Tashichhodzong

I hiked with Tenzin this morning to Cheri Monastery, a collection of Buddhist temples sitting near the top of a hill outside of Thimpu. The hike was like a miniature Tiger's Nest hike. We climbed up dirt trails through mist and rain in the forest, and after about an hour we came to the monastery. Cheri Monastery was built in 1620 by Zhabdrung Ngawengnamgyel, the founder and first ruler of Bhutan. Several shrines inside were dedicated to Zhabdrung and featured large, gold-painted statues of him.

Seeing a few different monasteries in Bhutan has helped me get a pretty good feel for what they're all about. At all the monasteries I've seen so far the construction and artwork has been somewhat similar. Prayer wheels, painted woodwork, butter lamps, colorful ritual cakes, murals, hardwood floors, gold-painted figures, bowls of holy water, and decorative cloths hanging from the ceiling have all been constants at the monasteries I've been to. I'm sure that all of those things are typical of the Bhutanese culture. The Tiger's Nest was easily the most distinctive of the monestaries I've seen and I'm glad that was one of the first ones I went to. It felt that much more exotic because it was all new to me. A monk led Tenzin and I through the different temples of Cheri monestary and Tenzin described to me the meaning behind many of the shrines and paintings and decorations. Afterwards I had Tenzin snap a picture of me with the monk, and we headed back down the hill to meet Gudu at the bottom. On the way back to Thimpu Tenzin and I visited another monastery called Pangri Zampa. While Cheri Monastery was isolated and quiet, with only a few older monks occupying the place, Pangri Zampa was filled with hundreds of younger monks participating in a ritual ceremony. The monks sat in six long rows on the hardwood floor of a small auditorium. After I had spent a few minutes in the room observing the place and taking pictures, the monks started chanting. The older monks in the group, who probably weren't even twenty years old, chanted in deep monotones, repeating a mantra in Bhutanese. Other monks beat large drums to the rhythm of the chant, or blew into an instrument that sounded like a cross between a clarinet and a kazoo. At the front of the room was the typical Bhutanese shrine, complete with ritual cakes, butter lamps, and silver bowls of holy water.

Back in Thimpu I spent about a half-hour visiting the Folk Heritage Museum. Tenzin relaxed outside for a few minutes while a young guide at the museum led me through an authentic Bhutanese farm house. The house was used as recently as 2001, when the Bhutan government converted it to a museum. I passed through hay-filled stables on the lower level and bedrooms and a game room on the upper levels. On the top level was a room with a Buddhist shrine. According to the guide, every house in Bhutan has a shrine where the residents of the household bow and worship every morning.

Every lunch and dinner I've had in Bhutan so far has been so lavish. Normally I wouldn't eat nearly this well while traveling, but because of the minimum daily spending amount imposed by the government, I have no other option except to eat extravagant meals at least twice a day. Today the polite staff at Eight Brother's Restaurant in Thimpu brought me roasted potatoes with garlic sauce, dumplings filled with cheese, sliced pork with chilis, beef with chilis and a thin cheese sauce, mixed vegetables, and a giant bowl of steamed rice. Tomorrow in Kathmandu I'll be back to eating a cheap bowl of noodles and maybe a bread roll once or twice a day.

The highlight of the day was a visit to Thimpu's massive dzong. The name of the dzong, Tashichhodzong, translates to “fortress of the auspicious religion”. I'm assuming that the auspicious religion they're referring to would be Buddhism. Tashichhodzong is about twice the size of Paro Dzong, the fortress I visited on my first day in Bhutan. I spent about an hour just hanging around in the stone courtyard of the dzong, watching monks walk back and forth in front of a long row of prayer wheels. I enjoyed just wandering around in a light drizzle of rain and taking a few photos that I hope will do the place justice. One of the most incredible things about traveling in Bhutan is that you can go to a place like Tashichhodzong and be the only foriegner there. I can't imagine what it would be like to go to St. Mark's Square in Venice and see nothing but the comings and goings of local Venetians and a few flocks of pigeons. Thimpu's dzong is just as exotic as Venice, but without the cruise ships pulling up and unloading legions of tourists clad in neon hats and fanny packs.