Ta Dhozng Tatsang & Paro

The Bhutanese national dress -Kira for ladies

A beautiful day to end the wonderful stay at Bhutan. On the agenda today was the national museum and Tatsang-tiger's nest monastery. I woke up the latest today to the sound of school kids rushing off in ghos and kiras. As I made my bed and started to get ready for the day kakku informed me that we will carry our lunch and have it on the way before the tatsang treck. An impromptu day picnic in the forest! What more can one ask for! I excitedly got ready. Bhakta dada's wonderful wifey had already left for work and packed our lunches n readied our breakfast.
Soon we were on our way to ta dhzong, the national museum.  The old museum has now been shifted to a new building which is open to tourists.

National museum image credits :
http://www.wellknownplaces.com/national-museum-of-bhutan-discovering-bhutans-rich-history.html

The museum has a permanent mask exhibition displaying all masks for dances during festivities called Tsechu. The mask dances are elaborate dances performed on themes to instill values such as compassion and conservation of natural environment or relating a religious story to the lay man. It is said that watching a cham or mask dance alone is a spiritual experience. I had bought two masks earlier from thimpu, one of them a manifestation of guru rinpoche and the other of achara or a joker(shown below). It was now that I could read and find out about different masks and their meanings.

Achara Mask

A section of the museum was devoted to thanka paintings. The thanka paintings are intricate and delicate work of art painted on fabric which depict a religious theme, spiritual leaders etc. Three buddhas are noteworthy, Dipankara buddha-the buddha of the past, Shakyamuni Buddha- the buddha of the present and Maitreya buddha-the buddha of the future.

Also on display were objects relevant to bhutan's history. Weapons and artillery, costumes of the ancient warriors and traditional constumes of highlands , other rare artifacts were horse's egg - said to bestow immense wealth on the owner and horse's horn, a water dial to give measurement of time, serpent stone, ara or local wine containers made of water buffalo horns and valuable jewellery.

The national museuam also houses the rich biodiversity of bhutan in terms of specimen and slide shows of its rarest birds and animals. Among the birds the white beaked hornbill and Himalayan monal caught my attention.  Among the animals the snow leopards, blue mountain goat and yak are creatures of magnificence.

image credits : http://spectrumtour.com/wildlife-himalaya/

Also rare is a catterpillar which is a host to a special fungus that infests the catterpillar and forces it to bury itself in the ground.  Then the fungus sprouts from the ground and is used to make special medicines for immunity, aphrodisiac effect and anti ageing effect. The fungus sells for as high as 12 lakhs a kg!

image credits : http://www.whatsonxiamen.com/wine_msg.php?titleid=1143.html

After wandering the museum to our heart's content we rushed to the base of the tatsang monastery.
The tatsang monastery or the tiger's nest got its name from the famous legend of a female tigress who came to the land and made the cave its adobe.

The stunningly beautiful monastery is situated at dangerous heights and is appproached only through a mule track trail which has only recently been reinforced with railings for visitor's protection.  Many incidents of tourists falling to their death have been reported and I have to admit that it is a treck to be done respectfully and slowly. The mountains are mightier and the fall steep, it is not a languid trail and once close to the monastery the magnificent heights are enough to arouse acrophobia in any human.

image credits : http://www.tigersnestbhutan.com

We first had our lunch of ema datschi and rice washed down with sweet milk tea at the base of the treck. Then we proceeded on to the way to THE tat sang!

My city accustomed body took some while to warm up to the mountain path. I was huffing and puffing with effort, moreover handling the kira with the climb made it doubly difficult. A good half and hour later when I saw a mountain spring gurgling, the scene made me forget all the effort and after a bit of rest I was good to go again.  We didnt have to make a second stop till the top. It takes almost two hours at the top, where the mule track ends and begin the stone steps to the monastery.

image credits :http://windhorsetours.com/sights/sights_view.php?country=bhutan&placeid=95

One has to walk way down to a waterfall making a steep drop of 200 ft  from bare mountain, then right up to the monastery which is on the adjoining mountain. Everywhere the drop is so steep that you wouldn't save a single bone if you  were to fall, but the risk is worth taking for the amazing view.
Tatsang beats my best trecks till date, the others being Sarkanda devi in melting snow and Treck to narayan Swami ashram which I was too young to remember, at the time of the treck.

Once in the monastery, the walls silence the roar of the waterfall and beautiful paintings adorn the insides of the sacred place. Its so quiet and peaceful that ecen a troubled mind will be put at rest. I offered a small prayer for the well being of my family and joined kakku n bhakta dada. There are no lamas to be seen anywhere. They probably put up at separate residence.

