2014-11-03 Asia: Bhutan: Nov 4, 2014 Tuesday, Thimphu Bhutan

Today we hit the highlights of Thimphu, Bhutan’s capital city. The first stop was the King’s National Memorial Chorten. A Chorten is a dome-shaped monument, used to house Buddhist relics or to commemorate significant facts of Buddhism or Jainism (very similar to the Stupas we saw in Tibet and Nepal). While we have seen many stupas and Chortens in the last few weeks this one was really our favorite because there was a lot of activity going on.

The entire time we were there the monks were chanting over the PA system and there were large crowds of people circling the Chorten.

Watch video in new large window. If HD does not show

at end of progress bar, click there for better quality.

And some reading and contemplating.

There were two large tents set up and filled with monks who were waiting for the arrival of a Great Master. While waiting for the great master there was another Master (apparently not quite as great) blessing the pilgrim.

Pilgrim receiving a blessing

Waiting ...

Unfortunately the Great Master moved through so fast (plus he was totally surrounded by his Great Entourage) that we didn't get a picture of him. After all that waiting.

The next stop was the Changangkha Temple where couples bring their infants and children to be blessed. Some of the monks did the blessing while others were drumming and chanting. It was another Buddhist temple in action.

After lunch we had a whirlwind of sightseeing that included beautiful and sweeping views of the city and valley from the Telecom tower.

Thimphu Valley

Watch video in new large window. If HD does not show

at end of progress bar, click there for better quality.

And a visit to the Golden Buddha (51.5 meters high) with a huge plaza in front and great views of the valley.

Golden Buddha

From across the valley:

We also stopped by a factory where women were hand weaving Bhutanese cloth. The process is totally by hand and it takes several months to make a length of cloth large enough to make a kira (traditional women’s skirt) or a gho (a man’s robe). The fabric is quite expensive but very beautiful and generally very colorful.

We had a chance to wander the streets and saw a vegetable market and many people in local dress. We saw very few Bhutanese in western attire.

One of the highlights of the day was a stop to watch the officer directing traffic at a main intersection in Thimphu. He (or they) directs traffic from 8:00 to 5:00 and it looks almost like he is performing a ballet. Sort of mesmerizing.

Watch video in new large window. If HD does not show

at end of progress bar, click there for better quality.

During the drive around town we went by the archery range and it turned out there were a number of archers practicing archery, the Bhutanese national sport. They were shooting at targets that were 145 meters away and were shooting with very modern, high tech bows. Whenever one of them hit the target the group would sing and do a little dance Tara stopped one of the archers and we spent quite a while talking with him. He even let us hold his bow, which cost two or three thousand dollars.

Other sights included the show room for the handicraft school, the handicraft market, and the general post office to look at Bhutanese stamps.

All dressed up for an evening out.

When we got back to the hotel there were kiras for Jessica and Mary and a gho for Paul. The hotel staff came up to help us into the clothing and then we went down to see a performance of some of the Bhutanese dances.