oNe PhOtO a DaY mArCh 2024

MARCH 1st MORNING COFFEE: is vital for me and when it’s -1°C outside it might actually be lifesaving. From a life in the tropics to a life in the Himalayas it’s only breakfast and coffee that remain the same

MARCH 2nd SUNSHINE: Not every day does a pack of horses and mules wander along the main thoroughfare through the centre of the city. Like us they were seeking the sunshine in -2° degrees! We too, walked along the road. At 8am this morning this was the scene in Norzin Lam, Thimphu and the police had to herd them back onto greener pastures

MARCH 3rd HOME: For at least the next three months our home is in Thimphu. “Word nerd me.” When you unexpectedly find a whiteboard in your new place of residence and you are always collecting quotes, begin a new quote a day routine. Pretty serendipitous since we have come here to teach!

MARCH 4th SELF PORTRAIT: Starting a new routine on Monday morning with three mindful circumambulations of the chorten above the school compound. Back to casual clothes again as the students are not yet in attendance

MARCH 5th ARCHITECTURE: Traditionally Bhutanese architecture features these wooden beams and window and doorframes beautified with colourful designs and the eight auspicious symbols. This building we visited today is a wonderful fusion of newer construction and materials but with all the traditional designs and symbols that have adorned public places for centuries. I also love the reflection in the doors of the mountains and today’s brilliant blue sky

 

MARCH 6th GOOD TOGETHER: Giant prayer wheels, butter lamps and chortens are always good together. After we finally got our Medical Certificates completed today we stopped by the Memorial Chorten and lit a butter lamp, circumambulated the chorten and spun the prayers wheels in gratitude

 

MARCH 7the TINY DETAILS: The parable of the four friends is well-known all over Bhutan and wall mural illustrations of the story abound in public places. This is a tiny detail of the one in the entrance to our school

 

The bigger picture of the Four Friends Parable

MARCH 8th STYLE: When you always wear shorts and you haven’t experienced a winter in seven years, style just doesn’t enter into it. It’s put on enough clothes until you are warm and go out and buy a track suit tomorrow. Taken the day we arrived in Bhutan exactly two weeks ago

 

MARCH 9th SHADOWS: This morning we are not actually at school but the sun is playing hide and seek. This was taken early Thursday morning when the shadows of me, the plant and the roof, playing in the entrance to our new school amused me

 

MARCH 10th ON MY FORK: there was fried rice but that was the only forkful I ate. As always, I reverted to eating with chopsticks after I got my shot. The things we do for PAD!

 

MARCH 11th HANGING: These are Gyeltshens and they always hang under the eaves of traditional buildings especially Lakhangs. They add a splash of colour to public places. I spotted these walking to school this morning

MARCH 12th THE COLOUR BLUE: Today we were at school at 7am to participate in the Buddhist ceremony for purifying and sanctifying the new school buildings. (Lapsang) We had the privilege of witnessing this ceremony conducted by monks and local language facilitators. We sat on carpets and listened to the chanting and classic instruments being played. This Buddhist symbol was directly in front of me during the ceremony and it is the colour blue

MARCH 13th HANDMADE: These beautiful handmade baskets come in a variety of sizes and can be either round or square. They are hand woven in the east of Bhutan and traditionally made to carry food. The top fits tightly over the bottom to seal the container. This one is intended for an entirely different use but while we are here in Bhutan it is a welcome addition to kitchen storage

 

MARCH 14th SYMMETRY: The wheel of Dharma is a metaphor for the spiritual teachings the Buddha used leading his disciples and to subdue negative forces. I saw this embroidered representation in the Green Weaving outlet adjacent to our school today and it is both symmetrical and very visually appealing to my mind

 

MARCH 15th BOOKS: I spent a great deal of time today cataloguing my class library and all of the books, which I was more than grateful to have and the three students who shouldn’t have actually been, were chafing at the bit to take them away! The bookshelf might arrive next week but for me the classics were a walk down memory lane and the new releases were a revelation but only one Bhutanese author among them so I had to feature that book and I wanted to take it home to read myself

 

MARCH 16th LOOKING UP: Out in the sunshine today walking and had to take the opportunity to take a selfie looking up with the prayer flags flapping in the wild wind behind me

 

MARCH 17th VINTAGE: These are koma. They are used to fix a full-length Kira at the shoulders and usually joined by chains. These were in a beautiful antique shop we often gaze in through the windows but it was open today so we popped in to take a look inspired by the prompt. So many vintage items and the most adorable elderly Tibetan trader who was determined to get Ian to don some of the things

 

MARCH 18th SIMPLICITY: Today was the first day at school for students and I wore traditional Bhutanese dress to mark the occasion. It won’t happen every day! This tego and wonju (shirt and jacket) combination is always held together with a brooch. My brooch is simplicity itself in design but treasured by me as it was a gift from a dear friend

 

March 19th MOTION: A giant prayer wheel in motion at one of the many downtown Lhakhangs where there are always plenty of devotees chanting, praying and prostrating, especially when the sun comes out

 

MARCH 20th REFLECTIONS IN WATER: It was raining today and we were waiting outdoors for students to arrive when I noticed the opportunity to see our borrowed umbrella and ourselves reflected in the puddle in the carpark

