Tiger's Nest

Another view of "Tiger's Nest" monastery. No, I don't believe tigers do actually nest, or roost. Why it's not called "Tiger's Den" I don't know but the legend goes like this. Guru Rinpoche (the second Buddha) in the 8th century was busy establishing Buddhism in this area. He possessed  miraculous powers and is depicted in eight different manifestations.  One of the challenges was to rid the region of evil spirits and demons. One day, his consort manifested as a tigress. He rode on her back and flew up to this spot to capture and subdue a demon known as Singey Samdrup. Once done, he stayed here and meditated for 3 months. There is a deep hole dug out of the rock (25 ft deep) in which it is said he would wait in hiding, meditating and when a demon would arrive, he would leap out suddenly, and catch it by surprise.

Buddha

Here is the Buddha overlooking the city of Thimphu. It is reportedly the second largest in the world, being bested by one even larger in Nepal. It is still under construction. One source says it was made in China, cut into pieces, shipped here and reassembled. The locals claim it was all made here, on site. I don't know for sure but it is big. The pictures don't really do it justice. Just look closely and realize that the pine trees are full size, between 30 and 50 feet tall, and that there are almost two stories of bamboo scaffolding just to the top of the base supporting the statue.

Hospital

These guys are the welcoming committee at the main entrance to the hospital in Thimphu. Looks to me like these dragons are enjoying ice cream cones but somehow I don't think that is what the artists intended.

Tiger's Nest

Undeniably Bhutan's most famous landmark, this place is even more spectacular than any picture or written description can convey. After what most would consider a fairly strenuous hike, one passes by what is known as the "cafeteria," a rest stop with a wonderful view. Continuing on, an unreal number of stone steps are negotiated up and down to gain access to this monastery. Once there, all cameras, cell phones and bags are left in a store room. You are subjected to a manual pat down search by the Bhutanese authorities to make sure you are not sneaking some contraband inside this holy place. Names and numbers are recorded. The locals are required to wear their national dress, a gho for men and kira for women. My short sleeved, polyester sport shirt met with some unhappy looks and it was requested that I cover it with a jacket which of course I did not have. I thought it was my bare arms which were offensive but when one of the monks loaned me his zip up vest and this made the guards happy, I realized it was something about my shirt that was unacceptable. Being allowed to visit this place, one cannot help but feel deeply honored, for this is no simple tourist attraction. Difficult to put words to it, but there is magic there. I visited a half dozen rooms which were open to visitor's that day, many more closed and locked. Each room was elaborately decorated with paintings, tapestries, flags, statues and alters. Prayers were made in each room and holy water was taken when offered by the monks. Somewhat odd was the fluorescent lighting and the chirping of smoke alarms with low batteries, but understandable given the extensive destruction caused by fire several years ago.

Photo

OK lets try a photo. I now have broadband connectivity. Here is the infamous "cantilever bridge" in Thimphu. Look closely at its construction. It leads to an area filled with flea market type stands populated on the weekend by vendors bringing their products to sell.

Hiking

I ventured out on a hike to see what I could find. Initially I headed up the western bank of the Thimphu Valley, taking what appeared to be the main road thinking it would take me the furthest. I walked several miles through residential neighborhoods and was turned away by armed guards from a couple of palaces or official government offices. That was ok though, I finally found the Thimphu zoo, or rather a sort of sanctuary for the official national animal, the takin. Apparently, these animals were originally put into captivity for display purposes but this was met with opposition as it was inconsistent with Buddhist belief. They were therefore released but they either didn't want to leave, or couldn't figure out how to return to the wild. So rather than risk these animals being injured or starving, back up went the fences and a little development to support their upkeep. I'll try and get a photo posted.

I continued on a cross country trail over a ridge to a "dzong" a religious place of worship.  Here I met a elderly monk with betel nut filling his mouth so completely, I considered the possibility that he was bleeding, the color of his teeth and saliva was that red. You can't help but smile back at them. Trying to be respectful and considerate of the Buddhist beliefs, I tread lightly across the lawn to view the large, ornately decorated prayer wheel placed within an a cupola type structure. Being the observant one that I am, I knew that each spin of the prayer wheel constitutes one reading of the prayer included within. Still trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, I felt obligated to participate in local custom. I stepped up to the wheel, grabbed the handle and gave it a spin, clockwise of course, as I had previously noted was proper. I neglected to note however the stick protruding from the top of the wheel which, once every revolution would strike a brass bell hanging in exactly the right spot. My presence obvious now to all of western Bhutan, I quickly stepped down, looked around to see if I was going to be reprimanded by the monk, and headed down the trail back to town.

Taxi ride

So each country's taxi drivers have their own reputation to uphold. Bhutan is no exception, and in some sense, it would appear that they are playing a bit of catch up, as though they have been left out of this informal international worst driver competition for some time. As it was, I was escorted from the airport to some sort of miniature SUV type vehicle and was quickly reminded of the fact that they drive on the left here (I started to get in the driver's seat). I was reassured by a dotted white line in the middle of the highway, clearly delineating separate lanes, as we all know to allow faster cars to pass slower ones. My driver however, considered this road to have 3 positions and he chose the middle path, straddling the line, 2 wheels on the left and the other two on the right of the line. This of course left extra room to either side of the vehicle enhancing the safety of the ride I explained to myself.  He also, I concluded, is employed by the Bhutan Highway Department and is lobbying to rebuild the roads. You see, he seemed to have a strong desire for the road to be straighter than it is. Now, maybe he was just trying to save gas by taking the straightest course from point A to point B. The road as it currently exists follows each and every curve and contour of the river canyon and all of its tributaries (and there are a lot). There has been no fill in, bridges or tunnels. The only exception to my driver's rule of staying in the middle was to cut each corner as sharply as possible to the inside, taking advantage of right handed turns to pass other vehicles. This was all going actually rather smoothly until I had the sudden realization that there were indeed other vehicles coming from the other direction in the right lane. There was no separate road for uphill traffic. The dotted white line lo and behold carried different meaning here. As far as I was concerned, this was a double solid yellow line highway the whole way! I guess that would be too expensive. Never the less, leave it to the locals to navigate on their own turf and all will be well. Good thing the cars are made extra narrow here.