We passed by the stadium where the FIFA trophy tour was held and my my, the queue to take picture with the trophy was super long! Since we were not soccer fans we decided to give it a miss. :)
So we decided to go back to the hotel to chill and drink tea! Then I read "What makes you not a Buddhist" out loud for everyone. It was quite an interesting read, but some parts were a little hard to understand, so we probably have to reflect more about it before we can understand! My guide says that this book had became really popular and it was selling well elsewhere too!
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DAY 3
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We are checked out of Kisa Hotel and were scheduled to drive towards the Punakha Dzong and the Dochula Pass!
We were about to set off then our guide said that the road towards our destination was blocked since last night because of the ice formation. So we had to delay our journey there, but it was a blessing in disguise because we got to see other sights in Thimphu city!
First we went to the paper factory where we saw the whole process of how recycled paper was made! And we got to visit the paper gallery, and there were so many pretty paper products! 😍
Shredded Tree Barks
It's quite hard to imagine this would become paper!
Boiled Tree Barks
Drying the papers
Then we went to watch the national sport of Bhutan: Archery!
We were lucky because it was the national finals! One minister was also there to participate! If you're picturing the usual archery, then you'll be pleasantly surprise to find Bhutanese archery very different! Check this out, the distance between the shooter and the target is 145m!!!!!
THAT'S THE TARGET!
The white thing in between the guys in this picture!
We took some polaroids when we were at the paper factory
It didn't turn out very nice because the background was too bright.
But, oh well, here are pictures of them!
We gave them to our tour guide & driver as a souvenir! :)
Little kids just having fun running around
The people there just seems so carefree & happy :)
I super love this picture because the background is so pretty
and I look so happy too ^^
Then we received news that the pass is open and set off towards the Dochula Pass.
(Following information is from the itinerary!) Dochula Pass, at 3,050m, this beautiful pass with its 108 Bhutanese stupas was built by Her Majesty The Queen Mother Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck to commemorate victory over the Indian militants and to liberate the souls of the lives lost.
Okay, so anyway, it was really beautiful because of the snow! And the clouds were our background omg. They also had a nice cafe where we could drink coffee, sit beside the heater and enjoy the good view!
Cheeky tour guide!
Omg. WHY AM I SO SHORT?!
HAHAH Daddy posing on a traffic police bike, with the traffic police helmet.
You must be thinking: WHAT IN THE WORLD?
HAHA apparently the police there are super friendly. There were taking pictures and they allowed my dad to take this picture and later on they even volunteered to help my bro and sis take pictures and eventually... ended up taking pictures WITH them lolllll
In the cafe!
Ohhhh this is a picture of the royal family. Okay, shall take the chance to explain a little more about the royal family. The 4th king(guy in the middle standing in orange) had 4 wives and they were all sisters (they are the ones in blue standing in the picture)
So the 5th King (to the left of 4th King) is the son of the 3rd wife! The cute little boy in the middle of the picture not the 4th King's son but his first grandson! okay a little too confusing!
Go read up on your own if you're interested :)
And about the royal couple here
Pretty firewood background!
So after we passed the Dochula Pass, we were headed for the Punakha Dzong. (See it hidden in the leaves in the first picture~)
(From Itinerary) Placed strategically at the junction of the Pho Chu and Mo Chu rivers (Female & Male Rivers), the dzong was built in 1637
by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal to serve as the religious and administrative seat of the region. It was here that the dual
system of government was introduced in the 17th century and in 1907, enthroned the first King Gongsar Ugyen Wangchuck.
Damaged over the centuries by four catastrophic fires and an earthquake, the dzong has been fully restored in the recent
years by the 4th King Jigme Singye Wangchuck. At the dzong enrich your trip with the opportunity to see the highest
standards in woodwork. Do not miss the massive Kuenray, the Coronation Hall of all Bhutanese kings, the Dzongchung at
the entrance to the dzong and the cantilever bridge over the Mochu that has been recently renovated.