MARCH 21st ORDER: These days I eat lunch with my home class and there is definitely a distinct order to the way it plays out. We all put out a napkin, open our lunches and arrange them on it, then all the children chant a prayer in Dzongkha before wolfing down their meal so they can get outside to play for the rest of the break. My lunch was certainly the most orderly in the room

 

MARCH 22nd OLD & NEW: one of the oldest traditional buildings on the main street  of Thimphu as far as I can recall. Many we loved have now disappeared but this old treasure is now adorned with neon signs commemorating Indian’s Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Bhutan today. There have been traffic restrictions and huge preparations for this and it was cancelled yesterday due to bad weather so there is a festive atmosphere in the capital tonight

 

MARCH 23rd STREET ART: in downtown Thimphu.This wall art that contains all eight auspicious symbols and has been there for as long as I’ve known the city. The wall gets a lot of runoff water so they are very worn and faded but I still love the effect with the cascading flowers. The Endless knot is the symbol of the endless wisdom and compassion of Buddha. I like it the most.

 

MARCH 24th AN UGLY FOOD: A flattened chickpea snack that I bought to try and has now turned into dinner. We have been in a training session all day and we were overfed delicious vegetarian food for morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea. Having got home after dark and still full from the day’s indulgences that’s enough for dinner tonight

 

MARCH 25th ABANDONED PLACE: These circular constructions have long intrigued me. They have never been used to my knowledge and certainly appear abandoned despite being in sound condition. We used to walk past them daily when we lived here years ago and now the eco-park is open and adjacent to our new school but they are still locked up tight and empty

 

MARCH 26th CLOUD FORMATIONS: through the trees and showcasing the gorgeous, natural setting of the Bhutan Institute of  Wellbeing where we attended an all day “GNH Journey…..Walking the Path” workshop on Sunday. Today is completely overcast

 

MARCH 27th PAIRS: A pair of iPads and a pair of coffees. That just about sums up free time after school these days

 

MARCH 28th ADVENTURE: Since arriving there has been precious little time for adventures but last weekend while attending a workshop we did get to experience the great outdoors and indulge in a bit of Shinrin-yoku! This natural forest zone with prayer flags gave me some much-needed mental respite. Now that we are feeling more on top of things a similar adventure is planned for this Sunday

 

 MARCH 29th MESSY: The national dress of Bhutan for males is a gho and children wear them to school in most cases. This shot was taken after lunchtime when all the children had been enjoying the sunshine and playing outdoors. The back is certainly not crisply pleated and folded, and that is how his mother would have ensured it was, when he left the house this morning. However, his class teacher quickly fixed him up before the children returned to their classrooms

MARCH 30th LAUGHTER: I have restarted my snail mail project and today I bought this collection to send. I’m hoping their arrival will induce laughter. The Phallus is an often used symbol in Bhutan and its origins date back to pre-Buddhist Bon rituals to generate fertility and prosperity

 

MARCH 31st FAMILY: This is the Bhutanese family we have known the longest and it’s a real joy to be a part of that family and our Bhutanese family of friends right now

THE PROMPTS

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.

oNe PhOtO a DaY fEbRuArY 2024:

FEBRUARY 1st STARTS WITH THE LETTER L: Lanterns. With Chinese New Year just ten days away this is the exact day you are supposed to put up the decorations. Many places all over the city already have elaborate displays but I stumbled upon this scene at the bank today

 

FEBRUARY 2nd STARTS WITH THE LETTER O: Om. This is one of many Bhutanese prayer flags flying in our apartment and the first flag is blue and always represents “Om,“ in the mantra “Om mani padme hum.”  The word is not written in the usual script because it is in Dzongkha the language of Bhutan and I absolutely love this rendition of the word

 

FEBRUARY 3rd STARTS WITH THE LETTER J: Joker. After such a prolonged celebration with guests, things have suddenly turned very busy. Having once played often we have taken up playing “crapette” or double handed patience again recently. It’s a great way to unwind and shift the focus away from pressing issues as it requires focus, and concentration so this is what came to mind at home today

 

FEBRUARY 4th STARTS WITH THE LETTER F: friends. We are the living embodiment of this quote 
"Make friends with people who aren't your age. Hang out with people whose first language isn't the same as yours. Get to know someone who doesn't come from your social class. This is how you see the world. This is how you grow." We had the best afternoon together today and always enjoy each other’s company

 

FEBRUARY 5th STARTS WITH THE LETTER H: Hornbill. I have been wracking my brains all day for this prompt and only when we went out for a walk a spotted a hornbill did it occur to me. This shot is from a couple of months ago when one decided to visit us and sit on the terrace railing. It even allowed me to get this close and took bananas from us

 

FEBRUARY 6th STARTS WITH THE LETTER C: coffee. I’m not worth speaking to in the morning until I’ve had my first coffee of the day. Today we discovered an outlet of a favourite cafe in a new to us location and had to order up an iced and a hot latte to reward ourselves for an extremely busy morning ticking off items on the to do list

 

