One last lesson before saying "Goodbye India"!

Today was my last day in India and while I was sad my trip was coming to an end, I was very much looking forward to spending my last few hours here with Jyoti Agarwal. I had a full day with Jyoti which not only included cooking but also a shopping/dining outing.

The Gurudwaras of Amritsar.

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armandir Sahib (Golden Temple) may be the most well known of the gurudwaras in Amritsar and is what draws most Sikh pilgrims and tourists like me to the town, there are other gurudwaras that should no be missed.

I saw three others on my visit to Amritsar - Tarn Taran, Khadur and Goindwal.  Each has its own unique features and characteristics. 

The Golden Temple of Amritsar. Harmandir Sahib.

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magine a building that is constructed of white marble overlaid with gold leaf and which stands in the center of pool of fresh water fed by the Ganges River. Well, imagine no more because that building exists and it is the Harmandir Sahib, otherwise known as the Golden Temple, in Amritsar.

The Wagah Border Ceremony.

Ever find yourself in a situation where everyone around you knew what was going but you had no clue? Or have you ever been in an outdoor place that was so crowded that you were literally shoulder to shoulder and front to back with people all around you? If you want to have both experiences at the same time, then the Wagah Border ceremony is for you :-) In a nutshell, the Wagah Border ceremony is a 45 minute choreographed flag lowering ceremony, which officially closes the border each evening between India and Pakistan.  Troops of each country put on a show in their uniforms with their colorful turbans.  To witness the ceremony, you just have to get to Amritsar and from town, it's about 30-40 minute ride to border area where the ceremony takes place at 6:00pm every night. 

On the train. The Shatabdi Express.

When I booked my trip to Amritsar, I had two travel options on how I wanted to get there - either by private car or by train. Both journeys would have taken about the same amount of travel time - 7 hours each way. Car would have been a comfortable option. So, obviously I took the train :-)

Actually, I took the train not because I wanted to have a miserable, uncomfortable trip but I thought it would make for a good adventure. I wasn't wrong.

Of penises and cheese.

Yes, this posting is about penises and cheese. How are they related? Well, they're both iconic symbols of Bhutan.

Let's start with the penis first. *wink*

The last one. Kyichu Lhakhang.

Ithink this is my shortest blog posting....ever! Why? Because of all things, my camera battery died after two photos and for whatever reason, my spare battery was not charged AND I didn't bring my camcorder, which serves as a backup camera.  Unbelievable!  I'm usually so well prepared, I couldn't believe I was in this predicament.  I was kicking myself the whole time I was inside the temple *slightly pissed off at myself*.

Clinging to the edge. Taktsang Dzong.

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ndoubtedly, today's hike to Taktsang Monastery was the highlight of my trip to Bhutan! Taktsang Dzong is commonly known as Tiger's Nest and it is only accessible by foot.

The Indomitable Merle Ellis.

Up until this trip, I had been telling all my friends that I won't let up on travelling to remote countries until I'm 75 years old because I had set that as the bar for when I will have to retire my adventurous spirit.  I had even been joking with my friend Lei that that's when we'll go on a cruise together and that will be my first cruise....ever!

Rinpung Dzong.

I'm officially dzonged out and as beautiful as Rinpung Dzong is, I'm saving my last bit of interest in the monasteries for Tiger's Nest which we get to visit tomorrow.  At least that's what I thought before I visited Rinpung Dzong.

From the National Museum of Bhutan, we took a very short ride down the hill to Rinpung Dzong. 

Far more modest in size and decoration than the Punakha Dzong, Rinpung Dzong is still quite impressive.

A tour through time. The National Museum of Bhutan.

 

The National Museum of Bhutan is housed in a circular building that was once the watchtower for Rinpung Dzong. The museum was started in 1968 with a modest collection of Bhutanese heritage treasures.  Over the years and after several renovations, the museum has accumulated objects from different parts of the country and is today a storehouse of Bhutan's cultural and traditional treasures. The gallery has over thirteen galleries located on 5 floors.

Paro!

We arrived into Paro just before lunch time today. Paro is another quiet little town nestled in the mountains.  We will be spending one night here.  This afternoon, we went to see the National Museum of Bhutan and the Rinpung Dzong, otherwise known simply as the Paro Dzong.  Tomorrow will be the highlight of our visit to Paro as we will be hiking up to the famous Tiger's Nest Monastery!! 

Road trippin' through Bhutan.

Considering there's only one aiport in the entire country and there's no railsystem, it's not surprising that we spent a lot of time on the road going places.

Bhutan is a mountain kingdom so I wasn't surprised to see hilly landscapes dotted with small villages. What was a surprise, especially when we first drove through the countryside, were how all the buildings were decorated in traditional Bhutanese style.

Gho, baby, gho!

I live in a country that is truly a cultural melting pot.  We have people from all over the world living in the US.  I even work for a multinational, multicultural instititution.  But, when in the US, do as the Americans do so even though we're all from different heritage backgrounds, everyone pretty much dresses "American" and that would be jeans, t-shirts, sweat pants, shorts, etc.  A common uniform that can now be found in other parts of the world - part of the spread of the Western world.

How do you say......?

My morning started with breakfast under the gazebo and a lesson in basic Dzongkha from Tenzing.

Dzongkha is the national language of Bhutan. The word "dzongkha" means the language (kha) spoken in the dzong....dzong being the fortress-like monasteries that are found throughout Bhutan.

Wangdue Phodrang Dzong.

We ended our day of sightseeing in Punakha with a visit to the Wangdue Phodrang dzong.

From the road below, I could see the the dramatic structure of the dzong which is actually three separate narrow structures that follow the contours of the ridge that it's perched on.  At the base of the hill, a river snakes through the landscape.

The spectacular Punakha Dzong.

The highlight of my day today was visiting the Punakha Dzong ("zong") which is undoubtedly the most spectacular of all the Bhuddist monasteris in Bhutan.  I was excited to finally be able to see this magnificent landmark that I had seen countless images of when I was doing the pre-trip research for this trip.  By the way, it's the rooftops of the Punakha Dzong that I used as the background image for the banner for this blog.

Bull's eye!

Archery is Bhutan's national sport. While the rest of us were at the bank, in Thimphu, exchanging money or at the post office maiing off postcards, Paul had made is way down to a nearby field to watch a group of men having a friendly archery competition. The rest of us eventually met up with Paul and we found ourselves completely entertained on the field in front of us.

In memoriam. Dochula Pass.

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e made a brief stop at Dochula Pass on our way from Thimphu to Punakha. Situated at an elevation of about 3100m, Dochula pass is high enough where on a clear day you can see a beautiful panoramic view of the mighty Himalayas.

Today was not our day for a view of the majestic mountains as it was cloudy and dreary.

Off to the nunnery.

No, I didn't join a nunnery while I was in Bhutan but I did get to visit one!

After our time at the Motithang Takin Preserve, it seemed like the van was heading back towards town center. I think I must have been half asleep this morning because, again, I had no idea where we were going except that we would be seeing some nuns.  So I asked Tenzing and he told that we would be visiting a nunnery but before we got there, we would have one more view to take in.