Home in Phnom Penh

We have been back in PP about three weeks now and finally the lifestyle we were so comfortably ensconced in, is returning.

 

It was a shock to discover how much muscle mass and balance and strength have been sacrificed to a full time working routine that doesn’t provide any opportunity for managing your own wellbeing, and how the mental toll and loss of momentum in healthy life style activities impact every other aspect of  daily life. Now we are beginning to get back on track.

 

Having established a new swimming and table tennis option we can now return to the balance, strength and flexibility exercises that will ensure we get back to the level of physical fitness and positive mental activity that was the norm just five short months ago.

 

Seeing old friends, maintaining new connections, paying attention to the reality of our urban environment and seeing so many new developments in infrastructure and improved local community conditions is inspiring.

 

 

How fortunate we are to come back to changes that we may never have noticed if they had slowly emerged around us while life plodded on. The proposed pedestrian zone and ongoing footpath reinstallation is significant in terms of both beautification and practicality. We have continually discovered more and more accessible walking paths in areas we have lamented their complete lack in the past.

 

Plans for the future are taking shape, things are looking up again and visitors are about to arrive in droves. Good times ahead for sure.

 

Let’s not dwell on the finances and instead count the blessings. When I look at the current situation in so much of the world I feel we have so much to be thankful for, so reinstating our health and fitness to ensure we enjoy it more and for longer is now the priority again.

oNe PhOtO a DaY jUnE 2024:

JUNE 1st I AM … re-retired and very excited about the upcoming adventure. Despite having repeatedly stressed to students not to bring us gifts of course some of them did. I adore this bouquet given to me yesterday and what better gift for a former English teacher than a handful of books

JUNE 2nd I HELD THIS … keep cup full of coffee at a little rest spot on our hike this morning

 

JUNE 3rd I WALKED HERE … at the Zangdo Pelri Lhakhang today. Circumambulating the chorten and the whole compound turning all the giant prayer wheels along with the old timers who were delighted to see us there

JUNE 4th I FEEL … 
At last I’m free
To breath and be me
To wander where I like 
To go slow and see
To take my time 
And just to be 

This is re-retired me

 

JUNE 5th I SAW … this on the early morning City Bus today. Three orange clad “De-suups” (which translates to guardians of peace) heading to their assignment for the day sitting on the engine cover as the bus was packed with commuters, school children and others like us enjoying the service

JUNE 6th I LOVE … Bhutanese Culture. Today we went to see the ‘Her Expression’ exhibition celebrating women artist and this was probably the most traditional piece and the one I was immediately drawn to. It is titled “Window of Devotion” and it was created by Choney Pelzang

JUNE 7th I HAVE … an obsession with both prayer flags and prayer wheels and this shot ticks all the boxes. I also have a feeling this road trip is off to a great start

JUNE 8th I LIKE TO EAT… local and sustainable whenever possible. Now that we are in Haa that means Hoentey: a kind of dumpling made with buckwheat flour in the pastry and dried turnip greens in the filling. Both local products

 

JUNE 9th I READ THIS … “Monk Chasing Monkey” by Kunzang Choden who happens to be my favourite Bhutanese author. I bought it when we first arrived and read only half before there was no time to read and then started it again yesterday and read almost half in one sitting. It’s fabulous

 

JUNE 10th I STOOD HERE ... at the lookout point for Tigers Nest Monastery just 10 minutes ago. Bhutan’s most famous landmark.  Now visited for the sixth time and always well worth the strenuous climb

JUNE 11th I WORK HERE ... I’m happy to say I no longer work anywhere for a salary but my current “work” is showcasing the beautiful Bhutanese culture to our guest and I am enjoying it very much

JUNE 12th I LIKE TO … eat momos and these were extra special as they were three different vegetarian varieties - chillies and cheese, mixed vegetables and cheese and sag

 

JUNE 13th I KNOW … I have visited and photographed this gorgeous Dzong many times before but I had to go inside once more today as I may never get another opportunity and I simply love the original 17th century structure

 

