Bhutan wrap up

We got home Friday night to a dark house. Based on my TIVO recordings, we lost power about the first of October. Needless to say, the refrigerator and the freezer stank to high heaven. We called DP&L about the outage and went to a hotel for the night. Saturday the power had been restored and we spent the day cleaning out the fridge and freezer.

I really enjoyed the trip. It was a bit rough on Michael between the steamy weather in Bangkok and the bout of tourista, but he also found it interesting.

Bhutan is a small country with only 700,000 people. There are no cities as we know them. They are trying to balance development with maintaining their traditions, which is not easy. New buildings have to use the traditional structure and decorations. People who work with the pubic have to wear traditional dress. But there are satellite dishes on houses in even rural areas. Houses in towns are heated with electricity. People in in rural areas where electricity may not be reliable are allowed to cut down 2 trees per year for heating. They are proud of the fact that 70% of the country is forested. Protecting the environment is one of the goals for Gross National Happiness.

The biggest export is hydroelectric power, which they sell to India. They have 5-6 more hydro projects in the works. The heavy trucks are tearing up the roads as they bring construction materials from India and from quarries in the mountains. Buckwheat is another export.

In 2010 they had 40,000 tourists - more than 5000 more than anticipated. Considering the population of 700,000, this is a lot. They have some control over the number of people from outside in that there are only 3 flights in and out a day and a visa is required. One article in the Druk Air magazine talked about how only guests of the royal family were originally allowed into the country. Gradually, they started allowing others in, but at a high cost - $200 per day. But this rate has not kept up with inflation (it goes to $250 a day next year)  and now there are a lot more people arriving. And these people have expectations about hotels, restaurants, etc that are bound to change the atmosphere. There are no McD's or KFCs, but you have to wonder how long that will last. You can get Lay's potato chips and Coke.

I am also still struggling with the photography issue. Those of you who followed last year's trip may remember my quandary about photographing people. I like to capture an image as a memory for me and to share with others. But I still have trouble with that feeling that I am treating these people like an exhibit - like animals in the zoo. Dick had an interesting analogy. Imagine yourself working in your garden and a group of aliens lands in a spaceship and the leader asks if they can watch you and take photographs. They hang around for 20-30 minutes, clicking away, then hop back into the spaceship and take off. While these people have certainly seen tourist buses before, it still feels intrusive to me. Many of the kids seemed to enjoy having their pictures taken and asked to have prints sent to them.

I took more pictures than usual. I played around more with exposures and composition. I'm going to have to sit down and filter, process and create albums before I can share more of them. And there were still photos that I would have liked to have taken given more time, better light, etc.

I hope you enjoyed following the trip. 

Last morning in Paro

We spent 2 days in Paro - or actually two nights. The first day we went up to Tiger's Nest. Since our flight was delayed we were able to do some more shopping and watch part of an archery tournament. Archery is the national sport of Bhutan. They compete with both traditional bows made of bamboo and the newer compound bows that are used in international competition.

The target is quite small - a circle about a foot in diameter drawn on a white board that measures about 15 inches across and maybe 2.5 ft high. You get 1 point for hitting the board and 3 for getting an arrow in the circle. The target is 180 - 200 meters from the archer. Amazing that they ever hit it. 

One left-handed archer enabled me to see the front of him. 

Chimmi said that this was part of a national tournament, but it was not clear whether this was a regional event leading up to the nationals, or the actual national tournament. There were 3 teams competing, each with 5 members.

If a team member hits the target there is a victory dance and song at both ends of the field. Each team shoots 3 arrows, then they move to the opposite end. One of the flags was in the way, but can get the idea.

People at work

I realized I had not posted anything about the people we saw working in Bhutan. While there is some heavy machinery for the road work and quarrying, most of the work is done by hand. We saw a family using a brace of yaks to plow their fields in the Ura valley.

















Later that afternoon we saw another family threshing their buckwheat. The man was doing all the work and his wife and 3 children were there, watching. He used the large basket to separate the buckwheat grains and the flat basket to scoop up the grain and put it in the sacks.