After we visited the Dzong, (No pictures allowed inside) we drove a short distance to the suspension bridge! This bridge wasn't as scary as the other one because it was a proper bridge (Still a bit scary nonetheless! haha) Across the river is a small provision shop and Sonam said that monks from the Dzong would often go there to get stuff like snacks and food :)
It was getting dark and we were behind time. So we hurried back to the van and drove towards our next hotel, Hotel Lobesa! We were pleasantly surprised by the interior of the hotel as it was very spacious! In fact the owners of the hotels were the same as the owners of the restaurant we had our lunch that day! :)
Our room also had a balcony which overlooked the valley and fields! (ohhhh and we had a blackout again, this time only on our level! :o Apparently some wire came loose and it was fixed after an electrician came by.) We had a fantastic dinner, and stayed at the dining area for snacks, wine and chat while waiting for the electricity to come back on. (which wasn't a bad thing since only the ground floor, dining area had wifi hahaha!)
Although I look really comfortable and wrapped up here, it was actually really cold in this hotel! hahaha the room was so spacious, yet there was only 1 small portable heater and they couldn't give us an extra heater cause the hotel was full house that night. However, after getting under the blankets it got a lot better! My sister and I ended up talking till the wee hours of the night cause we couldn't fall asleep. :p
End of Day 3 :) It was a tiring but really eventful and beautiful day! :)
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DAY 4
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Had breakfast then checked out of the hotel :) oh and check this out, they were having a marathon up in the mountains! Okay I think it was only a half marathon, but still, it never fails to amaze me how cars, animals and humans can all share this small narrow road! Sometimes we have cows walking (REALLY SLOWLY) in front of us and we just have to wait till they are willing to move to the side before we could pass! Would be a great experience to participate in a run up there in the mountains, hopefully I would get a chance to do so someday :)
Along the way, we came across this small waterfall. There are always interesting sights along the roads which made the road trips so much more enjoyable. :) We had a stopover at this pretty coffeehouse. OMG, this was one of my favourite places! We could have coffee & tea outdoors with beautiful snowcap mountains as the back drop. Not to mention lovely dogs just wandering around us and sleeping under the sun. Sitting there just made me feel so at peace! I totally wouldn't mind living here!!!!!
Super sad to leave this place and all the cute dogs! :( So, we set off to our next destination, Gantey.
Punakha to Gangtey
(Itinerary) The valley of Phobjikha is well known as the winter home of the Black necked crane (Grus Nigricollis). Bhutan is home to
around six hundred black necked cranes with Phobjikha being one of the popular places that the birds migrate to in the
winter months from the Tibetan plateau. The elegant and shy birds can be observed from early November to end of March.
Along the way, we saw the Yaks! Apparently they might charge at humans once in awhile so we couldn't go too close :) The sky was really really nice that day so we took the chance to take more photos :)
HEHHE THIS IS SO FUNNY. CAN'T STOP LAUGHING WHEN I SEE THIS.
LOOKS LIKE IM TRYING SO HARD TO BE TALL
AND I FREAKING LOOK LIKE POPEPYE THE SAILOR MAN
OKAY, enough of nonsense, hahah here's the proper nice shot! :)
After the stopover, we visited another monastery before setting off on our nature hike!
Nature Hike along the valley of Phobjikha
A short trek of about 90 minutes known as the 'Gangte Nature Trail'
starts from the Mani stone wall to the north of the Gangteng Gonpa and ends in Khewa Lhakhang.
WHERE ARE WE HEADING TOWARDS?
Okay, see the whole patch of forested area in the background? :)
We will be walking towards the forest, through the forest, across the fields.
And end up on the other side of the valley :)
Yikes, sounds like a long walk but IT WAS SO WORTH IT.
EVEN THE PICTURES YOU'LL SEE LATER
WON'T DO THE ACTUAL SCENERY JUSTICE HAHA!
The forest paths :)
But when we arrived at the other side, the view was simply...
BREATH TAKING.
If you watched 3 Peas in a Pod, where they were on top of the rocks at the Grampions National Park and Xander asked "Do you think this is what heaven looks like?"
