Sunday, July 31, 2011

Day 6 and journey home

I've gotten home now but thought I'll just finish what I started...

We started the day knocking on the door of the vice-principal of the Lango Middle Secondary School. Did the elevator pitch on how visit to the National Library had generated curiosity and interest in school's library resources and access to information, internet, etc. She kindly gave us a brief tour of the library which was about half the size of a classroom and could do with more books. We didn't get to see the computer room but she described it to be amply equipped with 16 PCs; however, lamented that it was largely underutilized because of not having data connectivity. Tobgay and I are working on a little project to get a data line fixed up.

Most would say a visit to Bhutan isn't complete without a visit to Taktsang (also known as the Tiger's Nest Monastery). The hike up takes about two hours. Quite early in the walk we passed a group of three: a nun, an elderly man, and an elderly woman; they were not related. As usual there would be some friendly banter initiated. The nun spoke English and shared with me that she was going to be up at the monastery for a 2 month retreat.

It would never have occurred to me to offer but Tobgay noticed that the two elderly folks had backpacks. Much to their appreciation, he took the bags from them and saddled them onto his back. I felt it was really thoughtful of him but had no idea that the bags contained more than just a change of clothes......

A third the way up, we took a short break and I offered again to take one of the backpacks cos he looked a bit silly carrying two. When I picked up the smaller one, I then discovered it had a sackful of rice in it - with the two bags he would have been carrying close to 30kgs!...and could see why the folks were quite relieved. Though he was managing without breaking much sweat, did manage to convince him to let me have a go at the smaller pack for sport...:) I later found out that the rice was brought as offerings for an important occasion taking place the next day - it is the one day in the year that the sacred cave where Guru Rinpoche had meditated in would be opened to the public.

Aside from the religious importance of this site, the Takstang monastery and its setting is breathtaking. I particularly enjoyed the waterfall that greets visitors close to the monastery's entrance - the water flowed with a beautiful balance of grace and energy landing on rocks sending a refreshing spray of mist into the air.

Back at the hotel, indulged in a hot stone bath and massage in the perfectly situated spa overlooking the Paro valley. The bath uses the traditional yet novel way of heating and adjusting the water temperature in a wooden tub using stones that had been earlier heated over fire wood. Would give the spa and treatment two thumbs up!

It being my last night in Bhutan, I asked the guys to take me out for a truly local experience ie somewhere they would go. We went downtown Paro (all in all no larger than a typical US outlet mall) and they picked an obscure enough eatery - quite promising this. When they ordered noodles by the name of "chow mian" I got a bit suspicious. I asked if this was really a local dish and they both nodded in unison. Well, sometimes you never get a straight answer no matter where you are....Another dish looked and tasted very much like jiao zi - at least they had a local name for this one. In any case, it was the most satisfying 'local' meal I've had in Bhutan.

After dinner, knowing my curiosity if there was more to be seen, the guys led me to Dragon Entertainment - now this is the real 'in the know' experience! My best attempt at describing the place and what it has to offer would be: tea dance meets karaoke meets local pub meets community centre. The 'live entertainment' consist young ladies in full Kira (traditional dress) singing and dancing to requests from the patrons. Instead of buying tickets as was the system for tea dances of the old, the ladies carry around jotter books to record requests made and tips collected. The performers were painfully shy - apparently this is one of the avenues for young people to meet. Men, women and children pile in to watch the show...

The next day, I was due to leave on an 11am flight which would allow me to catch a connecting flight from BKK on the same day back to SIN. A stray pigeon had knackered the turbine of one of the two planes in the fleet - so flight was delayed to 5.20pm which meant I had no way of getting home to SIN that day. As I later found out from the SQ ground staff, delays in the flights out of Paro happen quite a bit so best to allow for some buffer if planning for a trip.

The last learning experience of the trip took place on the flight to BKK. I sat next to a very pleasant French lady who is project manager of a national environment advisory board commissioned by the ADB. Earlier in the lounge I had noticed her and her colleagues of various nationalities discussing technical details of a proposed Water Act. Looks like my little wish re engineering expertise is getting checked off....

Final thoughts: this is a place of great natural beauty, and for just that alone, would be worthwhile visiting. The steeped history, folklore, cultural rites and rituals certainly add to its tapestry. But I think it's the people and the simplicity, honesty and kindness that pervades in the way they live that makes Bhutan a rather special place indeed.

Tashi Delek and thanks for reading :)

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