set off. The city is wonderfully located in a lush valley surrounded by
towering mountains. One of the world's smallest capitals, at just 100 000 people
(there are 700 000 people in the country), it was only a loose collection of
separate villages as recently as 1960, when it was decided by King Jigme Darje
Wangchuk to move the political base from the ancient capital Punakha - its
diminutive size gives it a unique charm and atmosphere, and it claims to be the
only capital in the world that does not have traffic lights! The pace of life
here is much less frantic and noisy than India. We all commented on how serene
it was. Because
the city was fairly recently made the capital (1955), there is a lot of new and
modern building going on and many of the old buildings have been torn down to
make room for more. Chimi lives in a such a building and complained that it too
will be replaced. She has that the city is very expensive to live in and an apartment
can cost about $200 000 US. She was married, is divorced and has a four year old
child who her sister takes care of as she does her guiding job.
The
first stop was the National Memorial Chorten built in memory of the third Druk
(king) of Bhutan Gyalpo Jigme Dorji Wangchuk, who died in 1972 at the age of 44,
by his surviving wife. It is a beautiful white stupa with a temple inside.
Unfortunately, Chimi told us that we cannot take photos inside temples in Bhutan
‘when shoes are off, cameras are off’. However, it was beautiful inside. Many
people in the city come here before work or at lunch to pray and old people
often make a day of it and stay the whole day. They spin prayer wheels, chant
and walk in a close-wise direction around the stupa. There is a building beside
it full of candles that the faithful can light.
Our next stop was up into the hills to the new large
golden Buddha Dordenma which is one of the most beautiful and ornate Buddha statues in
the world and has a commanding view of the city. It is immense.
There is another beautiful temple inside full of carved golden pillars and
thousands of miniature Buddha statues. There is an enormous open area in front
that will be used for large religious teachings and lessons when it is completed.
The whole complex has been largely funded by Singapore and many of the
materials, the granite for the stairs and the teak flooring inside, come from China.
From here, off in the distance we could see part of the snow-covered Himalayas.
The road up to it is laced with lines of prayer flags like you see in Tibet.
Then we went to a traditional weaving shop where women
work on looms to make silk material. We were told that with the more complex
patterns a woman could work for a whole day to make just one inch of pattern
and it would take months to complete. There was above the shop, of course, a shop
where you could buy traditional products, including Gho, the coat men wear, or
boots and shoes and other things. Beside that was an artist’s studio with beautiful
paintings on a variety of materials, canvass or rice paper, etc.
After that we had a buffet lunch at a local tourist
restaurant.
Next we stopped at a view point where we could see
over the city and the government buildings and the king’s small palace.
Our next stop was at the large sanctuary that was
built after the king made the rare takin mammal, endemic to this region of Bhutan, the
national animal of Bhutan in 1985. The takin looks like a cross between a buffalo
and a large goat. There were several other animals housed here including the
samba deer and the barking deer, which is a small member of the family with a
fang and a hoarse call that sounds like a bark, apparently.
Our last stop on the tour was at the 11th
century Changangkha
Temple which looms above the city and is traditionally a place where new
parents come to receive the names for their new-borns from the deity Tamdrin.
The temple had a very old feel to it and as we wandered around we saw people
spinning the prayer wheels. Inside the temple are some beautiful old paintings
on the walls and a few men were painstakingly restoring some of them and repairing
some of the cracks and walls.
Then we returned to our hotel. Will, Nico, Jenn, Judith and I accompanied
Chimi to a clothing shop across the street where we tried on some traditional
clothing. We had our photo taken as a group and then Will, Nico and I bought
ours. It cost $60, and I figure it will be a great housecoat for home or a robe
to wear at the cottage to dry off after going in the water or to make Chris
laugh. Will wanted to buy one to embrace the culture and is going to wear it
for the whole trip so he doesn’t have to do anymore laundry.
Then we went back to relax for an hour before our buffet dinner. The
rest of the group loved our Ghos. Then we called it a night.
The wig looks like a good souvenir as well Joe
ReplyDeleteBhutan looks beautiful so far love the tankin
You really need the wig to complement the housecoat!
ReplyDeleteWhy clockwise rather than anti clockwise?
ReplyDelete