A word here for the chirpy kakku and careful bhakta dada who didnt let me feel the exhaustion of the treck at all. They helped me match pace with them and we made it back before dark. I did some quick shopping from the makeshift souvenir shops and we drove back to the town.
After enjoying some quick coffee and pork momos, we made a stop at bhakta dada's office where i got an access to internet.We then headed back home to an eagerly waiting Rufus.

After dinner and exchanging photographs we retired with our tired bodies to  bed. Bhakta dada had to get a massage for his back and kakku took a long bath. Me? I will catch all the sleep in travel tomm. Long day! Gnnite from bhutan.

Shop till I drop and yak stories

Woke up this morning to say goodbye to jijjaji, who had to leave for bhumtang to join office. Though I had tried my best to give him a decent farewell by parting with my warm and cozy bed but he took so long getting ready that I was soundly asleep again. I woke up to Remith announcing that the head lama was leaving for his winter adobe and people had lined up to receive his blessings, if I wanted to see it then I should get ready real fast! The head lama makes a bi-yearly sojourn through the city of Thimpu to and fro his summer and winter residence.  Though I missed the parade, I had got a headway in getting ready for our all girls shopping trip through Thimpu.

Thimpu craft bazar image credits :
http://www.thimphulive.com/2012/attractions/places-to-visit-in-thimphu/

First we headed for the parlour, they have a habib here too where I wanted a funky bhutanese hair cut. From where I come I am used to hair dressers tut-tutting at my hair calling it thin and ugly. So when the hairdresser complimented on my soft curly hair nourished by the mountain air, I was more than pleased. The haircut did bring a positive change to my appearance and I was pleased with the effect.

Haircut from Bhutan

The visa atm worked like charm and I shopped for cousins and friends with aplomb! Postcards, bags, mufflers, wallets, t shirt I shopped for it all. I hope everyone back home like the gifts.

We dined in hotel tandin. I had jasha pa or sliced chicken this time. The sisters ordered beef datschi, chilly chicken, ribs, and rice. We had fruit cocktail to top it all. Amazing lunch as always. I have nearly had all of bhutanese fare by now.

Back home we had tea and packed our bags for paro. I bid farewell to remith and charmith. Will really miss these girls, they have been wonderful hosts and so loving and kind that I never did feel that I was away from home. If bhutan was an amazing experience then it was thanks to Isaac and the girls, every country and place has a face to it, to me its these girls! Love you all..Remith Charmith and Kakku..you are real darlings!

Kakku had so sweetly adjusted her holidays to show me around in paro, so she accompanied me to Bhkata dada's house who was to be our host in thimpu.
Most of the ride we went through pictures and kept chatting and before we knew it we had arrived at Paro.

Bhakta Dada, who is Jijjaji's friend has a cute kid Rufus. Rufus was delighted at the ben 10 stationary set we had bought him. The delights of childhood!  When a new stationary is your biggest treasure.

We played with Rufus and made him a paper aeroplane and a boat. We told him stories out of the book I  had bought, 'folk stories of bhutan,' language was bit of a problem so I read the story in english and kakku translated it in Nepalese to Rufus who kept asking for more stories.

A painting showing famous folk story of bhutan the 4 friends

When the night drew close, bhabi served delicious pork and daal with bhaat. Bhakta dada joined us for dinner and told us of his trips to upper reaches of bhutan with pictures on his laptop.
The government employees are supposed to carry out election duties by carrying ballot machines, rations and other utilities to remotest corners of the country. At many places where there is no road, they go walking or on mule backs.
At times there are exchange campaigns and workshops for yak rearing nomadic hill men to be carried out where they are provided by equiment and techniques for making yak cheese. A family has typically 50 to 100 yaks which they rear in north during summers and due south during winters.
The yak is an aggresive animal if it encounters an unknown visitor.  Yaks are reared for milk cheese and wool. Yak wool is coarse and expensive also very warm. The hill people at the upper reaches wear clothing made of yak wool to keep warm. Bhakta dada showed us a yak wool bag and a yak tail.

