Bhutan - Thimpu

Thimpu is the capital of Bhutan, but we spent only 6 hours in the city town (?), as a stopover from Paro to Punakha, the old capital.  The drive takes 4 hours and takes one from 2,300m (Paro) up to 3,100m (Dochu La Pass), and then down to 1,200m where Punakha is located.  

At Dochu La pass, 108 chortens (stupas) built in a circular mound greeted us.  Built in 2003 by the Queen Mother, it commemorates the deaths of those involved in the war with Assamese (Indian) separatists in the border areas between India & Bhutan.  Assamese separatists were using Bhutanese border towns to launch assault on India, and after 7 years of futile negotiations with them, the king decided to flush them out with the help of the Indian army.  

It was a misty morning when we were there, but on a clear day, you can see the some of the highest Himalayan peaks from here. 

The chortens, like the Nepalese stupas, Chinese pagodas, and Tibetan counterparts, house Buddhist relics, or ashes of monks or loved ones

We made a stop at Tamchhu Lakhang, a temple built in the 15th century by the Tibetan monk Thangtong Gyalpo, nicknamed the Iron Bridge Builder because his temples were only accessible by an iron bridge.  It was a way to collect toll from visitors, but I am sure they came up with something with a more spiritual ring to it at that time.  

Rest houses at both ends of the bridge allowed visitors a place to rest or spend the night if they missed the opening times of the gates.  The temple is in the background. 

The gatehouses were simple two-storey wooden structures with an open space for visitors to rest.  

Our guide explaining the three most important Buddhist figures in Bhutan: Padmasambhava (also known as Guru Rinpoche in Tibet & Bhutan), a highly influential 8th century Buddhist teacher from India on the left, the historical Gautama Buddha in the center, and Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, a Tibetan lama and unifier of the Bhutanese state in the 17th century. 

By the way, notice the large sagging pouch created by the folds of our guide's gho (traditional men's costume).  He described it as a 360 degree pocket because it goes all the way to the back.  The men store everything in it: mobile phone, wallet, papers, prayer beads, etc.  Very handy.  I think YL is jealous - look at his unwieldy backpack.   

Tsatsa (mini chorten) are often found in or near religious places as a Buddhist offering or to ask for blessings or to remember a loved one.  Inside the chorten are ashes of loved ones, slips of papers with names of the sick written on it or some other religious artefact.  

Gathering courage to cross the bridge.  YL stomped across in under a minute.  He had a surprisingly high confidence in a 15th century bridge suspended over a gushing river several metres below.  Turned out he thought this was a replica and not a surviving 15th century bridge.  Ignorance is helpful sometimes.

Fortunately, 15th-century Tibetan monks seem to make very strong and lasting iron bridges, so we survived to continue our drive to Thimpu.  

The closest thing to a mall.  Buildings are rarely more than 5 stories high as the country is within the earthquake zone.

The "modern" buildings sprouting out all over the capital are mostly boring squarish structures.  The buildings outside of the capital are more interesting.

I wonder if there are any other capital cities in the world without at least one set of traffic lights?  In Thimpu, this roundabout is the center of the town, and this traffic police is the center of that center.

The offices of the United Nations.  The handpainted sign, low rise, low-tech building made it feel like a sweet little village school. 

  

A dzong is a fortress-monastery which traditionally acted simultaneously as watchtowers, dungeons, storage for ammunition, temples and monks' quarters.  Trashi Chhoe Dzong (Thimpu Dzong) is a good example of such structures, and today hosts one of the major tsechu (religious festivals) in the country. 

Today most dzongs are separated into two sections: a monastic wing, and a civil administrative wing housing the junior courts, for instance.

The locals are dressed in traditional clothes to attend the tsechu (religious festival), but they pretty much dress like this everyday as well.  Our guide recalled that people would never even think of leaving their house dressed in jeans or tees just 10 years earlier.  Today, the young ones here are indistinguishable from their counterparts in Singapore or the USA, although the traditional costumes still has an undeniably prominent role in their culture.  

The kira (traditional women's costume) is such an elegant piece that reminds me of a Japanese kimono crossed with the Malay baju kurung.  The sight of women wearing it alone is enough to transport you back in time.

The entrance to the dzong is graced by these colourful, expressive Buddhist paintings and a nondescript metal detector.

