Back to Paro

 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 until we were thoroughly stuffed!

On our way out of town we spotted a stadium full of monks celebrating the Global Peace Prayer Festival.  Of course we had to stop and take photos.  There was a giant screen set up on one side broadcasting the monks onstage to the audience.  I really can't tell you how many people were in attendance but it was large!



 After gathering our scattered group we continued on to our resort in Paro for the evening.

Tomorrow: Final Review


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