April 27 Day 71
The pigeons living in our ceiling started cooing at about 5:30 but they were gentle and we slept all right.
We drove out of town by the picturesque dzong where two rivers (male and female) meet to a rocky beach where people were setting up rafts. We walked by the rafts,across a bridge and for about an hour ascended a hill while getting nicer and nicer views of the paddy fields surrounding it.
At the top of the hill was a tall temple with the sound of ritual music coming out of it. We climbed through the three active floors, each one with a different group of monks performing. The view from the top was amazing and we worked our way down to the third floor. We took in the ritual and were blessed by the head monk while the music and chanting continued. They were on break on the other floors when we went down and we met our New Zealand friend form the hotel, who was on his way up. Rinchen told us that the temple was recently built by the queen and they ceremony was towards the king's father in law, who was ill. The beautiful hike, views and being present for a ceremony made it one of the most memorable temples.
We came down, changed and got into a raft for some river rafting. We had two guides and our driver, Tswong with us. We went through three sets of rapids and bounced off a rock to show how durable the boat was. Meg through all was lost several times but the crew knew exactly what it was doing. We got soaked and went in for a quick swim but the water was glacier fed and so we wanted out pretty quickly. We spotted some birds and had great scenery the whole time. The crew were fun and it was a good call to take the rip.
After getting out of the river and changed, we had lunch outside by the river with a view of the dzong. The waitress unstacked a series of portable containers, each with a different dish in them. We had requested momos and there they were, we were happy. The chicken was good, but we found in Bhutan that the bits and very bony, similar to goat.
A few dogs were waiting on the ground and got excited when our waitress banged the containers to put away after we were done. She threw some of her leftovers behind her and they knew right where to be and had their own lunch.
After lunch we freshened up at the resort before heading back to the dzong (a former fort now being used as a monastery - the all kind of look like the Potala Palace) which opened at 3.
There were lots of people there and it was really crowded. We walked through three huge courtyards and in the third one waited for a the monks to finish in the main temple. Once we got inside there were multiple huge figures at the front, glass cases with figures stacked three high along the walls and elaborate decoration of all sorts everywhere you looked. This was the temple where the king was married and where coronation ceremonies took place, so it was very important. It was also crowded with multiple tour groups but was large enough that it wasn't completely stifling.
We walked back out along an upper floor and had good views of the large courtyards where annual ceremonies are held. Back at the bridge that led to the dzong you could see jacaranda trees in bloom and the layout was very pleasing for the eye.
On the way back we took a walk in downtown Ponakha. There was a lot of construction, all in the traditional style with concrete painted to look like wood and bamboo scaffolding. The shops had more Indian things than we had seen in Thailand but were set up in a similar way. They had a special plastic shopping bag that was tougher looking than anything we owned but an open sewer drain going along the main street gave us something to watch out for.
Back at the resort, Rincheng gave a us a bottle of local whiskey to try. I'm no spirits drinker but Meg and I had a little bit and it was quite smooth. We went for a walk up the street before dinner and saw a house under construction and talked to some local kids who had surprisingly good English.
Rincheng joined us again for dinner and then we tried to watch a stupid movie (no HBO here) but gave up and went to sleep.
The pigeons living in our ceiling started cooing at about 5:30 but they were gentle and we slept all right.
We drove out of town by the picturesque dzong where two rivers (male and female) meet to a rocky beach where people were setting up rafts. We walked by the rafts,across a bridge and for about an hour ascended a hill while getting nicer and nicer views of the paddy fields surrounding it.
At the top of the hill was a tall temple with the sound of ritual music coming out of it. We climbed through the three active floors, each one with a different group of monks performing. The view from the top was amazing and we worked our way down to the third floor. We took in the ritual and were blessed by the head monk while the music and chanting continued. They were on break on the other floors when we went down and we met our New Zealand friend form the hotel, who was on his way up. Rinchen told us that the temple was recently built by the queen and they ceremony was towards the king's father in law, who was ill. The beautiful hike, views and being present for a ceremony made it one of the most memorable temples.
We came down, changed and got into a raft for some river rafting. We had two guides and our driver, Tswong with us. We went through three sets of rapids and bounced off a rock to show how durable the boat was. Meg through all was lost several times but the crew knew exactly what it was doing. We got soaked and went in for a quick swim but the water was glacier fed and so we wanted out pretty quickly. We spotted some birds and had great scenery the whole time. The crew were fun and it was a good call to take the rip.
After getting out of the river and changed, we had lunch outside by the river with a view of the dzong. The waitress unstacked a series of portable containers, each with a different dish in them. We had requested momos and there they were, we were happy. The chicken was good, but we found in Bhutan that the bits and very bony, similar to goat.
A few dogs were waiting on the ground and got excited when our waitress banged the containers to put away after we were done. She threw some of her leftovers behind her and they knew right where to be and had their own lunch.
After lunch we freshened up at the resort before heading back to the dzong (a former fort now being used as a monastery - the all kind of look like the Potala Palace) which opened at 3.
There were lots of people there and it was really crowded. We walked through three huge courtyards and in the third one waited for a the monks to finish in the main temple. Once we got inside there were multiple huge figures at the front, glass cases with figures stacked three high along the walls and elaborate decoration of all sorts everywhere you looked. This was the temple where the king was married and where coronation ceremonies took place, so it was very important. It was also crowded with multiple tour groups but was large enough that it wasn't completely stifling.
We walked back out along an upper floor and had good views of the large courtyards where annual ceremonies are held. Back at the bridge that led to the dzong you could see jacaranda trees in bloom and the layout was very pleasing for the eye.
On the way back we took a walk in downtown Ponakha. There was a lot of construction, all in the traditional style with concrete painted to look like wood and bamboo scaffolding. The shops had more Indian things than we had seen in Thailand but were set up in a similar way. They had a special plastic shopping bag that was tougher looking than anything we owned but an open sewer drain going along the main street gave us something to watch out for.
Back at the resort, Rincheng gave a us a bottle of local whiskey to try. I'm no spirits drinker but Meg and I had a little bit and it was quite smooth. We went for a walk up the street before dinner and saw a house under construction and talked to some local kids who had surprisingly good English.
Rincheng joined us again for dinner and then we tried to watch a stupid movie (no HBO here) but gave up and went to sleep.
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| Ready to brave the wild rapids. |
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| Paddy fields looking down from the temple. |
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| The temple at the top of the mountain. |
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