We were lucky to be in the country just before the peak tourist period, so we were the lone tourists in almost all the places we visited.  Or perhaps this is just the result of the country's "high quality, low impact" tourism policy.  The day we arrived in Thimpu was the first day of a major tsechu (religious festival) but as the first day is normally just a prelude to the real stuff, we shared the place with just under a hundred visitors, mostly locals.  On the main days of the festival, one can expect the place to be packed with several thousands of spectators.  

A group of friends waiting for the action to start.  The sashes that the men wear denote their place in society.  Pure white sashes are for commoners.  White with red borders (seen on the man on the extreme right) mean he has some other special position in society (unknown to me)  

These good-looking tourists were wiling time away by posing for photos

This devotee decided to be more productive than those two shallow tourists and started praying and prostrating in several directions around the square

Aha! Finally! The clowns monks are out!  The one in the yellow in the middle of the crowd is the Je Khenpo, the head of the central monk body of Bhutan.

On the first day of the festival, the dances performed are relatively mild and simple without the famous masks, done as blessings for the festival, the site, and the people.  This one is the Dance of the Black Hats representing yogis who have the power to create and destroy life.

We only stayed for about an hour, but I guess it goes on for several hours

The locals came in all shapes and sizes, but mostly the very young or the old, since the two  public holidays for the festival only started the following day.

After we left the dzong, we visited the National Institute for Preservation of Traditional Arts and Crafts.  Official signs like these are always handpainted on wood.  I like it; it is so quaint.

  

As the name implies, the institute is set up to preserve the traditional arts of painting, woodcarving, embroidery and statue-making.  It is a vocational school of sorts, and offers four to six year programmes where the students will learn some or all of these skills. 

Sketches of hand gestures and other body parts of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and other religious figures on one of the blackboards of a class 

Templates for an illustration of a representation of a Buddha, Vajradhara, and his consort, Vajradhatvishvari.  This type of imagery is commonly found in Tantric or Vajrayana Buddhism (the school of Buddhism practiced mostly in Tibet and Bhutan), and is created as a visualisation aid for meditation.  Most would likely be compelled by its erotic nature, but it is simply a symbolism of the union or completeness, or yin-yang if you wish, that is required to reach enlightenment.  The male aspect represents compassion, while the female represents wisdom, among other things.  They are necessarily provocative to help confront one's inner demons, fears and desires. 

For pure naughtiness, you will have to wait until I talk about the wandering ascetic, Drukpa Kunley, nicknamed The Divine Madman, much revered in Bhutan for his ...umm let's say "unconventional" ways of teaching Buddhism.  

Using gold paint to add delicate details to the fabric of the figure on a thangka (Buddhist painting on silk); incredibly painstaking work, and oh so beautiful 

The big picture

More apprentices working on paintings

Drying the clay statues

Colouring the clay statues

Tools of the trade for wood carving

Finished results

Name of student on the back of the carving above, ready for marking by the teacher.  Don't you think the handwriting has an Indian slant to it?

India has a very special position in Bhutan, due to a tangled web of links since her early days. The fact that Buddhism originated from India is one big reason.  Bhutan has played hosts to many important Buddhist teachers and monks from India over the centuries, starting from Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche) in the 8th century.  In more recent history, India has propped up Bhutan's development, channeling funds, assistance and various resources to the small kingdom.  Many Bhutanese pursue higher education in India.  Many of them speak English today peppered with quintessentially Indian-English forms of expressions, a slight Indian twang and the customary Indian tilt of head.  Indian tourists are the only ones exempted from a visa or the use of tour agents, and they pay local prices for food, transportation & accommodation.  Bhutan sells hydropower to India at a heavily subsidised price.   

And Bhutan loves Bollywood: Inside a classroom at the National Institute for Traditional Arts.    

This class of embroiders 

Modernity has a place in the traditional, too:  Students at the institute are also given computer training.  We saw some students using advanced software to document and plan their handiwork

And finally, before we left Thimpu, we stopped by a sanctuary for Bhutan's national animal, the takin, a curious breed that looks like a cross between a goat and a cow.  They can only be found in Bhutan and some parts of Tibet.  Apparently taxonomists are still stumped by the animal.  Not able to categorise it into any existing species, they created a new one for it.  See for yourself:

Legend says that the takin was created by the 16th-century monk, the Divine Madman, who, annoyed at being asked to prove his powers to the local community, simply took the bones of the animals that he has feasted on earlier - a cow and a goat, placed them together, and commanded it to life. 

