Day 8 - Where East meets West

This morning when I open the curtains to enjoy the panoramic view, I notice that it has stopped raining but fog is building up. I quickly get my camera out to shoot the dzong as the oncoming mist creates a fairytale atmosphere. But by the time I get back, the whole valley is already filled with fog. The fog passes by quickly and I hope for an opening. With a lot of patience from my side, that opening comes and the fog will eventually disappear completely.

In the distance, in between the clouds, I see the snow capped mountains of the Himalayas. 

After breakfast hope to take some more interesting pictures of the beautiful surroundings of Trongsa. I am suddenly startled by a bang and some rumbling in the distance. A second follows... Is this thunder? Turns out these are controlled explosions used in prepration of the  road network constructions in the mountains. In these extraordinary circumstances, the heavy artillery has to be deployed from time to time.

Tonight we spend the night in Punakha, about 165 km further on.

We first stop at the Chendebji Chorten, a Nepalese-style stupa recognizable by the eyes that are drawn on it. By the way, a stupa is a structure in which religious Buddhist relics or prayer texts are kept. There are Nepalese, Tibetan or Bhutanese style stupas here in Bhutan. This stupa also contains a long wall of Mani stones. A Mani stone contains a painted mantra or image, usually of a Buddha.

A little later we cross the Pele-La, which is located at an altitude of 3,350 m. This mountain pass divides the east and west of the country. A funeral procession makes a stop here on its way to the Punakhar cremation ground. The hearse is decorated with colored flags. The people get out of their cars, take out thermoses with tea and boxes of cookies and the wake can begin. There is laughter, food, iconic stories, a toast to the deceased ... just like with us, only we do the wake after the funeral / cremation ...

Along the way we also encounter the first yaks. These four-legged friends live in the high mountains of mainly Tibet and Mongolia. Around this time, the shepherds take them to higher ground to graze.

In the valley of Phobjika, we visit the largest Nyingmapa monastery in Bhutan. This monastery was founded by Pema Trinley, the grandson of Pema Lingpa, the saint of Bumthang.

Nyingmapa is the oldest tradition of Tibetan Buddhism and one of the five main schools. It is the Buddhism of the Dalai Lama (here called the cult of the Dalai Lama). 

Here we also have some time to admire the breathtaking details of the decorations. Because they are made with refinement : delicate paintings, refined sculpted figures, meticulous wood carving, beautifully detailed figures and all finished with a fine gold trim. Buthanese are real wood artists.

On our way to our overnight stay, we get stuck in a traffic jam after a few hundred meters. The big trucks can't get past the road works and have to back up to clear the track. This will take us at least an hour. We still arrive at a decent hour in our hotel, which is located just before Punakha, in the town of Wangdue. This city is dominated by the dzong that burned down completely two years ago due to a short circuit. Unfortunately this happened on a Sunday when no one was present. Due to the immense use of wood, it was naturally quick over and out for the dzong. All that remains are the remains of what was once a majestic dzong.