curious kids

before dinner, we all settled in around the table to do a little reading and relaxing. in addition to the mini monks, there are a gaggle of local kids that hang around the palace, and they were super curious to play with us, check out what we were doing, and talk to us a little. they rotated around our table looking at the books we were reading, and we showed them a few pics on our phones. it was so cute. 

the amazing thing about the kids is that they look out for each other, with zero supervision from any adults. the 10 year old in the group spent the afternoon and evening playing with a 6 month old baby strapped to his back. the baby was all giggles when the boy was in a stick war with his little sister whacking each other with the biggest sticks they could find. at the end of the day, no one liked an eye out, and they all survived. our children are not raised with the same kind of need to be caretakers so early, but I love seeing that it works, and little ones have the ability to understand certain responsibilities. 

afternoon archery sport

tshe tshe arranged for some of the local men to set up an archery range for us in the afternoon. we walked down to a kinda flat field, and they put the targets into a range us chilips might be able to hit. 

the crew took turns learning how to use the bows, and tried not to loose to many arrows in the brush. 

rachel and I only stick around for a little spell, and left the man folk to play sport (archery is the national sport of Bhutan). 

final stats: rich had on hit in the target, 2 arrows lost, 1 broken. 

afternoon soccer with mini monks

when we got back to the palace camp, scott was full swing playing soccer with the little monk boys. 

the monestary is basically a boarding school for the boys, and it is amazing the amount of freedom they have between prayers and studies. and by freedom, I mean there is no one supervising these kids... they play, and instantly turn into little boys doing king fu and beating the crap out of each other. there is definitely protectiveness for each other, but they are never told "don't do this, don't do that". 

biking back along the river

rich, rachel and I once again did a little biking back from the take-out, high above the river. it was a good hour+, and great to get glimpses of the river we rafted. 

we did have the truck pick us up at the bottom of the super steep road up to the palace.

the turnoff is right at one of the site where they are putting in a powerhouse for the hydro plant. the existing road along the river is going to be rebuilt higher up in the mountain. 

rafting the Mangda Chhu

from the first rapid down, the Mangda Chhu was exciting both because it was fun fussy water, and because it was very seldomly run, so our guide had to read and run. we stopped for some scouting at several places along the way. our crew was paddling really well, and I trusted kallie to get us through. 

the run was not without excitement however... we came into one rapid, and were just short of the line we were aiming for... and ended up getting surfed, spun and recirculated in a pretty big hole for more than a comfortable moment. it was wild, but we managed to come out upright with everyone in the boat. good times. 

the run was over in 2 short hours (such a tease!), but it was an incredible place to have experienced. this stretch of river canyon is so pristine, and has only ever been rafted and kayaked by a handful of people ever... and with the damn project, may never be the same or raftable ever again. this is 100% why I chose to come to Bhutan. 

the Mangda Chhu put in

we did another quick change in the bus to get into river gear, grabbed our PFDs, splash jackets and paddles... and hiked 10 min down to the put in. porters had brought all the boats and gear down, and the guides were finishing up rigging when we got there. similar to the Mo Chhu, our first big rapid was just below the put in. 

at the put in, I found a gorgeous (but totally dead and dried out) dragonfly. I took this as a good sign for the day. 

back on the bikes

today was another of our triathlon days (bike, home, swim (boat)). after breakfast, we packed our river gear onto the bus, them jumped onto the bikes to cruise down the hill we were perched on, and ride along the river to the put in. we definitely took it easy (constant reminder of being DAYS away from any major medical!), but it was again super enjoyable to get fresh air, take in the river and scenery first hand, and loosen up the legs. 

I also managed to slip the peddle with one foot, and whacked my shin pretty good. got a nice big goose egg. ha. first good bruise of the trip! 

prayers in the monastery

during breakfast time, we also had an opportunity to go into the monestary part of the main building, and observe the monks during their prayers. they chant, and in turn also accompany with instruments such as horns and drums. again, the little kids use this as a time to express themselves, and they really got into the instruments. 

evening cultural program in the palace

after dinner, we made our way to the courtyard of the palace for evening entertainment. I am sure we were the reason the program was put on, but it was fun to see a ton of villagers and kids running around, and also there to enjoy the show. 

the program started with 8 village women in traditional dress singing the opening prayers to the show. the singing was very repetitive and chant like. the women leading the songs had lovely strong voices. 

after the women, music commenced with drums, cymbals and horns. there isn't really a melody or common rhythm to the music, but it works together in a unique way. the dancers then came out of the monestary 1 by 1 (8 in total) dressed in really elaborate and colorfully flowing outfits... with vibrant animal masks (representing the animals you meet in the afterlife). they proceeded to dance, spin, and drum to the rest of the music, and then retreated one by one. 

the village kids were all lined up on the edges of the courtyard, and it was so fin to watch their excitement, and giggling enjoying the show. bout halfway through the program, the kids were just running all over playing in the middle of things. 

during the performce, we were served arrak. it was a lethal wheat fermented beverage, mixed with butter and cooked egg. we all graciously drank some... but it must be quite the acquired taste. 