Wow, that is a lot to say for a 6-hour visit.  Will break up future posts to make them more digestable.  

Bhutan - Background & Arrival

Before I rattle on about our trip, here is a simple map of the country.  Surrounded by giants - China & India, landlocked, completely mountainous, and well within the earthquake zone, the country does not have a lot going for it.  But herein lies the silver lining: these difficult conditions made it unattractive for conquest by foreign powers - unless you count the Tibetans.  In fact, the British, in the peak of their power-mad days (is it actually really over?), simply trampled climbed through Bhutan to get to Tibet.  

Today, it has a tiny army of 5,000 voluntary men & women defending a population of around 700,000 in a country the size of Switzerland.  When asked if that number is sufficient, our guide explained, "Well, look at who we have for neighbours.  It does not matter how many people we put into our army when you are up against the Chinese or Indians."  Good point.   

The average elevation in Bhutan is 2,500 metres above sea level, just below the level where altitude sickness start to affect sea-level people.  Most of its peaks are above 7,000 metres and the world's highest unclimbed mountain is Gangkhar Puensum at 7,570 metres.  The government has forbade any climbing in its high mountains as the Bhutanese believe they are the abode of celestial beings and thus sacred.  

Most tourists visiting the country for the first time stick to Western Bhutan and visit at least three major destinations: Paro, where the international airport is; Punakha, the old capital; and Thimpu, the capital since the 1960's.  They moved the capital from Punakha to Thimpu because Punakha, at 1,200 metres, is fertile land with the perfect climate for growing almost anything.  So, in a far-sighted move to prevent the congestion and urbanisation that is imminent in a capital city which could then decimate valuable arable land, the king moved the capital to Thimpu even though it is far colder in the winter months.  How envious I am of their leader.... 

The national airline, DrukAir.  It is the only airline that flies into Bhutan, and currently has connections with several Indian cities, Bangkok and Singapore.  We were on board the same flight as the fourth king of Bhutan who was seated in Business Class (no First Class).  If it is good enough for the king, it is good enough for me....

We flew in from Bangkok, and in my excitement to take this picture of us boarding the flight, I left my SGD200+ worth of duty-free shopping behind on the airport shuttle.  The air stewardess attempted to page the airport staff to find it, but was unsuccessful.  Somewhere, a Thai airport worker is smelling very good, sporting glowing skin and has no eye bags.  

It is Bhutan's welcome to us - our first lesson in the Buddhist precept that attachment leads to suffering and all things are transient.  :(

  

The Paro airport is located between massive mountain peaks.  The runway itself is short, even though it is the longest straight stretch of  land they could find.  Approach into the airport and departures are challenging aeronautical feats, done completely by visual flight rules (no auto pilot nonsense here!).  The planes have to maintain a safe distance from the mountain sides while turning into the runway.  The passengers, meanwhile, hold their breath.

Paro airport.  Airline crew in the traditional costumes, the gho (for men) and kira (for women).  Traditional clothing must be worn for visits to government offices including schools, and temples or any religious monuments. 

The Duty Free shop and the immigration checkpoint at Paro airport.  What you see here is all there is.  No fancy gadgets or glass booths for the officers.  No cigarettes sold at the shop either, as smoking is banned in Bhutan.  If desperate, you can buy Indian stock from the black market.

 

Bhutan - The Hotel

I don't normally talk about the hotels we stay in during our holidays but in this case, it was really the star of the trip.  

In our younger days, we had our share of dodgy hostels and backpackers' inns crawling with mice and roaches (really!), and common showers that make you feel dirtier after you use them.  But in our old age, we got soft and now it is luxurious bedding and swanky showers that get our vote.  For all you youngsters out there, take heed.  It WILL happen to you.

Anyways as it was also going to be our 10th wedding anniversary, we wanted to keep it special, so there was really no two ways around it: it has to be the Uma by Como.  The boutique hotel chain is owned by Singaporeans, but run by Malaysians (like many businesses, ain't it?) and the Indonesian chefs ruled the kitchens.  In the two properties we stayed in Bhutan - one in Paro and one in Punakha - both were managed by a succession of fellow Malaysians.  Malaysia boleh!!  We had a nice chat about walks and satay with the hotel manager at Uma Punakha, a young amiable KL-ite who was sent to set up the property a year ago.  