There is an infant in the mother's lap, although you can't see it in this picture. See below. 

Here he is using the flat basket to shovel the grain into the sack. 

Here' are the mother and her youngest. Families are encouraged to have no more than 2 children, but there is no enforcement. In this province and at this altitude, most people survive on subsistence farming. Buckwheat is about the only thing that grows up here. Chimmi said there were sheep and we did see some weaving with wool, but I never saw the sheep. 

I'm not sure that I mentioned that Bhutanese society is quite different than Western society in terms of inheritance. The man moves in with his wif'e's family and the daughters inherit the property.

We also watched a woman with a hand scythe cutting buckwheat. These were situations where we noticed someone working in the field and we asked Chimmi to talk to the people and ask if it was OK to photograph them. Everyone was fine with it.

This is also the beginning of the season for the rice harvest. We saw a couple of fields where the rice had been cut and one where the threshing had begun, but we didn't have time to stop and photograph.

Weaving is prevalent in the northeast, but I found a few women weaving in the shops. I was in this shop one evening and the weaver had gone home, but she was there in the morning two days later. She was very fast. Most of the patterns are standard pickup and inlay, but there is also the use of what looks like a sumac weave that I originally thought was embroidered.

11 October - Tiger's Nest

Tiger's Nest is the iconic photograph of Bhutan. It is another monastery built in the 17th century. According to Buddhist tradition, the Guru Rinpoche flew to this location back in the 7th or 8th century on the back of a tigress. He meditated in a cave for 3 months. This cave is now one of the most holy temples in Buddhism. The Tiger's Nest burned in 1998 and all the woodwork has been restored - and embellished.

There was some debate among the group as to the actual altitude of  the Tiger's Nest (10,200 ft. - or 2300 ft above the valley floor) and how far we would have to climb. About half of us opted to ride horses or mules. We were put to shame by Edith, who is 78 and has now walked up twice in the past 3 years. Even Dick was able to get to the look-out under his own power. The views are spectacular and who knows how they managed to get those prayer flags strung over the chasm. This is the view from half-way donw the stairs. Thank good ness they have widened the staircase and added railings. No way could I have gotten down without the railings. You walk down one side of the chasm, cross a bridge at the foot of the waterfall and climb back up the other side. At 10k ft, you stop every few steps.

I think I shot these prayer flags from the terrace at the entrance to the monastery. I also shot a video which give a much better sense of the wind whipping through here. 

This was shot on our way back up the steps. Later hour and better light. 

The horses will take you to the look out, but then there are still 400 hundred steps down and up to the monastery. No electronics allowed in the monastery, so no photos of the inside. The horses share thepath with the humans and travel in groups. I rode a mule. Some of the horses were a bit

The travel company had arranged for us to have lunch just down the path from the look out. There wa an unfortunate incident when one of the dogs bit a local woman who got to close to its food. We patched her up as best we could and tried to impress on her the importance of seeing a doctor ASAP, but who knows whether any one will follow up.

The hike down was rough on Michael's knees, but he made it.

OUr flight out tomorrow has been rescheduled to the afternoon. With only 3 flights a day, they can be flexible. We have heard that there is major flooding in Bangkok that is supposed to peak next week. Our hotel is not near the river, but it could put a crimp in my plans to get to teh fabric market. Chances are the boats are not running. We'll see. 

10 October Whang Du to Paro

Breakfast at 6:30 and underway at 7:30. We planned a stop at the cafeteria at Dashu La - the pass with the 108 stupas. Tea and cookies. The first cookies we have had since we left home. It was a nice treat. Then we got hung up photographing a Bhutanese tea pot. Michael got an interesting shot - I'll have to get him ot post it.

We had lunch in Thimpu and everyone actually got back to the bus on time. We hit the ATM to make sure we had adequate money to tip Chimee and Tandin. Then off to Paro to visit another Dzong, more shopping and another early night. This hotel is unreal. The room is huge - complete with seating area, a balcony overlooking the valley and a bath with both bath and shower.  Feels weird. Thimphu felt very strange after a week in the rural areas or central Bhutan. There is a lot of construction - new housing going up everywhere. And lots of prep for Friday's festivities surrounding the royal wedding.