the show continued with two more cycled of the women singing, and them the men dancing in costumes. the second set of costumes were the buddah and spirit masks, and the last wax the monks doing the "black hat dance". 

for the final song, the ladies had us come up and dance with them. it was not a pretty sight, but I think the locals got quite a kick out of it. too bad. no photos of that. 

morning monks

the palace is also the residence of a dozen or so monks, including a bunch of little ones (probably ages 6-10). the bells are rung (right behind our tents) at 6am, and the monks gather to pray and chant. the kids are ridiculously adorable... their chanting is all over the place, and they love to stretch their lungs and out shout each other. individual expression is totally encouraged, and these are just a bunch of goofy kids. 

the prayers go on for a solid hour, and as soon as we came out of our tents to get coffee, the kids were hamming it up even more, and wiggling around to sneak a peek at us. as soon as prayers were over, they curiously loitered around us as we ate breakfast. 

it was also quite amazing to wake up and see where we were! 

arriving at the palace

it was pitch dark for the last push of our trip, and by then I don't know that we had any idea where we were being taken. we made it down to the river by the construction sites, and then turned up the mountain again on a tiny road and climbed. 

we pulled off, got out of the bus, and saw a little tent city set up for us behind the 1st kings winter home. a small palace of sorts. 

truthfully, none of us realized we would be camping at the palace, so it took a minute to get oriented, and find our camping gear and headlamps. 

we were set up with snacks, and more tea... and then informed we were invited into the palace for dinner. Ugden, the owner of the company we are traveling with's mother in law is the great granddaughter of the first king (Bhutan is now on the 5th king), and resided here in the winter. 

ugden received us in the living room (of sorts), and we met his mother in law. following that, a big buffet dinner was served, and we spent the evening chatting about Bhutan, rivers and travel. quite a special night! 

I can't wait to see this place in the morning! 

the final push to the river

from trongsa, we had two more hours to go to get to the river and our lodging for the night. the sun starts to go down at 5:15, and by 5:35 it is completely dark. 

the sunset was soft, and lovely we finally saw a glimpse of a sliver of the crescent moon. 

along this side of the valley, we also went by all the construction in progress for the newest hydro plant going into the region. it is a comicated story for Bhutan, but one with a lot of potential for an exportable commodity. India is basically building the damn and hydro plant, but giving complete ownership to Bhutan for them to export the power to India. 

the construction was amazing to be seen. such a huge engineering feat in a region where getting anything anywhere is a logistical nightmare, as well a a landscape that is incredibly challenging. 

the construction in progress is definitely a scar on the pristine landscape, but you have to hope the land will repair itself as much as possible in time. the river will not be the same, but the damn and diversion tunnels planned are about as minimal as possible. 

complicated story, but super interesting to see it in progress. 

trongsa dzong

the trongsa dzong is built on the edge of a mountain overlooking the intersection of 2 large rivers, and is also the meeting point and access from east to west. we stopped in town for some more tea, and quick stretch break. I also finally found an atm that works! 

more layers of mountains and valleys

continuing on, we went up again, and wound around some of the steepest mountains and cliffs yet. we could see the road we were heading to on the other side of the valley, but it would take us hours yet to get around to there. 

not a bit of flat land anywhere. just layers and layers of mountains, houses and crops carved into the hillsides everywhere. 

over the pass, and into more mountains and valleys

we crossed the high pass (11,000ft) just before noon, and stopped for lunch in a town in the valley below. 

Himalayan Giants

just before the high pass we got a glimpse of the highest peak in Bhutan, Jumolhari. the mountain is on the northern border with Tibet, over 24,000 ft. 

tea stop

evey couple of hours along way, we stopped to stretch our legs, use the restroom, and get some tea. lots of tea on the road. but can't complain, the views everywhere were amazing! 

had a glimpse of the snow covered peaks in the distance. 

phallus paintings by the doorway are a popular way to ward off the evil spirits in this area. 

traveling day!

after three days of hiking, and two rafting. it was time for our first big travel day. we had 8-9 hours to go from punakha valley over the pass to the next large dzong where the east and west meet, and then down to the magnda Chhu river. we were on the road by 8am, settled in for the long haul. 

to say the roads are just curvy would be insulting to curves. the roads (sometimes paved, sometimes dirt) go up, down, around, and around and around, precariously cut into the sides of the mountains. the drop off on the side is most often several hundred feet straight down. it is adorable that there is an occasional guard rail 5-10ft long. progress is slow, never going more than 30mph, and far less when passing other vehicles, or avoiding giant potholes, or the occasional remnants of a landslide. 

along the way I played out all the scenarios of us accidentally driving off the edge, and none of them ended well. ha. 

dinner bonfire on the beach

the folks who made our lunch also suggested they could create a nice dinner for us so we didn't need to eat at the hotel for a third night. 

just after dark, we drive back to town, and found the spot the set up for us. they  made a huge bonfire on a little beach right down river from the dzong, with candles and a dinner table set up. it was quite the special set up for us!!! kinda romantic as well. ha. 

dinner and drinks were fabulous, and namgay the proprietor was quite entertaining. after the whiskey started flowing, he busted out a Bhutanese rendition of a vanilla ice song. so hilarious. and indescribable. unique night, for sure.