JUNE 14th I LOVE THIS VIEW... Any view involving the masked dancers of Tshechu is definitely one I love and this small rural Lhakhang in Nimalung this morning was really delightful

JUNE 15th ON WEEKENDS I ... always try my best get outdoors and explore and hike. Today was no exception and we discovered the monks at Tamshing preparing butter lamps and sculptures for a ritual

JUNE 16th I CREATE … room picnic meals when we travel because I miss having at least a third of my diet raw every day. This was dinner last night

 

JUNE 17th I BOUGHT … ten sets of prayer flags to fly at every mountain pass on this road trip and today at 9am we hoisted this set at Thrumsing La. At 3752 metres it’s the highest pass heading east

 

JUNE 18th I LOVE THIS TIME OF DAY … when we circumambulate any chorten that happens to be nearby, as we have every day since we arrived in Bhutan in late February. 

I love it even more when we have just added the splash of colour of these prayer flags in memory of a friend’s mother, who recently passed away and for whom a funeral was held today in Adelaide. We did exactly the same for the deceased’s good friend over a decade ago and as luck would have it, this was our one day in the same town. Memories and memorials to mark big life events. 

JUNE 19th I LIKE TO DRINK … red wine but only when the weather is cool. Despite being summer it’s still pretty cool out in Trashiyangste so we were on a mission today to find some. Its isn’t easy to come by but we have ourselves a treat or two night

 

JUNE 20th I DON’T LIKE TO …. get to places only to find them closed. Today we visited the College for Zorig Chusum (tertiary institution for learning the 13 traditional arts of Bhutan) arriving just before lunch so we got to see several classes in action but the showroom and shop were locked up tight and I would have made a purchase to support the talented, budding, young artists had they been open

JUNE 21st I WENT TO … College for Zorig Chusum or more accurately went back there today and we made a small purchase to support their vital work in maintaining the arts and crafts of Bhutanese culture

JUNE 22^nd ON SATURDAYS I … do my best to live in the present and appreciate time and place. Today we departed Trashiyangtse and we just had to stop by Gom Kora to circumambulate, turn the prayer wheels and take in the atmosphere of one of Bhutan’s most historically significant sights. She was beckoning me to join her and like all locals thrilled we were participating in the everyday rituals 

JUNE 23rd I ONCE … stood in the police box in the main traffic circle in Thimphu but I made no attempt to direct traffic. It was a public holiday and the street was closed but I later discovered you are definitely not meant to do that …. Oops (Archive shot)

 

JUNE 24th I SAT HERE … in a new to us vegetarian restaurant for breakfast. I also donned my new T-shirt for the first time - it says “Hello Bhutan”

 

JUNE 25th I CAN … still bring a smile to a child’s face and make a connection even without a shared language. Today’s excursion to Trong Heritage Village in Zhemgang was delightful and the scenery on the drive in was surreal

 

JUNE 26th I CAN’T … even begin to imagine working these steep sloped paddies all my life, but today’s vista included many even steeper than these and it was mostly elderly folk out doing the work too

 

JUNE 27th I LIVE … in the present and have returned to my long term commitment to a slow, simple, sustainable and safe lifestyle. If there is a fresh salad made from local ingredients available in town, I will sniff it out! Today I did exactly that

JUNE 28th I WORE THIS… One of my most comfortable travelling outfits and now we are back in Paro I’m glad to abandon the hiking pants for a while

 

JUNE 29th I FOUND … the perfect Bhutanese birthday gift for the man who loves to cook and will miss this cuisine. That’s to say nothing of me also reaping the benefits of a few delicious dinners. Who cares if the luggage is overweight?

 

JUNE 30th I DO THIS ON SUNDAYS: I make a point of Sunday being a fun-day and today was no exception. As our last day in Bhutan with a late departure, it had to be about spending time with the fabulous four and they even brought a surprise guest too. Spending time together over the last 18 weeks has brought us so much joy. Fingers crossed this isn’t the last time we all hang out together in the kingdom but it will never be goodbye 

 

THE PROMPTS

 

Revisiting Trashiyangtse

What a joy it has been revisiting Trashiyangtse. 