OMG I felt we were in heaven, in paradise because everything just seemed so surreal. The clouds were just a distance away and we sat there admiring the magnificence of it all. I didn't want to walk away from this place but Sonam said that Sangay was waiting for us at the valley already and we were already late for lunch so we couldn't stay for long. But even the view along the way down to the valley was breath taking. We also managed to see some black necked cranes fly past but we weren't lucky enough to get pictures! So here are a few pictures of pictures of black neck cranes from the magazines there! HAHA :)
Check out the clouds in a distance!
If you're wondering where's our destination,
It's actually the small houses you see in the background of the pictures.
We walked across the valley to get there.
However, it was too cold while walking there so I didn't take any pictures.
Lunch was especially good after a hike! hahaha we got to go back to the hotel (Hotel Dewachen) to rest after lunch at 4+pm. This hotel was really special because they didn't have heaters in the rooms. We had to burn firewood in our mini fireplace. Okay, but let's not get too excited and start imagining a fireplace like this. (Image from Google)
Because it was nothing like that! hahaha It was only a small furnace where were had to put firewood in every hour so keep the room warm. Nonetheless, it was still an interesting experience. It was so super duper cold outside because we were quite high up in the mountains! Here's what the fireplace looks like HAHAHA
HAHA However, the fireplace at the dining area looked better! :)
We also took a picture with the staff there. She was extremely nice, and helped with all our requests :)
We had a nice dinner there and Dad & Mum tried their local famous whisky, K5. They bought a small cup and a bottle of Druk 1000. We were planning to stay up the whole night to chat because we had to put firewood every hour~ So I was supposed to be reading "What makes you not a Buddhist" Chapter 3: Emptiness to them but they all slept before I was even halfway through the chapter! :(
Luckily we had hot water bags so we filled them up and hugged them to sleep, so Daddy wouldn't have to stay up all night. We all went to sleep are 3am and luckily the hot water bags could keep us warm till morning! ;)
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DAY 5
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We had a good breakfast before setting off on out 6 hour drive to Paro. OHHH and I was so happy because Sonam said we could stop by the coffee place with the dogs again today!!!! So here you go, more pictures of cute doggies and this time a cute little boy came over to watch the fun.
My sister wanted to try to chop firewood haahahha! Thus, our guide went to find the locals there to make a request for wood and an axe! Then suddenly everyone crowded around and tried chopping the wood. :)
SUPER CUTE BOY ^^
OKAY, back to doggy pictures :)
OMG I WAS JUST SNAPPING PICTURE AND THIS CUTE DOG
SUDDENLY STOOD UP AND WALKED TOWARDS ME...
STARED INTO MY CAMERA THEN SUDDENLY....
SHE RAISED HER LEG TO SHAKE MY HAND
WITHOUT ME PROMPTING OR ANYTHING.
OMG ADORABLE MAXXXXXX
We stopped along the way near the previous hotel, Hotel Lobesa to go for a short hike (about an hour) to the fertility temple and have lunch at the restaurant before that. The temple was built to pray to The Divine Madman. There is a very interesting story about this Divine Madman who was a Buddsauvatua. I shall not elaborate here but you can go read up if you're interested :)
After that we were supposed to continue on the next 3 hours of the journey towards Paro. Sonam was so nice!! The road was extremely bumpy but he was reading a book to us! We really felt his dedication and devotion to Buddhism and we are so glad that he was so willing to share his knowledge and insights! :)
However, Bro had some gum infection or something so we requested to stop by a Pharmacy to buy some mouth wash. Sonam told us that the pharmacy in Paro was a little small and might not have what we needed, so he arranged for a slight detour and a stop at Thimphu again. We managed to buy what we wanted at the Thimphu pharmacy and even had time to stop by at the local bookstore! I managed to buy 1Q84 the full trilogy for $12 only omg! :)
When we left Thimphu it was already getting dark so Sangay had to speed up or else it wouldn't be that easy driving n the dark. I have total faith in his driving but omg, I couldn't control my motion sickness. I felt like throwing up. Luckily as it got dark, Sangay slowed down and safety was first. I felt a little better, by the time we reached our last hotel it was pitch darkness outside (at 8pm). The last hotel was really pretty, the staff were all really friendly as well.