He also showed us a picture of blue mountain goats and an Albino yak.
Albino yak is very rare, it is all white and belongs to the king, the king had seen it on one of his trips across the kingdom and purchased the rare animal

image credit : 

http://www.yaks.ca/white-himalayan-yak.html

Unwillingly I took to bed so captivated I was with this fine and fancy animal of the himalyan kingdom. So long blog! Kakku and I are trekking the tatsang monastery trail tomorrow! So excited..gnnite for now

India bhutan cultural exchange program

Tonight happens to be my last night at Thimpu and the end of a wonderful stay with the lovely sisters. Theres a lot I will take back from bhutan not only  in terms of gifts and pickle jars so lovingly prepared by aunty! but certain unforgettable experiences of a lifetime.
I learnt that life goes on just fine without high speed internet on your phone. You know! We all should keep down that device for a while, keep away the remote and smell the roses, literally!  Talk eat and laugh together with your family, they may not be the people on your wats app group..but hey! They are the only ones who matter! It is ok to sit back and enjoy on a holiday and be unreachable to most of your countrymen..no office is going up in flames if you are not around and the truth is you are probably not missed as much as you would like to believe. Work can wait life will probably not!
So coming back to the day!
I have taken hold of the kitchen like a mother in law here! Improvised the poha for breakfast. We get flattened red rice in bhutan which is high in fiber content and equally delicious. Isaac the jeejaji was determined to instill healthy eating habits in all the younger sisters so he force fed them with honey milk n muesli.
Then Remith helped me quickly donn the kira which I wonder if I can ever manage on my own. Will have to google that next time I plan to! Kaku n Remith had both worn kiras so we could take pictures together. Kaku's tegu and kira were very similar to mine! If I had her honey milk complexion and cute tiny eyes I could have even passed for a bhutanese. 

We then were driven to Buddha point by Isaac - the jeejaji who did not rest till he had appointed kaku my escort for paro sight seeing as he was very concerned if I could make it alone. It was warm sunshine all the way up to the winding road to buddha point. Buddha point has a majesric 169 ft tall statute of Buddha which overlooks the city of thimpu. Its still under construction and will  soon become a magnificient piece of architecture and buddhist faith.

It was really windy and cold at the top. We quickly took pictures and came to the town.
Today we went to a restaurent called 'the chillies' . I ordered a guntroo egg dish, which was mildly sour and amazing to taste. Its a regional speciality of southern bhutan. Saag leaves are dried then buried underground in anaerobic environment to lend a unique sour taste to the leaves. They are then used liberally in dishes or soups for favouring.

Another dish I enjoyed is called bathup, its a soupy dish made of boiled flour strips, vegetables, chicken and seasonings.

Remith had ordered some amazing pork ribs which were heavenly to taste!
I regaled everyone with bharatnatyam asamyukta mudras over lunch. Cultural exchange on full throttle!
Sleepy as we were after having eaten so much, I still dragged everyone around. This time we went to city square, shopping complex and mall on the outskirts of the town. I had my heart set on the cute tiffin carriers which bhutanese kids take to school and only rested after the generous jeejaji purchased it for me.
The family was finally successful in getting me back home after I made them buy buns for the pao bhaji I had decided to make in the evening and oh yes! Fire crackers how can I forget them.
40% of bhutan's population is hindu. There were small shops selling decorations and fire crackers everywhere..didnt let me miss home!
I rested for a good two hours in the evening and then put everyone to work on the paobhaji.
We cut potatoes and pumpkin and put them to boil. Then we cut the rest of the veggies. I used the vegetable stock to make a vegetable soup of broccoli, green vegetables and chillies. I called it the hot an sour soup although it was far from the title! While it the soup cooked I did a bit of cultural exchange by teaching everyone pranayam.
Kaku went in splits at the kapalbhati..an aasan where one swiftly exhales short breaths.
Remith Charmith n Lenmith have exalted me to the status of some ayurved and yoga doctor. Once or twice a day they would ask me the cure of pimples dry skin cough n cold...I should tell them of the famous proverb we have..'Neem hakim khatre jaan!'
Dinner came out well and I was relieved that my experiments in kitchen were well received! After all I am representing my sister before her in laws...I bet Rach you are smiling at this!
To keep the festivities going on I made a small flower arrangement with the floating candles I had bought from India. We all clicked pictures and called it night.
Gnnite Thimpu! May we meet again

Gamla me fool cha, yo lekh ma bhool cha

As I was hearing the lepcha stories until late last night I treated myself to a late morning sleep. After a round of lovingly served bed tea by charmith, I sat down with Isaac -the jeejaji.. to go through a bundle of old letters and cards he had painstakingly preserved since his school years. Autograph book, cards and letters by Rachna, old photographs, these are priceless treasures of your childhood. They have the sheer innocence of childhood which we have lost somewhere down the line, they bring back the sights and smells which you had long forgotten..I could give all my tomorrows for a single yesterday!
We had a leisurely lunch and decided to walk around Thimpu and buy me a kira! Oh the kira! I had been long excited about, it was the top item on my list of things to buy!