The road there was treacherous with hardly any visible blacktop, dense cloud cover, evidence of landslides and rain assisting the runoff over the steep sided edges with almost no barriers. Had it not been Lobzang behind the wheel I think I might have abandoned the trip. He however inspired confidence and got us there within the time frame he estimated without the slightest sign of being stressed by the conditions. 

The rain that seemed endless as we drove in eased and by the time we had done some washing, it had almost stopped. 
We had heard of the desperate need of the farmers for rain so we were both actually glad the monsoon had arrived. 

We found ourselves wandering at large and marveling at how little had changed and even shrouded in clouds and in drizzling rain how spectacularly beautiful the backdrop of the mountains is. The preservation of the traditional buildings and complete lack of development is refreshing to us and makes us feel like we are back in the Bhutan we so fondly remember. The heartland of Bhutanese culture is alive and well. 

We beelined to Chorten Kora and joined the elderly in the spinning of prayer wheels and circumambulating and have returned everyday to do the same. Even early this morning we ventured there and were able to light butter lamps in addition to circumambulating before breakfast. 

It is impossible not to notice the innocence, enthusiasm and curiosity of the students.  Beyond the usual calls of hello hello or bye from toddlers, most students are shy and only a few primary students are bold enough to greet us in the street. 

Having so recently been in the system ourselves, we can ask them relevant questions and their faces light up at just being able to converse with a native speaker. Once engaged they are surprisingly good at sustaining a conversation even though the complete lack of a filter sometimes takes us by surprise and makes me laugh out loud. ‘I can give you a hug’, ‘ Are you a boy or a girl?’,  ‘Where are you going?’ and most often ‘Whats-your-name?’ : spoken as a single word, have all been shouted at us by local primary students still in school uniform. I’m delighted that they are trying to use their English and try to encourage their efforts. 

We have been more than content to just stroll about and observe the local community. Visiting the post office and the bank made us painfully aware of how few tourists reach these regions.

 Dropping in on the College for Zorig Chusum (the 13 traditional arts and crafts) had me wondering why there were so few students present. The showroom and shop was closed which was a bit of a disappointment but it prompted us to return earlier the next day hoping to see more classes in action. It’s a short but pleasant walk out of town and since the sun was out it was also most enjoyable even the second time. The mystery was solved by an instructor telling us most of the students were on “OJT”. Oh how the Bhutanese love an acronym so  we had to inquire: on the job training. 

I don’t want to be a celebrity or a novelty but when you are the only “chillips” in town it’s hard not to be. The elderly, students, shopkeepers and children of all ages were friendly and curious and most welcoming wherever we were when they encountered us. 

Having located an eatery that prepares fresh, authentic Bhutanese dishes from scratch when ordered just hours after arriving, we returned there for almost every meal and were rewarded with hospitality, generosity and friendship. I can say without a doubt we had the best ema datshi I have ever eaten right there and it was not diluted to suit the palate of foreign guests either. My eyes were watering, my nose was running and my lips were tingling but I’m still glad I ate it. Ian of course was in his element. 

That experience made me realise that the hype I’ve heard about Trashiyantse chillies being the best in the kingdom, isn’t hype. It’s true. 

Now we have tracked down and sourced some of those chillies to gift Bhutanese friends and we purchased them just hours after they were picked (not plucked as locals do like to say) too. Even after several shop keepers told us they wouldn’t be available until
next week or next month, we persisted on our mission and were handsomely rewarded by a local store who called around and then got them delivered the next morning. Now that’s service for you! 

Lobzang wasn’t available to collect us for the short run back to Trashigang but would have made a special effort if we hadn’t been able to contract a local driver. However that was easily achieved.

With 36 hours of dry conditions and having contracted a Bolero we were confident that it would be an easy run. 

It was in fact, delightful with blue skies, sunshine and spectacular views all the way.

 

The driver was more than happy to stop so we could take photos and even consented to waiting while we quickly visited Gom Kora. It is truly a special place and we had a magical moment or two with locals there.  

No wonder we think Trashi Yangtse is a gem and always worth returning to