view from my window..
Few kms and it started drizzling. Damn the rain. I had to stop and wear the raingear. After some time it stopped but there was no sign of the sun.
i showed the permits again at Chuzom and took the cut for Haa Valley.
the confluence and the chortens at Chuzom..
Roads were ok but narrow. Only one vehicle could go at one time. Many places new tarmac had been laid. It was so new that the air still had the smell of molten tar.
But still no sign of sun..
There were lots of flowers all around. Fields of flowers..
pink ones..
more ones..
I was enjoying clicking the macros.
The locals thought that I was about the pluck their flowers and started walking towards me(probably to beat me). I am sure they must have found it pretty odd when I took out my camera and started taking the photos of the flowers.
I don’t know why but in Bhutan I found the number of street dogs to be unusually high. Specially here.
The goood road..
cauliflower fields..
bad light continues..
pine cones..
Bhutanese religious symbols all around..
more flowers (i wish i had better light)..
one more religious symbol..
By 10 I reached Haa. I was really very hungry as I hadn’t had anything to eat since morning. Straight away I searched for the market and went to a restaurant. Only got fried rice and tea but alteast it was food. In the market a driving test was going on. Jitni gaon ki aabadi nahi lag rahi usse zyada loog to test dene aye hue the..
Then I went to the Dzong. On the way I saw this archery competition going on in a ground. Archery by the way is the national sport of Bhutan. Straight away I could see that these guys were not amateurs. They were shooting at a target which I could not even see with naked eyes. I person standing next to me tried a lot to point it to me but it wasn’t just visible. And the archers were hitting it.
The archer..
the target(see the white thing i have marked with the blue circle?)..
After watching for some time I went to the Dzong. First the guard dint allow me to take pictures. He was looking at me with lot of suspicion. He then called up some official and then when that official came, I talked to him. The official asked the full details of my trip, where was from, why i was visiing Bhutan, why i was on my bike. He told me that they were on high alert as their Prime Minister was going to visit the area. I took some pics of the dzong and of the many beautiful flowers in its grounds.
The Haa Dzong..
finally some flower whose name i knew..
Then i left for Llakhang Karpo.
A stupa on the way..
On a ground next to the road an Indian Army fair was going on..
A horse riding show..
Llakhang Karpo..
In the courtyard of the monastery the monks were practicing their traditional dance. Must be for the PM, I thought.
A monk who knew good English showed me around. There was a small temple which had a big statue of Buddha. He said that the sculptor who was making the statue ran out of mud when had made the body till the neck and the head was left incomplete. The next day the head appeared on its own by magic. Since then people worship this idol. There is another monastery in the area called Llakhang Nagpo. But I found out that it lies further on the way leading to Techu Gompa which was 8kms from where I was. I went on that way and saw that the route was a very steep dirt track which was going away from the civilization up into the hills. I neither had the time nor the will to negotiate it. But I am sure that the monstery must be situated in a very scenic location, surrounded by lush green hills. View of Llakhang Karpo from top the a hill..
I took the road which would take me to Paro via the Chelela pass. A 360degree pano from the top..
more flowers..
the same one without the petals..
lovely purple..
symbol 3..
signs of rain..
symbol 4..
prayer flags..
before Chalela all the trees were moss covered..
As I reached the top of Chelela, the rain became heavy.
there were many many prayer flags on the top..
some posing (i kept the camera under a shade)..
It kept on raining till Paro. I was wet and cold and kept on riding non stop.
I reached Paro and checked-in in the first hotel I found. I slept for an hour and then went to have some thing to eat. I got chili pakoras and samosa with chili sauce. Empty stomach, so much chili, my stomach started burning. It was 3pm, time for some local sightseeing. I took a taxi (in no mood to ride in the rain again) for Drugyel Dzong (14kms from Paro).
The wet roads and finally me not driving..
On the way I asked the driver to point out Tatsang Llakhang to me. It is a monastery situated 3000m above Paro and there to reach there you need to do a very steep 3-4 hours climb. I really wanted to go there but for that you need permits from the Cultural Ministry in Thimphu. Anyways now I dint have the time to go there. So I took a pic which was very hazy because of the clouds and the distance.
I would advise people going to Bhutan to keep one day only for Paro as there are many places to see and Tatsang Llakhang is a must see. I reached Drugyel Dzong which turned out to be a great disappointment. The fort was a bloody ruin. No roof, only walls. Not a great view from top either. I tried force some pics but nothing much to click. On top of that i had to wall uphill for some distance which also left me out of breathe. The entrance to the fort..
the interiors..
there was a big tower in the centre..
from the topmost point..
view from the outside..
the valley below..
Then i came back to Paro. The taxi driver also said that he always wondered why people went to see the ruin. I was like, you idiot if you had told that to me earlier I would have saved a lot of time and money. From the market I took pics of the Rinpun Dzong and the Ta Dzong.
Rinpun Dzong..
Ta Dzong..
The Paro market..
My camera memory card was full, so I went to the room and changed it. Next I found a bakery and bought a pastry, a doughnut and a cake. My stomach was burning a lot now and eating these gave me some respite. It was dark now. I went to a bridge I saw nearby and tried my hand at night photography.
The Rinpun Dzong..
The Ta Dzong..
The river..
Star trials on the bridge..
As i was walking through the market i saw an amphitheatre which was filled with people. There was a talent competition going on. Different groups were coming and performing local, western or bollywood dances or singing songs. Lovely ladies all around. After 15 days of seeing trees, mountains, valleys, lakes, road and old hags, this was the perfect end. My eyes were welcoming this change. Dont mind the shake in the pics. Shooting dancing people at night isnt easy even wiht a tripod..
These guys sang a local melody. Notice the traditional dress the singer is wearing. People in Bhutan are very senti about their traditionl dress. You will find everyone wearing it.
The crowd..
a bollywood number..
the local beauty..
traditional dance..
this dude did some amazing break dance..
more traditional dance..
By this time my last set of camera batteries also died, so rest of the show was for my eyes only. I went to sleep at 8:30pm. A long tiring journey tomorrow..
Distance traveled in the day: 189kms
Total distance in the trip: 2215kms
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