I've decided to go with the horse tomorrow. It's a 2 hour hike at best. And even if you take the horse up, you have to walk down. I hope to get time to post some photos tomorrow. Still need to buy a silk under-blouse for the kira. 

Jakar to Whang Du

9 October

Jakar to Whang Du

We got up early because this was going to be a long drive. We wanted to stop on the way out of town to take photos of some chili peppers drying on mat and wooden roofs. All our other photos were on metal roofs. Side note - most modern roofs are metal. New ones are very shiny. There is a law that you have to paint your roof after a few years, but  the only approved colors are red and green. Most people seem to choose green. We got some good shots and headed out of town. Most of the shingle roof are like this - held down with rocks.

This is the 4th time we have been over this road, since we went back to the weaving center on Wednesday to take some rural shots and so I could pay my bill. They actually let me take the items I bought with the understanding that I would pay when we came back through. Tells you something about the difference in the trust factor between the US and Bhutan.

We made a few stops to stretch our legs and take some photos. Gail has a thing about stupas so we had to stop at a couple of those. There were also a couple of rest stops. The Thais refer to the restroom as the "happy room". We have adopted Edith's term for an unofficial toilet - the "happy bush". We had lunch at a new restaurant - less than 2 years old. They had western style toilets - complete with paper and flush. Whoo hoo.

This is one of the trucks from India. These drivers love to decorate their trucks. They transport all kinds of goods back and forth.

What with all the stops, we got into Whang Du at about 5:45. There were some interesting rice paddies along the way, but the light was fading and we wanted to get in by 6:00. Tandin, our driver did some amazing driving through the washout area. There was a backup and one-way traffic. Huge potholes. He is an outstanding driver. And only in his 20s. 

We are staying at the Kichu Resort. It appears to be run by an Indian family as  the restaurant is vegetarian. Alongside a river that we are hoping to see in the morning. Departure tomorrow is 7:30. We get to sleep a whole half hour later. The restaurant was out of several drinks, so we had beer. The bar was well-stocked however. Interesting. We have a riverside room. Nice white noise. A contrast with the barking dogs at the Jakar Village Hotel. 

Next stop Paro where we will climb up to the Tiger's Nest on Tuesday. It's a steep climb and takes a couple of hours. I'm thinking about taking the horse option. Not much shorter, but at 8500 ft, I'm not sure I want to risk problems with the altitude. 

Headed back

No internet again last night. We spent a lovely day in the countryside yesterday. These are the shots I have been looking for. We stopped at a school to give them the school supplies we picked up in Thimpu. Grades 2-6 have half days on Saturday. They were thrilled with the new pencil boxes and pencils. This is a small school so only 2 classrooms for these students (24 in all on this Saturday). We had a picnic lunch at a farm house in the Ura Valley.

Here are the 4-6th graders in their classroom.

These are a couple of pre=primary students who do not go to school on Saturday, but were hanging around. We gave them pencils and pencil boxes as well. 

We split into 2 groups and got to visit both classrooms. Each child had a notebook and the old children were working on math. Younger students on English. 

When it came time to hand out the supplies, they all lined up outside. Very quietly - girls in one line, boys in the other. We were able to hand each of them a new pencil box and pencils. 

They were very excited, We tried to capture their excitement, but as soon as they saw the cameras, they sobered up. 

Making use of the barbed wire fence to dry the laundry. 

Our driver and guide sharing a joke while they served us lunch at the farm house. We are int he kitchen, siting on rugs on the floor. Note the TV in the background. 

This is our hostess and her tea pot on the stove. In addition to the picnic put up by the hotel we enjoyed the local ara - a distilled liquor made from rice, corn, or wheat, depending on the location. And butter tea - definitely an acquired taste. 

We have an early start this morning (7 AM) and a long drive back to Whang Du. I'll try to get some pictures up tonight. Gotta get the luggage out.