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DAY 6
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TODAY IS TIGER'S NEST DAY!
There was the option to take horses up the mountain.
But we decided to hike up on our own.
OMG isn't taking horses scarier?! What if they go out of control?
BUT, after all these years the horses accident rate has been ZERO :)
That's us at the bottom, before we start the hike.
If you can see in this picture, I'm wearing a red glove
and pointing up to our destination.
The small little temple up in the mountains! :)
That's how to trail looks like :)
And this is us at the half way mark, where the first viewing point is.
There is a cafeteria for trekkers to drink coffee
& admire Tiger's Nest from there. :)
Here's me with a super nice and pretty dog.
BUT MY BRO ACCIDENTALLY CHANGED THE CAMERA SETTINGS
AND THE PHOTO TURNED OUT LIKE THAT.
By the time he changed it back, the doggy ran away already. :(
The view from up there was just magnificent.
{We went into the monastery and came out already!}
However, no electronic devices were allowed in.
Thus, no pictures of the interior or even the view from there ;)
We all lit butter lamps. :)
The area for butter lamps used to be inside all the temples.
However, after a few of the monasteries were lost due to fire from fallen butter lamps,
Bhutan's government made it mandatory that butter lamps had to be lit in a separate area.
Can't imagine we climbed all the way up there and down again :')
This hike to Tiger's Nest wasn't easy but it was definitely worth it. Climbing up was really easy for me while my mum kept panting and tired hard to keep up but when we were going down, she was the one all the way at the front skipping her way down (Okay, I exaggerated! hehe) But, the point was that she found going down so much easier. On the way up she kept asking me to tell her jokes to distract her hahah! I told her, the harder the climb, the nicer the view at the top :) Eventually she really enjoyed the view and surprisingly she was the rare few who found going down easier!
That wasn't the case for me. My calves were so tight and pain and I had to be really careful going down as there weren't proper steps and the route was rather steep and slippery. Going down was really hard, and there were horses going up and down while we were walking down so we had to be careful and move to the side. :) It was a really interesting experience and we had a great sense of accomplishment after completing this hike. (read more about the Tiger's Nest from the itinerary below)
Taktsang Monastery (Tiger's Nest) [6 hrs]
Often called the Tiger’s Nest, perched on the cliffs, has awestruck many a
visitor. “Trip to Bhutan is never complete without climbing to Taktsang”, says one tourist. Indeed it’s true as the journey there
fills you with spiritual bliss. For those not choosing the spiritual side it is the dramatic, artistically built monument that
becomes a hiker’s delight. Take a trip to this dramatically set Buddhist relic hanging from a cliff. Experience the uphill climb
as you ascend more than two thousand feet from the valley floor.
A prominent Himalayan Buddhist sacred site and temple complex located on the cliff side of Paro Valley. According to
legends, it is believed that Guru Rinpochhe flew to this location from Tibet on the back of a Tigress (his consort Yeshey
Tshogyal) and meditated in one of the caves. Guru Rinpochhe performed meditation and emerged in eight manifestations and the place became holy. Thus gaining the name Tiger's Nest.
After that we went to have a good lunch and then had a good walk along the streets of Paro. We didn't buy much for the simple fact that there weren't much to buy! :) We managed to buy a jade bracelet for my ah ma and also some spinning wheel charm thing for good luck for my po po & gong gong :) There were a few tourist-y shops where they sold books on Bhutan and Buddhism, and lots of Buddhist ornaments. :)Oh! there were also cows roaming around by the road side :)
After shopping around for an hour, we left the street and went to this monastery built in the 7th century! They preserved the little part built in the 7th century and another section was added later on in 17th century and it was also renovated a little recently I think.