We also took up our week-long tour package from the hotel, giving me a break from researching and planning our itinerary.  

But here I am, reading up about the country during dinner anyways.

All our meals were catered by the hotel's restaurant and, boy, they were some of the best meals we have ever had.  We failed miserably in our objective to lose weight during the trip.

The hotel's restaurant in both its properties is named Bukhari, which refers to the traditional Bhutanese heater.  This one is in Uma Paro.

Breakfast of red rice porridge with pork strips- a simple, delicious, filling breakfast!

Momo - Tibetan dumplings - were often on the menu.  So were satay, mee goreng and Indian briyani.  All very nicely done.  You can trust us - look at the extra kilos that we brought back.

Both properties boasts of extraordinary hill settings.  Our favourite - by a far margin - is Uma Punakha, set up on a hill overlooking a valley fringed by imposing mountains, carpeted with rice paddy fields, dotted with traditional wooden farmhouses, and a river runs through it all.

Our hotel room in Uma Punakha - only one of 11 rooms in the entire property.

This was the view that greeted us every morning when we drew open the curtains.  It is like living inside a landscape painting.  One could almost touch the mountains across the fields.  We are not easy to impress, but without a doubt, we were impressed this time.  Just this view alone is worth the whole trip.

View from breakfast area

Sipping tea while watching the morning mountain mists swirl around us.

Mustn't forget to talk about Uma Paro.  While Uma Punakha has an unbeatable setting, it lacks in facilities.  Uma Paro, on the other hand, is well equipped (and its location isn't too shabby either) with a gym, spa, DVD in each room, library, souvenir shop, archery grounds, yoga room, etc. 

View from our room in Uma Paro

It is also set against a mountain.  View of the front part of the hotel.

Exploring its grounds.  The hotel has a fleet of golf buggies to reach the villas and suites scattered across the property

On our last night in Uma Paro, either as a special wedding anniversary gift or to make up for the inconvenience several days earlier when our car broke down on a 4-hour drive, we were upgraded to a one-bedroom suite that comes with a personal butler.  We had just returned from our 2-day hike to the Tiger's Nest Monastery where our toilets were the bushes, our tees were marinated in sweat, and our hiking boots were covered in mud and animal droppings.  We were Tarzan & Jane with a palace.

The jungle man testing out the furniture.

You don't need to see the rest of the suite.  You only need to see the the toilet to know how luxurious it was.  The toilet itself is half the size of our entire apartment in Singapore.

A trivia for you:  Tony Leung & Karina Lau stayed at one of the suites in Uma Paro when they were married in Bhutan several years ago.  Hmm, I wonder if I walked on the same path that he did?  Sat at the same dinner chair?  YL will forgive me for dreaming of another man because we are talking about TONY LEUNG here...

Our personal butler was Kinley, a 23-year old mother-of-one.  She served our dinner in our suite, and in between dishes, she hid in the pantry next to our massage room (yes you read correctly - THERE IS A BL**DY PRIVATE MASSAGE ROOM INSIDE OUR SUITE).  She even cleaned our rotting hiking boots without our knowledge, and remarked "That's what a butler is for"  when we thanked her profusely.

Our guide and driver for the duration of our trip - Ugyen Dorji (UD) and Tshering.  Both spoke excellent English and had been in the tourism field for more than 9 years.   

Bhutan - Land of the Thunder Dragon

First, let's get the myths out of the way:

- There *is* crime.
- There *is* poverty.
- There *is* unhappiness.
- There *is* vice. 


Now, what *is* true:

- It *is* a land seeped in mysticism.
- It *is* a place of spiritual people. 
- It *is* a juxtaposition of the traditional and the modern.
- It *is* culturally authentic and raw in its beauty.  

