Beautiful Bhutan - Part 4

Durga temple, Thimphu

On Day 3 of our trip, we woke up a bit late and after finishing our morning prayers etc., we went to the restaurant and had a leisurely breakfast. Ariya hotel is good and the breakfast they served was sumptuous. We met an Indian couple from Muscat who were there for a holiday and, while talking and exchanging notes, we discovered that we had mutual friends back in India.

After breakfast, our first port of halt was a Durga temple constructed by the King to cater to the Hindu citizens and visitors. It was a short drive away from our hotel and situated on the top of a hillock. It was very chilly when we arrived with very few visitors at that time of the day. We went inside, offered our prayers and then went around the temple complex. It was neat & well-kept with a Yagashala (place to conduct havans / yagnas) within the premises. After taking the customary pictures, we proceeded to the famous tourist spot of the Sitting Buddha.

The Great Buddha Dordenma is a huge golden statue of the sitting Buddha constructed to commemorate the 60^th Anniversary of the 4^th King of Bhutan in the year 2015. Situated on the top of a hill, it is about 175 feet tall and has within its premises more than a lakh of miniature Buddhas. Earlier they used to charge a ticket for entry to recover the costs of the construction but subsequently, it was waived to encourage more visitors & tourists. It is a beautiful structure and offers a glimpse into the country’s culture and religion. Inside the premises, one can read about various monks who have installed and nurtured Buddhism in Bhutan. One can also sit inside and do some meditation. Outside, one has plenty of stunning photo opportunities. The bright colours of the premises and the exteriors makes for a great setting to take pictures. The sitting Buddha can be seen from long distances and one feels blessed and classful when viewing it from afar.

We had driven to the entry gate situated on the top of the hill. On the way back, we decided to walk down the steps (approx. 290 steps) to the road below where our driver got the car for us to proceed to the next halt.

The guide recommended that we visit a place called ‘Simply Bhutan’ which he insisted was a must visit place. We went there and found that the entry tickets were priced steeply at Rs. 1000 per person. We still went in as we were told that we will get the experience of life in Bhutan here. The tour inside this small place starts with a drink of rice wine manufactured locally. We learnt that it is very common to drink this in Bhutan and is offered to all guests and used during festivals and family gatherings. We also learnt that one must offer the drink to one’s friends / loved ones who are not present. This is done by dipping our finger into the drink and sprinkling the drink in the air by twitching the wet fingers.

After this, we went into different rooms where every aspect of Bhutanese history and life was displayed – the monarchy, the weapons used in war, implements used in agriculture, cooking etc. One gets an opportunity to see traditional Bhutanese singing and dancing – visitors are also encouraged to dance along. We were also treated with local tea, snacks etc. One can visit souvenir stalls, wear traditional dress and take pictures or even try a hand at archery (one of the national pastimes & sports of Bhutan). Overall, we spent about an hour here and when we came out we had gathered some idea about the life in Bhutan. In terms of value for money, I would not recommend Simply Bhutan as the information and experience was short of our expectations.

After this we went to the Royal Takin Preserve (national preserve of Takin - the national animal of Bhutan). This is a strange animal which has the head of a goat and the body of a cow. A Bhutanese belief is that many hundred years ago, a Tibetan monk miraculously grafted the head of a goat on a cow’s body and brought it to life with a snap of his fingers. He did this on a request of locals to perform a miracle in front of them.  It thus became a revered animal which is found mainly only in Bhutan. It is generally lazy with restricted movements. This preserve was once meant to be a mini zoo but later converted into a preserve for this animal. There is an entry fee of Rs. 250 to enter this preserve. One must walk around the place on specially constructed walkways where one can observe the animals in the open without the risk of physically going near them. After spending about 45 minutes here, we decided to go for lunch.

After searching on google for a vegetarian restaurant, we located one where Indian meals are available. We drove to the place which was virtually deserted. As we were not sure about the quality we asked for some safe items like chappati and dal and potato bhaji. The food was tolerable. Here too we noticed that although we were eating were meagrely, the restaurant gave a full meal to our driver and guide duo free of charge. Only when we insisted they accepted money for the meal of the duo. The waitress who served us knew Hindi and we had an interesting conversatio9n with her to know about her background and aspirations etc. She informed us that she has not had much education but is keen to get one and build a career in IT / allied field. It is a pity that education facilities are limited in Bhutan as are employment opportunities. Hopefully, the government will take steps to fill this soon.

Thimphu contains some of the most important political buildings in Bhutan. Post lunch, we went around in the car and saw some of these from outside. We also witnessed at couple of places, people enjoying their holiday playing their favourite sports - Khuru (a type of large darts) and Archery. In both the games, there are two teams (of 8-12 people in each team) which compete with each other in trying to hit the target most number of times. Each player has a certain number of chances to have a go at the target. The distance for the target is quite high (about 50 meters for Khuru and about 150 meters for Archery) and hitting the target is not easy. Once a target is hit, the team holds a ceremonial dance accompanied by singing. The atmosphere is very friendly and competition is not fierce. Overall very enjoyable to watch.

Khuru game in progress

 After this, we went to the Clock Tower Square. We spent an hour or so walking around and doing window shopping. This is a beautiful place for spending time leisurely. It is wide and open and very pedestrian friendly. There is also a large square near the clock where one can hold public meetings. Many small restaurants dot the area as also shops selling everything one needs for day to day life.

Then we returned to our hotel to spend the evening relaxing. We had an early dinner in the hotel – special satvik food served for us as per our request placed earlier. After dinner, we returned to our room to end Day 3 on a happy note.