That was our last sight to see for the trip :'( At that moment, reality hit and I realised that the trip was ending so soon. I wasn't ready to leave such a beautiful country~~~ :(
Then, guess what, Sonam and Sangay gave us a really really nice surprise!! They decided to bring us to a Farmhouse for dinner and since it was Christmas eve that night, Sonam ordered a cake and wine to share for dinner! We had a chance to interact with the locals and had a conversation with the little girl from the Farmhouse! She shared about the education system, school experience and life in Bhutan while we shared a little about Singapore with her! :) We also managed to get a group photo with the family who hosted us! The food was really delicious and they were such nice people! :)
PS. she got a big shock when we told her we had 5.3million people in Singapore. Sigh, Singapore is really a too crowded. I miss wandering around the mountains in Bhutan where there are clear blue skies and friendly smiles from everyone. :)
After dinner, we went back to the hotel where I spent the night writing a thank you letter to our tour guide and our driver! :) Ka drin che la Sonam & Sangay! :')
DAY 7
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Woke up early (430am) the next morning to go to the airport! Really hate to leave Bhutan because it felt so surreal to be there... But, good things always come to an end. We said our goodbyes and walked into the airport. Even though this journey to Bhutan came to an end, it was a beginning to new perspectives and insights, and the beginning to a new friendship with our bhutanese guide, Sonam! I really hope to be able to go back again someday.
Sonam asked me why I would want to go back to Bhutan again by describing Bhutan with 3 words. I thought about it for awhile and my conclusion would be: Beautiful, Happy & Rich as you can see from the title of this post. :)
Beautiful
I guess most would agree, after looking through the pictures in this post, it is not hard to understand why this word was chosen! The mountains and the sky was just too beautiful! It felt so good to be back with nature. :) I've always preferred holidays where I can spend my time back to nature, and that is why I LOVE BHUTAN. The air was extremely fresh and it just felt like paradise everyday.
Apart from the majestic mountains, clear blue skies and cold fresh air, there were beautiful things happening all around us! We were extremely lucky cause we got to experience snow! J
Happy
Ever since I came back to Singapore, upon hearing that I've just been to Bhutan, everyone's first question was: So are the Bhutanese really happy? This was a question that we had in our minds when we went to Bhutan. Frankly speaking we had the chance to ask a few Bhutanese this question. Their answers were: I don't know. (My tour guide explained how the Gross National Happiness Index was calculated. Read about it here > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_national_happiness)
Haha, however, after spending 6 days there, I think other than the statistics that proved their title, I felt the happiness for myself. My response to the question above was: Okay, First of all, they are not smiling 24//7 if that's what you mean by happy. But, they are contented with what they have, they lead a simple life and they love what they are doing. (or at least these applies to the Bhutanese I've came across! haha) At first, I thought of course they would be happy with their simple life since they don't really know what the world outside is like~ (before my trip) But I was wrong, they were not as backwards as I thought and they were exposed to other cultures be it from tourists or the internet and the television. However, they still chose to be happy with their simple life and protected their culture. They felt no need to adopt the culture of others and instead they are proud of their own. :) My tour guide could go on for hours about Bhutanese culture and heritage, the royal family, the national tree, national flower, national animal, national everything. :)
Rich
This word isn't commonly associated with Bhutan. But why did I use it? That's because I really felt that they are indeed very rich. Rich in culture, rich in heritage, rich in resources, rich in kindness, rich in happiness... the list goes on.
It was indeed an eye-opener to see how people could live with simpler stuff yet be so much happier and free. Ever since I'm back in Singapore I just feel like everyone is in such a rush, no one every stops to enjoy the beautiful flowers or the stars in the night sky. :( Sometimes, I really don't understand how we are so obsessed with our results and our career, how come we just keep chasing more and more that we lose ourselves and eventually realise aside from our riches, how little we have.
I miss taking my time to enjoy the breeze, to gaze out into the horizon and to just let my mind wander. I miss Bhutan. xx
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Thank you J
Sangay our extremely skilled driver J
Sonam our very dedicated tour guide J
Our tour agent J
