September 18, 2011
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Bhutan 5 July 2011 (Day 3)
Location: Thimphu to Punakha
I woke up early as usual. Once I got out of my room, I saw this dog sleeping on the chair. It must be very comfortable for it.
I had a morning walk by myself as Lydia was still sleeping. The air was super fresh.
After having our breakfast, we went to visit the national animal of Bhutan- Takin.
Takin is believed to be a mixture of cow and sheep. Bhutanese believed that it was made by their Saint- Divine madman.
There were some small household around the park. Chimi was talking to one of the family, so Lydia and I had fun with the baby.
On the way down, we could see Tashichoedzong from the top of mountain.
Post Office
We spent a lot of time in the post office because it provided the service of making your personalized stamp. We could choose photos from our SD card and import it to their computer to print our stamps. I have never seen something like that before. We were both very excited about it.
Folks who got my postcards should have seen my pretty face on the stamps, right?
This is a typical store on the road selling fruit and dry food.
108 Stupas
On the way from Thimphu to Punakha, we visited the very famous 108 Stupas. The Stupas were covered in mist and it carries a different kind of beauty.
I imagined that Sing was dancing between those Stupas and it would be a wonderful video to shoot.
Daytime, dogs are always sleeping!
Chimi Lhakhang
When we got to Punakha, we visited Chimi Lhakhang. It is the temple of Divide Madman on the hilltop. We passed a very beautiful farmland before we got to the temple. Bhutan is always that green. Lovely!
Time to talk about “Divide Madman”:
He was from Tibet and he was known for his crazy methods of enlightening other beings, mostly women, which earned him the title “The Saint of 5,000 Women”. Women would seek his blessing in the form of sex. However, the female consort had/has an important (albeit secret) role in many monasteries in the East. Thangka paintings illustrate sexual positions and some of the rituals that must accompany the actions.By the way, he is my favorite saint in Bhutan!!!
As Divine Madman always use his sexual ability to fight the devil. The signs of penis are shown as the power of Divine madman.
One of my favorite photos in this trip!
Can you see the cat?
We passed some local household and we met some kids dancing and singing.
Lydia joined them for the dance.
What a bin!
This is the leaf of the Scared fig. Siddhartha Gautama is said to have been sitting underneath a Bo-Tree when he was enlightened (Bodhi), or “awakened” (Buddha).
When we walked downhill from the temple, we saw the same group of kids. They were singing and dancing at the grassland again. At first, I thought they were just there playing by themselves, but it turned out like a performance. I was feeling quite uncomfortable because I do not hope that tourists changed their pure heart and Bhutanese life. Are they expecting something from us after the performance? or it was just an coincident? When Chimi gave them some small notes for “snack”, I was feeling quite bad.
Is there still innocent and purity in the world?
How beautiful of the terrace!!!!!!
I was very excited to write my postcards and put on my personalized stamps at night in the hotel. Wonderful!!
