Bhutan Bliss - Punakha

On day 3 we checked out of Hotel Bhutan and was back on the road en route to Punakha. As per itinerary, it was going to be a two hour drive but with a pit stop in between to Dochula pass, where - on a cloudless day - we might have a chance to see the Himalayan range. Well, that morning clouds abound so there was no hope to see anything at all. Also because of the rain, we had to cancel the Lungchutse Hike (which was supposedly a notch harder than yesterday's hike). No complaints there haha.

what we would have seen

On day 1 I had no problem making it known to the world that I had a twisted stomach after the dizzying ride so for today's journey, I got the luxury of claiming the passenger seat. It was definitely more comfortable, not just to ease my motion sickness but also because I had deluxe view. I found it so amusing to see the cows or dogs just hanging out on the road, not scared of getting ran over. Tsewang, our driver, told me that they do this because the flies and bugs that keep sticking to the cows or dogs fly off when the cars drive by and I suppose no animals were ever harmed with this practice so it's become a norm. Quite charming, and hilarious! Sometimes we also encounter a herd of cows or horses migrating. They, too, prefer to travel via the concrete road!

Despite the gloomy weather It was still a nice stopover in Dochula because we all got to relax in this cafe and I had some yummy chocolate eclair and tea. I was having high tea on a late morning! Outside the cafe are some cute dogs, one is a Bhutanese mastiff. On the other side of the road there was a commemoration: 108 chortens erected to remember the soldiers who fought for Bhutan during an attack by Indian rebels. I didn't take any photos though.

After Dochula pass the rain stopped as we headed to Punakha and the view of the rice terraces garnered some "oohhhs" from the group and Tsewang was nice enough to drive slowly, sometimes even stopping on the roadside, to allow us to take photos. Good guy Tsewang. 

We finally arrived in our next destination and we definitely knew we were in the right place because of the shops nearby. Phallic symbols everywhere! I snapped one of this shop, because I found the winged one a bit too preposterous! 😄 

We had an enjoyable venture to Chimi Lhakhang - we walked through the rice fields and had to take just a little hike to the monastery. Along the way we met an old lady, 82-year strong, working the fields. Karma had a little chat with her, and he explained to me that he asked why she's working alone and she mentioned that his son is away but a nephew was there to help out. She was harvesting tomatoes and she graciously gave the group some to sample!

The visit to Chimi Lhakhang AKA fertility monastery was kinda anti-climactic. I enjoyed the walk more than the temple itself. However, it was quite interesting to hear the stories of couples who came to this temple and wished hard for a child and actually conceived soon after! The guides were asking if I would like to wish for one too but I decided it might be too soon, I want to go through the wedding ceremony first! 

Post lunch we ventured to Wangdue Dzong. In 2012 this important heritage site was up in flames and underwent a massive restoration. The Dzong was built between two rivers, acting as a fortress against rebels. All Bhutanese kings were crowned here, and the Dzong also serves as a winter residence of the dratshang (monastic body). It also used to be the symbol of the seat of power, before the capital was moved to Thimphu. Nowadays the Dzong acts as an administrative center for the Punakha district (dzongkhag). 

their view

our view

Inside the fortress there are three courtyards. The main one is a beautiful courtyard with a magnificent bodhi tree and a white stupa. 

A few minutes' walk from the fortress was a suspension bridge, the longest metal suspension bridge in Bhutan. Along the edge of the bridge are people selling plums and cucumber. The lady had a final bag of plums to sell, and even though I'm fructose intolerant I thought it prudent to buy them and the group enjoyed it accordingly. Later Karma bought some cucumbers and gave me a slice of it. Sprinkled with chili, it was quite a snack. 

