Fertility on the way to Thimphu

Day 4: 14 October 2023 (Saturday) – Punakha/Thimphu After an early breakfast, you will be chauffeured to Thimphu (2 Hours’ drive). Stop en route and hike to Chimi Lhakhang. Perched on a hill in the centre of the valley, Chimi Lhakhang is a temple dedicated to Lama Drukpa Kuenley. Also known as the 'Divine Madman', he used humour, song and dramatic reenactment to disperse his teachings back in the 15th century. Chimi Lhakhang is widely known as the temple of fertility; locals come here to receive blessings from the lama. They pray and ask to be blessed with a child. Locals also bring their newborns to be named here. The lhakhang is about a 30-minute walk through fields from the main road. The road climbs steeply through a scenic forest of pine and cedar trees, to Dochu La pass. An incredible Bhutanese mountain pass those peaks at 3140 m (10301 ft) above sea level. It presents exceptional views of the snow-capped eastern Himalaya range in the winter along its path, linking the city of Thimphu and Punakha. Head on over to the Druk Wangyal Chortens, where 108 memorial stupas and chortens stand in honour of Bhutanese soldiers slain in the war against Bodo insurgents from India. The Queen Mother, Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck, sanctioned the shrine in 2003 after King Jigme Singye Wangchuck overcame the insurgents. Stop on Dochu La to visit the 108 stupas to honor the fallen Bhutanese soldiers. On arrival in Thimphu drive to your hotel for check-in. Lunch will be at the hotel (On direct payment basis). Later in the afternoon you will drive onwards to Buddha Dordenma. This gigantic Shakyamuni Buddha statue is filled with over 100,000 smaller Buddha statues, each like the Buddha Dordenma itself, made of bronze and gilded in gold. At a height of 51.5 m (169 ft), it is one of the tallest Buddha statues in the world. The statue fulfils an ancient prophecy dating back to the 8th century CE, discovered by Terton Pema Lingpa, the Religious Treasure Discoverer of the time. It is said to bring peace and happiness to the entire world.

Breakfast offered the first tastes of Bhutanese food - up to now has been a blend of different western options. I had a selection of momos which are dumplings with meat or vegetable filling. Unfortunately, I was so hungry to try these, I forgot to take photos:(

We took off from Punakha River Lodge and started our trip to Thimphu. I noticed what was to be many fertility symbols - even at the River Lodge:)

Not long after leaving the Lodge we came across some high school students doing a 10k race, so had to drive carefully. A bit further on we came across an archery match. Archery is a traditional sport and, when played on a weekend like today, involves alcohol.

After archery we continued our drive to Chimi Lhakhang. The temple is built on a hill said to resemble a woman’s breast which doesn't really come out in the photos. Unfortunately we are not in the right area to observe the fertility dances which involve naked men... I couldn't take pictures inside the temple, but was able to take photos of the outside and the area around it.

We retraced our route of a few days ago

and over the Dochu La pass where I took some photos. The view was a bit obscured due to clouds.

Once we got to Thimphu

we drove to the post office to pick up some stamps.

I was able to get some with my photo on them! My photo happened to be taken in Japan along the Kumano Kodo, but could have been in Bhutan:)

While at the post office I finally met my travel agent, Ninzy, who gave me a beautiful picture book of Bhutan.

I suggested a trip to see how incense is made and we took a short drive to a local small business that makes the incense used by temples and individuals.

and over to the Buddha Dordenma. Inside was just as extravagant with thousands of guilded buddhas in niches in the wall.

Back down the hill to the hotel. As I found out later, this was the same one as Richard Branson used. I finally ate the packed lunch from River Lodge.

My guide asked if I had a duffle to avoid damaging my suitcase on the trek. I didn't so he went out and bought one - very nice of him. I had the afternoon off and decided I needed a more powerful power bank for my electronics and had a quick tour of the downtown area. I used a mobile ATM which was located in a combi.

and took the afternoon off to prepare for tomorrow.

The hotel made a dinner not on the menu for me - it was a local dinner and it was really good. Not sure why Bhutan is shy about it's local cuisine, but this is the first country where I've not tried local food until a third of the way through the trip. Below you can see momos, glass noodles and potatoes with local red rice. I had some local beer which I didn't enjoy too much because it was warm.

Similar to Japan, I had a local costume in my room which I had to model