Internet is back - sort of.

Sorry we have been incommunicado. No internet service at the last 2 hotels and none here until tonight. I'll get my notes up and hopefully add some pictures later. 

Monday 3 Oct

Sorry, no internet connection last night. But we were in a hotel. Better than the rest of the group who were camping for the second night. But let me back up. Tashi picked us up at about 9 for the trip to Punakha. 70 km, but it takes 3 hours. That should tell you something about the road. Those of you who followed last years's trip in Romania and the Ukraine may remember my comments about the potholes in Ukraine and the twisty, winding road - also with potholes - we took from Baie Mare to Sighet. The only east-west road in Bhutan is worse. Think Rt 1 in CA - up down and around, with potholes, washouts, no guard rails, narrow, large trucks coming at you, cows in the road. I tried to take a couple of photos from the back seat, but they don't do it justice. The road was originally built in the 1950s with Nepalese labor. They are in the process of widening it. 

Although we were trying to make time, Tashi stopped at the top of the pass to allow us to photograph the 108 stupas and the temple that are there. On a clear day you can also see the Himalayas, but we had some clouds. The woods are strung with thousands of prayer flags.

We caught up with the rest of the group at lunch. It turned out that the hotel's (the one we were forced out of by the wedding) idea of luxury camping did not match ours. Blue nylon tents with cots might have been ok. But the hole in the ground with a camp toilet seat perched over it and a blue nylon enclosure rigged around it was not. I'm still unclear about the showers, but it involved 4 men hauling water and providing towels. So Chimee, our guide, had managed to find 1 hotel room for us to stay in (Yay Chimee) and 2 more that could be used for a couple of hours for showers and charging batteries. (When the hotel said the campsite would have electricity, they meant bare bulbs hanging from the tent peak with no way to turn them on or off.) When we arrived everyone was showering and charging. So we are NOT complaining about the lack of internet. 

We spent the afternoon photographing the countryside - these are rice paddies -  and the Punakha Dzong. The group had been there in the morning to avoid crowds and photograph the inside. We went back to get better outside shots in the afternoon. I was also able to go inside. We were also lucky to capture the monks performing a ceremony for the future happiness of the king and future queen. Michael got the best shots. I may have to start carrying a heavier camera.

Tuesday 4 Oct 

Because of the camping debacle, we cut short our time in Punakha and have moved to our next destination, Trongas, a day early. We did get to spend half a day at the festival - which really was enough. The costumes and dances are interesting, but they are long. The dances by the monks are interspersed with folk dances and songs. It's very difficult to capture the dances with still photos - I finally remembered that I can shoot video with either the G9 or the iPhone and tried on just before we left. We has lunch at the hotel Michael and I stayed at then another hair-raising drive to Trongas. The last hour was dark and we vowed to avoid getting in this late again. The hotel is about 3 km beyond the town, set up on the side of the mountain. Nice rooms, grate dining area. Three stars by Bhutanese standards. The only problem for us was the lack of hot water.

The first photo is from the "black hat" dance. The second from the "hawk and stag" dance.

This is festival time in Bhutan, which is why Brenda plans her trips of this time of year. In addition, there is the royal wedding. So there are a lot of ceremonies going on and a lot of building and sprucing up. 

Wednesday 5 October.

We spent the morning at the local dzong. Some great views of the valley and river. We caught the monks on their way to a class. We had lunch at the museum, which is an old watch tower that the Austrian government helped the Bhutanese to set up in 2008. No cameras allowed inside, which is too bad as some of the artifacts are interesting and the view from the top is spectacular. I did grab the camera after lunch and was able to shoot some photos from the grounds. We were actually ready to leave before Chimee - a first, but he and Tandin had been helping the staff serve lunch. 

After lunch we set off for Bumthang. We will have 4 nights here - a chance to unpack and do laundry. One of the stops this afternoon is a weaving "factory". We made 1-2 brief stops to photograph a prayer wheel driven by a small stream. There are hundreds of these by the road side. We can't stop for all of them, but this one also had a cow. 