All of them are a collector's delight. So I gave in to the shopaholic in me and bought as much as I could.
We started with the kira. I had a bottle green tegu or upper jacket in mind, to match it we found a white honjoo or undercloth. The kira or the long skirt was a multicolour traditonal one which looked just all right with the whole ensemble.
I had my heart set on a mask so I bought two of them, a small red one for my office desk and a bigger guru rinpoche mask for home.
Also I bought a thaka painting of a dragon for home and more ancient coins for my scrap book. Well that was not all, Isaac gifted me handmade soaps, fridge magnets etc. Phew! I am being treated like a princess here! Will miss all this pampering :)
Then we went to the town vegetable market to see the variety of vegetables, rices, cheese, fruits, mushrooms, spices etc. on display. The best thing is that all of them are organically grown in bhutan. Everything is so flavourful and delicious that I cannot resist bigger portions and second helpings. I saw some exotic varities of fruits and vegetables which are indigenous to bhutan.
Then I had decided to treat my hosts with some indian cooking. We bought milkmaid, brown bread and nuts for double ka meetha my signature sweet dish (thanks to sanjeev kapoor on food food channel)
and cornflour and white til for honey chilli potato a very common street food of india but unknown to bhutan.
Back home I made coffee for all, made frothy with beating sugar and coffee together and served piping hot with chocolate granules.
Then came double ka meetha a crunchy nutty sweetdish made of bread, milk and sigar syrup.
Followed by honey chilli potato which were enhanced by bhutan chillies to taste spicier than they do in india. I was quite pleased with the outcome and the family's approval of these dishes.
Before I finish a word for kind and considerate Isaac-the jeejaji for helping me in the kitchen despite a broken finger of the right hand still in plaster.  You are totally adorable jeejs! I am very happy for my sister indeed.

The five of us..Me, Jeejaji, Renmith, charmith and sonam..went to the town handicraft market to select a kira for me. Zorig chusum or the 13 handicrafts of bhutan are displayed in the handicrafts market in several tiny hut like structures. They have kiras, hand woven fabrics, hand made baskets, thaka paintings, mandals, toys, instruments, hand woven bags, mufflers, scarfs and endless such items.

As I was joking with Rachna, it felt if I was on a cultural exchange programme.
Well come tomorrow there are yoga lessons on the chanel and  buddha point and botanical gardens to see! Excited am I? Oh yes..so off to dreamland..gnnite from bhutan :)

An unforgettable day with Isaac the jeejaji

An amazing day full of heart to heart conversations, family history, opinions and outlooks on the state of current affairs in bhutan. This day was as educative and revealing as it was entertaining. I came to know of our extended family better, I could feel related and admired them for their resilient nature and outlook for life. I express my silent heartfelt gratitude and admiration for Isaac for spending this wonderful day with me and letting me know him and the family from close quarters.

Early in the morning we had a discussion about the current state of affairs in bhutan. How the world's youngest democracy was coming in terms with the challenges of walking the tightrope of development and preserving its heritage and culture. 

Prices are skyrocketing, there is unemployment, foreign and economic policies are trying hard to keep up with international demands and a lot needs to be done.

Rachna made us realise that it was their anniversary and I had completely forgotten it, so caught up I was with the travelling and sight seeing, but then so had isaac, and my sin looked dwarfed before his!
We sent out pretty picture postcards from the bhutan head post office to rachna on the anniversary and also to chacha, mummy and vasu.

As we moved further into thimpu , completing a few chores, I missed no chance of noticing and admiring the pretty and stylish city thats Thimpu!

Donot be misled by the population in 14th century costumes or the outsides of buidings made to resemble each other. Thimpu is as swanky and updated as latest happenings and trends across the world as any other capital city. There are showrooms and restaurants and shops that can compete with the best in india.
We found an extensive variety in my mart, city mall of thimpu of all imaginable food items, cereals, groceries some of were are even not seen un delhi or singapore. I purchased khadar (traditional scraf) , Tibetan wall hangings and incense sticks to take home.

Isaac then treated me to cheese momos and lemon honey tea..mmmm..the taste will linger on my tastebuds forever.

We then took a taxi to motithang takin preserve. The takin an exotic and endangered national animal of bhutan is a sturdy well built animal which looks like an antelope, but you may not be able to appreciate its uniqueness until you see one. 

Besides the takin we saw antelope barking dear and reindeer, songbirds and fowls were in hiding. 

Nevertheless I collected wild flowers and ferns to adorn my scrapbook and totally enjoyed walking around the reserve.

We made back to the town near dark and had a great time chatting in the ambient cafe. I went through some coffee table books based on the royal family.

Thereon we went book hunting and after going through many titles finally selected a book on Lepchas, a small and exclusive tribe to which our extended family belongs. I picked another book by the name of folk tales of bhutan and I will probably pay a visit to the bookstore again as I am not quite done with the reading yet!

