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