We asked the small lady to bring us some ice for the “Breezers” we tried. She came back carrying the entire refrigerator…….
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Something over your head to set the breakfast table by…. these are homages to the “Mad Buddha” who travelled the country using this instrument to extract demon or negative energy from 50% of the local population.
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The people, the people. Enjoy the collection of people, we did. One left an indelible impression. We came upon this elderly gentleman (truly gentle) sitting by himself quietly disassembling the woven plastic bags that we take for granted—the kind large quantities of seed come in (my guess is that he picked them up along the road where they fell off passing trucks). We buy our 40-pound bags of bird seed in such bags and throw them into recycling after one use. We stopped to see what he was doing…… each strand removed from the bag was then woven into a rope that he was making (we believe to tie to his one cow that was nowhere in sight). As soon as we stopped and he looked up, he let out a very broad smile and nodded as if he had known us for a long time. Our guide spoke to him in one of the many dialects. He did not know how old he is. He looked 80-ish…… anyway, through our guide we exchanged pleasantries and small talk about what he was doing, where he lived (nowhere in sight), etc. As we gathered ourselves up to leave, he took off his hand-woven bamboo, cotton, and plastic bag hat and gave it to me. With as much grace as I could, I plead for him to keep it. He would not have it. First he merely offered it. Then he kept thrusting it and finally when we were about to leave and my window was about ½ open with me thanking him with the common gesture of praying hands, he thrust the hat through the window with a big smile and then clasped his hands. Two old men smiled generously toward each other and we drove away. He asked for nothing but he gave very much.
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Our intrepid guide (Phuntsho on the right) and driver (Kinzang) in traditional attire. Each are the best we’ve ever had! Make everything much more pleasurable and give us relative comfort about the safety of this adventure. Full of knowledge, interesting stories, legends, and superstitions. Good humor all around.
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Approaching 14,000 feet the clouds and snow are settling in—replacing the drizzle that made the dirt/gravel road that much less a joy. Then there was the descent to Bumthang…. Part of which was in the dark.
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The entrance to a Buddhist temple on the outskirts of a typical small village. I assume that I am not the first one to compare these to the cathedrals of Europe. Our guide (Funzo) and our driver (Kinzgang) are in the foreground.
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Hundreds of these temples adorn the hills and villages. Incredible hand painted or carved work on the outside and inside reflects their dedication to their spiritual practices and care for all living beings. Every image has meanings from their Buddhist practices.
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We were given permission to enter and photograph the interior of this temple. The ONLY temple where we received permission to photograph the interior.
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Every square inch covered with messages or incredible wood carvings with symbols.
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Staggering….
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