Monks watching the tshechu (religious festival) at Thimpu Dzong (temple-fortress)

Young girl in Paro town

"Om mani padme hum" - a Buddhist chant in Sanskrit language - painted on the side of a cliff

Wrist strings at Punakha Dzong (fortress-temple)

Sun rays on a Himalayan village

The Taktshang Goemba (Tiger's Nest Monastery) - Bhutan's most famous landmark, built at the side of a precipitous cliff 3000m above sea level

Somewhere up in the Himalaya mountains

For our "ten-year long service award", YL and I gave ourselves a holiday without the kids and up in the mountains; in the Himalayas, no less.  The last time we had an adults-only holiday was more than five years ago when we hid up in yet another mountain range - the Andes - in Peru.  I'm more of a mountain person while YL is more of an ocean person.  But since the tenth-year anniversary is not a good time to argue with the wife, the mountains it is then.  Actually let me rephrase that - it is *never* a good time to argue with the wife.  End of story. 

We had our sights set on Bhutan almost ten years ago but given its "low volume, high quality" tourism policy, we were not able to afford the USD 200 per day tariffs as we were still monkeys earning peanuts at that time.  (We are still monkeys, but we get fatter peanuts now).  Today, Bhutan's rates have climbed to USD 250 per day but there is no quota on tourist numbers.  This number scares everyone but it includes everything - accommodation, meals, transportation, a personal guide and driver, entrance fees, etc, not to mention a chance to experience something that you will not find in any country in the world: a culturally well-preserved Himalayan Buddhist kingdom with practices untainted by modern conveniences and globalisation.  For how much longer, I don't know.  So go before it disappears.  

Bhutan is blessed with extremely far-sighted and wise kings.  When she opened up to tourism in the 1960's (only 50 years ago!) the third king - popularly known as Father of Modern Bhutan - implemented a policy of sustainable tourism where tourist money will not erode their cultural and spiritual heritage.  His son, the fourth king, continued many developmental projects to elevate the his people's lives, including devising the much discussed Gross National Happiness index in lieu of the Gross Domestic Product index.  He also abolished the monarchy in favour of democracy and a constitutional monarchy, and abdicated in favour of his son in 2006 to the protests of his people who wanted the king to remain in absolute power.  The fifth king, a handsome young man in his early 30's and educated in Oxford, seems to set to continue the good work of his forefathers.

One Decade

Once upon a time, a little girl and a little boy got together and decided they wanted to be more than friends.  For one decade, together they trudged on a path fraught with twists, turns, and thorns.  Sometimes they tripped over one another, and every now and then, one of them would slip on the slopes or into the holes in the ground.  Guided only by an illogical belief in each other and the promise of grand vistas ahead, they press forward taking solace in the small rewards - the fresh smell of a new day, the warmth of hands held tight, the unexpected bursts of laughter, and the comfort that a companion brings.  

Onto another decade! 

Magical Birthday

Our firstborn celebrated her 8th birthday last weekend with a small group of school friends.  Being the lazy and un-creative parents we are, we were quite happy to let the occasion pass without any fanfare.  Alas, she requested for a party two months in advance and made sure we did not forget by reminding us every week.  And just to be water-tight sure, she planned the agenda of the day, wrote it down and bound it into a little booklet for us.  

Two weeks before the day, when she showed no signs of backing out, I reluctantly moved away from the denial stage, and quickly whipped up something worthy.  First, we made sure she does her bit for her own party.  So she designed her birthday card, then she helped me make 4 copies of it using bits and bobs.  
  

She also provided her own entertainment - a few magic tricks.

We enlisted a professional to up the ante and perform a few more advanced tricks.  But children these days are too smart - they saw through out one of them.  Either that, or the assistant employed by this professional magician was not too good.

She also performed her own tune for the Happy Birthday song.  Yeah, yeah, we're cheap.  But we're teaching her responsibility, and TEAMwork... She also helped cut out the shapes for the playing cards banner in the background.

What else did we do?

The girls made their own top hats, in keeping with the magic theme.

Again, we had a professional who made sure things were moving along nicely, and the hats actually fit.

Here Ju is modeling the final look, complete with tattoos

The cupcakes kept up with the magic theme

Close up

And finally, we rounded up the day with a few rowdy games of musical chairs, charades and the like

Happy Birthday, Sophie!  Hope you had fun organising your own party... :)

Welcome to Sophie's "twin"!

Yiyi delivered a healthy, BIIIG, baby girl today!  Congratulations, and great job!

The icing on the cake is that she will now share the same birthday as Sophie... :)