Thimphu Life

 

Well yet another week has flown by and we are both mentally and physically exhausted.

Last Sunday was a real red-letter day and since it’s about to dawn on another Sunday this update is well overdue. With perfect weather and finally enough free time to actually decide to take a hike, we opted for Buddha Point as a destination and then weren’t exactly sure how to get there.

 

By following our noses, we ended up passing by Memorial Chorten while there was a significant Buddhist sermon going on and saw the throngs of devotees as well as the blessings. Having inquired of a few passers-by, we opted to take the shortcut through the hospital grounds and stumbled upon the impressive, newly built but not yet open we think, women’s and children’s building and then found ourselves opposite the driveway to Nancy’s place on our old school route.

 

We started the climb up confidently enough and passed by my old school noting several major changes. We also noticed lots of changes and road widenings on the way up, before finally glimpsing the giant Buddha. Food trucks, more exercise machine zones, massive resort style developments and more cleared areas where it’s possible to pull off to the side of the road were all major differences to the last time we hiked up. 

 

The last stretch of 287 steps, yes we counted them, was a challenge but we did make it and were glad to sit for a bit on the leeward side, out of the wind and eat our apple.

Suitably rested, we wandered back down the slope and encountered some elderly folk who had just left Memorial Chorten and were happily wandering home prayer wheels spinning and prayer beads clacking. When asked they were thoroughly amused by me wanting their pictures but happily obliged.

The antiques shop I often gaze through the window of, just happened to be open and we had a charming encounter with the one of the staff there. 

The gentlest, most softly spoken older woman, who looked Tibetan to me, insisted on making Ian put on a hat which was from the Punakha Tshechu warrior’s costume she informed us through a helpful younger staff member translating. 

She had several questions for us and was most engaging and charmingly enthusiastic to chat. She tried her best to get him into the jacket as well and with limited English on her behalf and no Dzongkha on ours, we managed to all have a conversation and feel warmly connected. She really wanted Ian to don the jacket and other parts of the costume but we were almost dead on our feet after walking over thirteen kilometres and climbing the equivalent to fifty seven flights of stairs according to my app.

 

At that point, we decided to pop into Elsewhere cafe on the off chance that we might catch the owners, who we have been dying to catch up with but they were nowhere in sight and the cafe was empty. All the more reason to rest our weary feet and have a snack we thought.

 

It took almost more energy than we then had to climb the remaining two flights of stairs to reach our own front door and we were forced to decline the invitation to join Nancy for St Patrick Day drinks as we were exhausted but we certainly slept well before the first day of school.