Nov 6, 2014 Thursday, Punakha

We are staying at a lovely hotel right on a river.

 

First order of business today was an uphill hike to the Kamsayuelle Namygal Chorten, 

about 1 ½ hours round trip plus time to see the temple.  The hike took us through many rice paddies in the process of being harvested.

Chorten is upper left, on hill 

Prayer Flags on the bridge

Rice Paddies

More Rice Paddies

A rest stop with a Prayer Wheel part way up the walk:

The views of the river valley were spectacular.

And the Chorten complex included a very large Chorten and many small ones.  It was lovely on top of the hill and rather serene.

Jessica, Buddha and Prayer Flags 

At the end of the walk back we loaded on to a raft for a float trip that included a very small bit of white water.  The river went right by the Punakha Dzong (fortress).  Great views but hard to take pictures while floating down the river. 

All outfitted for a float trip

Monks bathing

Punaka Dzong

We then drove part way back up the river to a park where the hotel had set up tables and chairs for us and we had a picnic right along the river. 

It was so peaceful that we all wanted to stay but Tshering and Tara drug us away to see the Dzong. 

It was pretty awesome and we didn't have nearly enough time there...results of lingering too long at the picnic.

By the time we were done there it was too late for the village walk but we did drive up to a nunnery at the top of the hill.  It was closed but we got permission to walk around the grounds. 

The nuns were at evening prayers so we weren’t able to go inside.  However, we could stand outside and listen.  There was a full moon that night so we very much enjoyed the moon rise (several times as it kept going behind the mountains and then popping back up as we drove back down into the valley).

Nov 7, 2014, Friday Punakha to Jakar/Bumthang Valley

This morning we headed out on a five hour drive from Punakha to Jakar/Bumthang Valley.  The road was very rough in places and under construction.

Typical Stretch of Road

There were a few small waterfalls along the way.  However, it was near the end of the dry season so none were really spectacular.

Roadside store:

Along the way we stopped at Pele La Pass (11,060 feet) where there were mountain views, a small Chorten in the middle of the road (cars go around on the left, just like walking around Chortens and temples, and cars can circle it an odd number of times)...



Baby Chorten on the big Chorten

and a few roadside vendors.

Our driver, Sangay, trying on a hat at one of the vendors.

Sangay, driver extraordinaire.

While at the pass we hung some prayer flags.

The views the first half of the day were spectacular and we saw bits of the Eastern Himalayas. 

Steep Valleys of Bhutan

Snow Capped Eastern Himalayas

Randy taking pictures

Picturesque Farms

Prayer Flags on the hill

Road across the valley

 During the drive we stopped at yet another Chorten in another picturesque spot.

Saw a number of yaks along the way.

The yaks always seem to look out of focus in the pictures.  That's because they are so fuzzy.

And lots of drying chili's, used in the national dish (Ema Datsi).

Chilies Drying on the Roofs

And on the walkways

We stopped for tea in the morning for views of the Trongsa Dzong, the largest and longest dzong in Bhutan at 750 feet long. We didn’t stop to tour it until our return trip. 

We arrived in Bumthang after dark and checked in.  Shortly after arrival the lights went out and were out for quite a while.  Power outages were very common (daily) in Nepal but we hadn’t experienced many in Bhutan.  Dinner was eaten by candle light.