The weaving center was interesting because in addition to the expected backstrap loom, there were three 4-shaft floor looms. All counterbalance. These were used to do a different type of weaving than I had seen before. I shot a video and bought a pillow cover as an example. This weaving was done completely in wool, unlike the finer silk and cotton that is done on the backstop looms. They also did some tapestry weaving in wool. Some of the fabrics were made into jackets. Others were made up into purses. Some of the larger pieces were backed and could be used on the floor. 

The terrain changed beyond the weaving studio. More agricultural. We went through a small town where we all wanted to stop and walk, but our mantra has become no driving after dark, so we pushed on. We did stop at our highest pass yet - 11,400 ft - to photograph the prayer flags in the failing light. Unfortunately, the ubiquitous power lines got in the way. Prayer flags, both the vertical ones on poles and the square ones on lines are hung where they will blow in the wind - high places and bridges, for example. The power lines tend to go up and over the same hills. We did find one hilarious shot - a local bull eating one one of the prayer flags. We finally got everyone back on the bus and arrived at the hotel at 6:15. Dark, but better than the night before. The ecology changes as you go up and down the passes. We even saw some Spanish moss on the trees in one valley. The roads are so narrow it is hard to find a spot to stop and take pictures. And I think not everyone is interested in the scenic shots. 

Thursday, 6 October

This is a really nice hotel in Jakar Village. Brenda was not sure about stopping here as the town had 3 fires last year that destroyed about half of the houses and shops. They are rebuilding. But there was another, smaller, festival she wanted to take us to, so here were are. The rooms are nice, we have hot water, and the food is great. Everyone else claims the are losing weight - I'm gaining. Eggs, buckwheat pancakes, toast. Local honey, local apple juice. Local cheese. 

We spent the morning at the festival. This was a smaller, private monastery. They had set up a tent with seating, if you got there early enough. I shot mainly videos. We did gat a chance to go "backstage" and see the monks getting ready for the black hat dance. The costumes are elaborate and they help each other get the head gear on, along with all the other paraphernalia. THe folk dances included male dancers, which the ones at Whang Du did not. 

We got a break in the afternoon. Some walked up to the local dozing. I spent time trying to figure out why the morning photos were not what I wanted. Michael has convinced me to shoot raw rather than jpg and until they are processed, they don't look that great. So I've got some work to do before I can post pictures. 

Late in the afternoon we had planned to visit a monastery to observe a debate. We got the the monastery, but the weather was threatening and we could not find anyone to let us into the temple. So we went back to town and  wandered around a bit. Only internet here is a local cafe. A couple of folks were able to get some things done before the power went out. Apparently this happens 2-3 times a day for 15-20 minutes. It came back on, but went out again just before dinner. Fortunately, dinner had been cooked and we had a romantic dinner by candlelight and LED lanterns. Also fortunately, the power came back on just at the end of dinner so we could finish drying the laundry over the pace heaters. 

No Internet

we have been without Internet service for the past four days. And will not have it again for a few more. We are in Jakar Village at a nice hotel. Will update when we can. We are using the only Internet service in town. Welcome to central Bhutan.

Saturday 1 Oct in Thimphu

It's Sunday here, but I did not have a chance to post last night. We all went to bed early. The rest of the group has left for Panaka and they left at 4:30 to catch the first light at the high pass. We are staying an extra day to get Michael's system under control. The tour company will take us to Panaka tomorrow.

Since we will be hanging here, I should be able to upload some of yesterday's pictures from the markets, the paper factory and the Dzong we visited later in the afternoon. We have to change hotels so I am hoping I will still have access.

Hard time choosing pictures today. Too many to choose from. We started out at the weekend market. We got there early to watch the set up - and to get photos before it got too crowded. This young girl was shelling peas and not looking too thrilled about it.

This family is weighing their mushrooms for sale. This weekend market is for farmers outside the city to come and sell their produce. Unlike many cities, it runs Friday through Sunday. 

