At the time
of writing I´m on the Andaman Islands way out in the Indian Ocean. Internet
connection has been absent the last 10 days, but I´ve finally hunted down a
tiny good old Internet café. All though I’m so keen on sharing snaps from the
tropical island life, Bhutan deserves some more attention.
The most
special and spiritual experience in Bhutan was definitely whilst visiting
Phunaka Dzong (temple). This dzong houses hundreds of young monks. It is also
where the religious leader of Bhutan, Chief Abbot (equivalent to Tibets Dalai
Lama), lives most of the year. As we were walking around this stunning place, our
guide soon realized that something unusual was going on. All the monks started
to gather at an open space, and older monks were walking around hitting the
floor with a broom. This was an act to get the monks attention. The chief Ebbot
was apparently going to out of his room to hold a ceremony. Obviously, it was strictly
forbidden to take photos of this holy man, but we were welcome to receive
blessings from him as he passed buy. And minutes later, Bhutans religious
leader, strolled past us and as we covered our mouth and bowed, he touched our
heads giving us his blessings. After this we could overlook the ceremony where
the monks were meditating and playing silent drums and the chief was reading
mantras. This was such a magical and spiritual moment, taking us straight into
the depth of Buddhism. I was totally mesmerized by the sounds and smells of
surrounding us.
Our road
trip ended up in Paro, where we climbed the mountain to Tigers Nest, one of the
highlights of the cultural Bhutan tour. We had such a fun day hiking together
with Bull and Thinley, and finally getting the pulse to rise after
a rather lazy week. On the very last day they drove us to the Indian border,
where they laughed their ass off by the look of two confused pale Scandinavians
with backpacks who were continuing by foot to the nearest train station in
India.
Lunchtime!
PS: never forget to kiss horses and cuddle stray dogs!
Klem,
AK