We rushed to a dinner at Isaac's cousin, who had been recently married. 

She had cooked us another enjoyable meal and worth mentioning is a dish of Chinese cabbage, I finished an entire bowl myself!

Once home it was story time by Isaac.  As he had promised he narrated me the how his grandfather had moved from kalingpong to bhutan and the how the family as it is now had come to be. He told me about his growing years, schooling and childhood.  It was a delight to be mesmerized by all that picturesque storytelling...thanks a lot jeejaji!

And now as I hit bed, I can hardly type with sleep taking over me! See you tomorrow blog..gnnite

Welcome to the land of the thunder dragon...paro to thimpu

Waking up to the sounds of the siliguri hotel room, I pulled my covers further up over my head. Some pleasures in life are as sweet as sleeping in a winter morning!  I reluctantly left bed and after a bit of aimless loitering tidied my bag and got ready for breakfast. Isaac had long taken his French bath as he prefers to call it..I call it a short cut!
We packed our bags and went to the adjoining restaurent within the hotel for the complimentary breakfast. Soon after we took an auto rickshaw to the airport to board our flight to paro.
The airport authority of india has recently introduced immigration desks for bhutan and our co passengers were a mix of indians and bhutanese..even a bunch of tamil brahmins who were clad in dhotis! I was wondering if they will continue to wear them in bhutan where the temperature was anticipated to be around 10 deg C.

Soon after we boarded the plane and were welcomed by pretty Bhutanese airhostesses in kiras. National dress of bhutan is a matter of pride and necessity. The men wear traditional gho which is kind of a tunic with mostly large white hand cuffs, the tunic ending at the knee. While the women wear a kira, an ankle length skirt with a warm short jacket often with a broach. 

As there is a time diff of half an hour between indian n bhutanese time, and the flight is only half an hour long, so we started at 11 am and reached paro at 11 an itself!
We were met with clouds mostly, though isaac says that on a clear day one can see the kanchenjunga peaks.
Upon descent in the valley the aircraft glides over real close to the ground and offers you a chance to study the rippling clear waters of the river below and trees are so close that you fear bumping into them.

Soon we made it to paro and the cool welcoming breeze and the warmth of the subshine gladdened every visitor upon  descent from the aircraft.  A large potrait of the his majesty, the young wangchuck king and his queen greet the visitors.

After the immigration check we found isaac's car in perfect condition waiting at the airport parking. The poor thing had been standing there in storm n sun for over 15 days. She made it just fine! Good girl:)

Off we went to meet isaac's friend bakhta, who was to show us around paro. Unfortunately he had a meeting to attend so we made plans to visit the paro attractions upon my return from thimpu.

Hungry as we were, we searched around Paro for eatries. Pretty buildings bearing traditional Bhutanese facade on the outside dotted all of Paro. Isaac pointed out the church to me where he and rachna had had their christian wedding two years ago.
We then went to an eatery for traditional bhutanese fare. I ordered suja or butter tea, chicken maroo - a soupy spicy dish of minced chicken, ema datchi - traditonal bhutanese soupy dish made of cheese and vegetables, jeju made of garlic sea weed and coconut milk and thoupa, with local red rice. All this tasted excellent and was so light onbthe stomach. Issac was worrying if I would like it or not...but honestly it was one of the best meals I had had in days. 

Post lunch we set off to thimpu via a long winding road with weeping willows, mountains and a river beneath us. We took a small break by the river for dipping our feet in the cold mountain river water! Bliss!

THIMPU...the capital city is as magnificent as it is beautiful. Taller buildings than all of bhutan, ongoing construction activities, show rooms for cars, a mall or two, and frenzied acitivity seem to announce that the city is the place of action for most of bhutan.

There are stadiums, schools, institutes,  city square,  government buildings, vegetable markets, internet cafes and small and big shops throughout thimpu. We were met by the charming remith, isaac's second sister who took charge of the grocery shopping for our stay. 

We got back home and busied ourselves with dinner preparation.  Remith made this amazing dry chicken and saag for dinner besides a daal and red rice. The good thing is that all organic produces are found across bhutan so the food is esp flavourful and appetising.

Another great habit of the Bhutanese is the laudatory hot glass of water before and after a meal.
I played with quiet little sonam for a while, daughter of isaac's cousin who lives with remith charmith n lenmith. We made a paper doll and its different dresses in pink and purple.
Dinner was as expected,  amazing. I have a new found appetite and respect for bhutanese cuisine now! Will def make few these dishes at home. Looking forward to more of thimpu tomorrow! Sweet dreams traveller