Nepal & Bhutan

 From the beginning of the trip I knew that the final day was reserved for those who wanted to hike up to  Tiger's Nest .  This monastery on the edge of a sheer cliff is probably the most recognizable emblem of Bhutan.  The red roofed, white walled structure is accessible but only if you are willing to spend several hours hiking up to it. Because of the Global Peace Festival, there were lots of monks making pilgrimages to it along with the standard tourists, etc. that are attracted to the challenge.  There's a cafe 2/3 of the way up which was my goal.  I think to do the final third to the top observation point is a pretty steep climb considering I have another week before going home. To be clear, there are many hikes in the US that are longer and at higher elevations than Tiger's Nest.  The draw is the boldness of building such a structure against all the natural impediments that faced the builders. Our intrepid group of 8 plus our trip leaders and Bhu...

 Today was much slower paced since we were nearing the end of our trip.  Our only excursion was to  Kyichu Lhakhang .  This buddhist temple was a great place to watch people circumambulating the prayer wheels located in the walls of the temple.  108 is an auspicious number  to buddhist, thus the 108 prayer wheels and the 108 prayer beads used by the worshipers. This afternoon we had time to go through our photos before our final review.  I have to say this group took some pretty amazing photos during our time here.  Nepal and Bhutan served as a wonderful backdrop for our photographic talents. Tomorrow: Climbing to Tiger's Nest

 Rice is a major crop in Bhutan.  We took a few minutes as we left Punakha to drive a short distance from our hotel to photograph the rice fields and also a woman spreading the rice to dry it.  This is the middle of harvest season so not all of the fields contain rice but this particular vantage point did. We continued our journey towards the capital of Thimpu but we had to stop at the  Dochula Pass  where a stand of 108 stupas was built by one of the queens as a memorial to the soldiers killed in a 2003 battle Indian insurgents.  There's also a great little restaurant to visit also.  On the outskirts of Thimpu we stopped at a good vantage point to take photos of the  Great Buddha Dordenma . The buddha overlooks the city and is one of the largest seated buddhas in the world. For lunch we had been promised an old fashioned pizza joint.  While not what we might expect in the US, this lunch spot served really great wood fired pies that we share ...

 We had a longer drive today so we had an eight o'clock depart time to Punakha.  As usual, we made several stops along the way to take photos. Because of the mountainous nature of Bhutan, you can often get a view of someplace you've just visited from a higher vantage point.  It helped to give perspective of the size of some of the structures. Our first stop was at the Nepalese style stupa at  Chendebji .  The eyes on the stupa are what mark it as Nepalese.  We were able to visit a classroom where different groups of monks were studying.  You have to remember that some of these monks come to study as young as 5 years old, so there's still a lot of boy in them which we got to see first hand. Continuing on to Punakha, we took the Pele La pass over the Black Forest.  At the top there was a little tent market where several locals had set up shop selling cashmere scarves and other trinkets.  The prices were very good so we left a lot of money with ...

 We had a short 1 1/2 drive to the small and rarely visited monanstery in Endocholing.  Our guides arranged a special day for us to visit and also have a private Cham dance.  We got to watch the monks dress up for the dances which was very special. First, we had a simple lunch that we brought with us.  Most meals are similar with rice, noodles, vegetables, greens, and usually chicken.  Because it's so well seasoned I didn't seem to grow tired of it. We started out upstairs in a room where trunks held costumes and the walls were filled with the masks that would be worn during the dances.  We had full access so we spent quite a bit of time there photographing. Next we went into the courtyard to watch the dancers.  It was a bit challenging to photograph with bright sunlight and shadows fighting each other but it was still fun to have complete access to everything.  The younger monks were very playful with us and loved having their photos taken. ...

 We were back on the road this morning.  We are heading to Tongsa today but we first have to drive through the Black Mountains and over Kiki La pass. We stopped at a shop where they do hand weaving of beautiful fabrics.  They also still dye their own wool.  A woman explained which natural products they use to dye the wool and how they prep it for dying.  It was interesting what things found in nature can be used to make vibrant colors.  A woman demonstrated weaving for us before we left.   Our main destination today was  Punakha Dzong .  This beautiful hillside fortress serves as a monastery so we had opportunities to photograph monks in their daily routines.  There was also a group of men playing the national sport of archery.  They were using regular bows and shooting them a very long distance so few of them were actually hitting the target.  They were having a great time practicing the sport. We stayed at  Yangkhill Res...