Dandayamana-Dhanurasana

After an exciting day we finally made our way to Wangdue ecolodge. Of the 3 hotels we were to stay at, this was the one I was looking forward to because I found some awesome photos in Trip Advisor where breakfast is being served on the balcony, overlooking the valley. The journey to the ecolodge was quite an adventure - a little too exciting, in fact! We were driving on a narrow dirt path at the edge of the mountain road which I felt was just a good ruler length away from falling off! But Tsewang expertly maneuvered the van and we arrived in one piece. If I was the one driving, I'd have left the car and wept. 😅

We wanted to stretch our legs and see the windmill nearby so a group of us went out. We spotted an abandoned house. "Haunted House!" Kezang said. "Let's go check it out!" said I. How can I miss out on a chance to see ghosts - if they do exist - especially when there's a good lot of us? 😁 But in the end only 3 of us went, and Kezang had to escort us like a good guide. We didn't see any ghosts, just weed. LOL. Eventually we made our way to the windmill. It felt like trespassing as we had to go over a wired fence.

twilight zone

weed here is, well, unwanted weed

ghostbusters

the not-so-brave ones

the brave ones

Sucan announced that dinner was at 7:30, but we were hungry so we were hanging around the reception area much earlier. Teng asked the staff about alcohol, and we all found ourselves crowded in the small bar shortly after. We examined their small collection of wine, whisky and beer. And by examine, I meant we consumed them haha. They properly ran out of beer stock that night.

The night was going well, so we requested that we start late the next morning. Sucan agreed and let us have breakfast at 9 and leave at 10. In hindsight, it was not necessary, because we were all up early anyway. But it was nice to take it easy in the morning too. We had time to just hang out by our room's balcony and bask in the scenery. Oh, and remember the breakfast-in-balcony photo I saw in Trip Advisor? It didn't work out for us because... flies. Hordes of them. We retreated to the dining table indoors out of defeat.

The caveat was that the sun was already prominent by 10. By the time we reached our destination, the clouds cleared and it was scorching hot! Most of us decided to hike with an umbrella. No shame there because it was really not fun to sizzle under the sun.

We went up to Khamsum Yueley Chorten, a stupa built by the Queen and it looked like a pagoda. It was so hot I wasn't in the mood to take photos. We hurriedly got in because it was almost lunch break for the admin staff, so we climbed up all the way to the rooftop. I was just there for a good minute because I was starting to melt. As we waited back inside, Kezang arrived and explained that the deities appear to be in an intimate embrace. He said this represented a union of wisdom and compassion. Since we couldn't take photos, I googled one for you to imagine.

taken from Buddha Weekly

The descend was not much better. But the good news was that our hosts have planned this day well. After a sweaty hike, we were to cool down via river rafting! Woot! The water was so cold and refreshing, even though I got pretty drenched from the water fight. Now that everybody's wet, there's a need to change clothes. We were told we can change in this tent, but there's about 9 of us and doing it one by one was gonna take forever. We all decided to change at the same time and have been officially ordained into sisterhood. 😝
Well, we didn't want changing clothes to get in the way of lunch, which had been prepared under a large tent by the riverbank.

I don't remember how it started, but my guess was that some people were talking about this Singaporean lady who went to Bhutan and ended up marrying her guide. Because we decided that we wanted to have a Bhutanese wedding ceremony! Poor Keira and Karma were put on the spot, and we agreed that on the second night at the ecolodge they were to get married. So before we headed back, we made sure to stop by a local grocery story and stock up on wine. There, we met a Lama monk who have given each of us a blessed 10 nu. Sweet! I am keeping that in my wallet for good luck.

(Flash edit: We got a confession! Teng admitted that she was the matchmaking mastermind. Karma was making a wish in the temple and she asked what he wished for. He said he wished for a bride (awww) and Teng said we will make his dream come true in this trip! Keira being one of Teng's first buddies in this trip and knowing she's single, was immediately offered. LOL)

Back in the ecolodge, the assembly was set at 7:30pm. The groom was having cold feet and only emerged after being coerced later on. There was no escaping his fate. The wedding was a done deal haha. The wedding party was sealed with the couple going for their first dance, followed by random dancing and a conga train! 

The next day we were gonna drive back to Paro, near the airport. So even though it was a big night, we had to wake up at 8 and check out by 9. We democratically settled our booze bill and realized that for about $200 for 2 nights of big drinking for a group of 20, that was not bad at all. And who else can throw an awesome Singaporean-Bhutanese wedding party for just $200 anyway, eh? 😁

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*some photos are from myself, Adventures Unlimited event host and participants, and local guides in Bhutan