On the right are Bhutanese tomatoes. Not fully ripe. 

This gentleman is making brooms. The second picture is the finished product. 

On the other side of the river is the handcrafts market and the clothing market. I got a bit caught up in the items and it was hard to take photos because of the lighting. I did buy a kira, a scarf, a kira belt and some beadwork. These are masks used in festivals. Hope to see some festivals later this week. 

These are stacks of inner and outer jackets that are worn by women over the kira. The kira is a dress that like a toga is suspended from the shoulders. Unlike the toga, it also gets wrapped around you a few times, pleated, and belted to get the right length. I watched a sales person at the Gov't handcraft store put one on a potential customer and it took both of them. I bought one, but mainly for the fabric. Over this go a lightweight silk blouse (right stack) with very long sleeves, and a heavier, usually brocade, silk jacket (left stack), also with long sleeves. The collar of the blouse is folded over the outer jacket collar and the sleeves of the inner blouse are folded over the outside jacket and both are turned up at least halfway to the elbow. 

These are kira. Stripes go sideways around the body. 

We visited a shop that sold hand painted mandela, t-shirts, woven items and some other items. Two of these guys are guides. I put it in to show how the men dress. They wear a koh. Although it looks like a skirt and jacket, it is actually 4 panels of fabric, wrapped and belted in place. The kira is "open" at the side. The koh in the back. As you can see, some men wear a t-shirt underneath and drop the top of the koh around the waist. I loved this guy's skull t-shirt. 

After more shopping we went to a paper factory. Seemed to be a family business. Their paper is made from the bark of the daphne plant. Inner bark is lighter and finer. They strip it, boil it, pulp it and dip it. The only thing that it done by machine is the pulping. Here is the finished product drying outside. Near panels are still wet. There are cosmos petals in this paper. The middle panel shows the woman dipping the deckle into the tub of pulp. The last panel is the finished paper. The spots are created by dribbling water over it before it is taken out to dry. 

As I said, this is a family business and on a Saturday the kids are under foot. There were four of them clowning for our cameras. This was the best shot I got. They got the giggles looking at their images in the camera. Yes, that is corn on the cob. 

We bought school supplies after lunch. Bhutan prefers this to paying children to pose, or giving them sweets. Supplies are donated to a school and the teacher doles them out. Then we did more shopping. Dick and John and I found a shop run by a weaver - she has a loom in the shop. She is from northeast Bhutan where most of the weaving is done. Her patterns are exquisite. We learned that a kira takes 3 lengths of 18" wide fabric and since it is a backstrap loom, it takes about a year. Compare her designs to the ones above. Some of the more complex ones are for festivals. Those on the right are more for every day.

Here are a couple shots from downtown Thimpu. Note the contrast of Bhutanese dress and western sports wear. Children in Bhutan attend school from 8 to 4 weekdays and a half day on Saturday. Plus they are practicing routines for the royal wedding on the 13th.

The architecture in Bhutan reminds us a bit of the Tyrol. Stucco and lots of decoration. Painting is all hand done, of course and the king has decreed the traditional style be used on buildings.

These last few are from the dzong. These are old fortresses that have been turned into religious facilities. This one dates from the 1670s. The original was built in 1642 when the Tibetans were causing trouble. Lighting was murder. The king's office is also in this building so you can't visit 9-5 on weekdays. The king is affectionately referred to as K5 - their fifth king. He's 31. And has a Facebook page.

This is the temple for the dzong. Incredible inside, but no pictures allowed. Long sleeves required. No shoes.

There was some sort of ceremony going on and there were a lot of students. The women wear a red sash when they are visiting the dzong as a sign of respect. Men wear a while shawl looped over the shoulder and around the body. These girls are all from the same school as they are all dressed alike. You can also see the turned up sleeves of the inner blouse. I love the sneakers with the kiras. As you can see, men wear knee socks. This guy also has western shoes. Some socks are plain, but if you check the photo at the craft store, you will see the guy on the right is wearing argyles. Note the prayer wheels to the right of the girls.