FEBRUARY 7th STARTS WITH THE LETTER E: elephant. I was in search of a small gift for a young girl and stumbled upon these cute little elephants today

 

FEBRUARY 8th STARTS WITH THE LETTER M: mangos. I just added this children’s book to our collection as it immediately spoke to me. Mangos are for me too. They are definitely my favourite fruit

FEBRUARY 9th STARTS WITH THE LETTER B: blessings. Today has been all about cleaning the house from top to bottom for Chinese New Year, as is the tradition. We are also hosting a celebration tomorrow night so I wrote blessings for the red envelopes. I know they should contain money for children but I thought we could see what blessings the year of the dragon might bring our guests: happiness, long life, good health, peace or good fortune, just a bit of fun to begin the year of the dragon

 

FEBRUARY 10th STARTS WITH N: new year. Today is the first day of the year of the male, wood dragon. We hosted a celebration tonight and this is the new year feast we prepared

 

FEBRUARY 11th STARTS WITH THE LETTER K: Kezang and Kinley. Our two best dressed friends who attended the gathering for Bhutanese Losar, Chinese New Year or Vietnamese Tet last night at our place. Being Bhutanese and dressing in Vietnamese Ao Dai that honoured the Chinese tradition of wearing red ticks all the boxes

 

FEBRUARY 12th STARTS WITH THE LETTER P: pineapple. A favourite fruit of mine actually but this one is ceramic and I spotted it today while in a very lovely homewares shop. I wasn’t tempted by this but there were plenty of other temptations

FEBRUARY 13th STARTS WITH THE LETTER S: stairs. Finally, the repair of the stairs has begun and the vast improvement is such a welcome change from the state they were in only a week ago. Persistence pays

 

FEBRUARY 14th STARTS WITH THE LETTER D: drum. In the drum tower at the local pagoda at dusk tonight when we went out for a walk

 

FEBRUARY 15th STARTS WITH V: visa. Perhaps it’s time to let the cat out of the bag: big changes are a foot

 

FEBRUARY 16th STARTS WITH THE LETTER R: riverside. The district where we live is commonly referred to as riverside and this was the view this evening when we treated ourselves to a Japanese dinner

 

FEBRUARY 17th STARTS WITH THE LETTER I: incense. The drawer in the hall table which contains my favourite incense sticks and cones

FEBRUARY 18th STARTS WITH THE LETTER A: appetisers.  We are enjoying date night out early so we can catch a movie tonight. We decided to make dinner a set of appetisers because when they look like this how could you resist

 

FEBRUARY 19th STARTS WITH THE LETTER T: Treats on the terrace tonight as it’s our last night here for several months. Travel commences tomorrow so it’s cranberry juice and tonic with strawberry ice cubes and tasting the travel trail mix blended to take with us

FEBRUARY 20th STARTS WITH THE LETTER Q: queue. Like most people I really dislike standing in queues but this is the one exception. Standing in a queue to check in at the airport always means the adventure begins now

FEBRUARY 21st STARTS WITH THE LETTER W: wishlist. There were exactly two items on my wishlist for Bangkok and on our first outing this morning we acquired both: winter jackets for the weather we are about to encounter and a new iPad for the lessons we hope to soon be teaching. It doesn’t get better than that. Time to relax and recharge the batteries now

 

FEBRUARY 22nd STARTS WITH THE LETTER Z: zen. It was what came to mind immediately for this prompt but I didn’t expect this menu option at our favourite eatery in Bangkok. I almost ordered it just for PAD, but I’m simply not a burger person so I just took a photo of the menu. Tempeh Gado Gado was a better choice for me

FEBRUARY 23rd STARTS WITH THE LETTER G: glare. We flew over the Himalayas early this morning and the views from the windows were spectacular. Snow yesterday meant there was some turbulence and some circling as both approaches to the airport were completely obscured by cloud cover but land, we did and oh what a warm welcome and wonderful but busy first day. I just remembered to post this now

FEBRUARY 24th STARTS WITH THE LETTER Y: yathra. In Bumthang central Bhutan the unique weaving of a combination of sheep wool and yak hair is a heritage that dates back many generations. Having bought a new iPad in Bangkok, the old one, which was described as vintage, needed a new cover. I was reluctant to wipe it as it still holds hundreds of books and photos. The perfect choice was a yathra cover so I bought one this morning

 

FEBRUARY 25th STARTS WITH THE LETTER U: umbrella. This is one of the eight auspicious symbols of Buddhism. It represents protection and is a symbol of the sovereignty of Buddha as universal monarch. The emblem derives from thirteen royal umbrellas and I bought this greeting card today to continue my snail mail project

FEBRUARY 26th STARTS WITH X: Xmas. In this case Xmas cake. Having saved it and carried it into the country especially, we took the final Xmas cake to our first day of school in Bhutan today and it was served to all our new and previously known colleagues as afternoon tea

 

FEBRUARY 27th HANDWRITTEN: Our new apartment in Thimphu has a whiteboard in it for no apparent reason but as a teacher that seemed serendipitous. I decided day one to write a quote each morning and went out and bought a marker. Today’s handwritten inspiration is about friends which is also serendipitous as we have been shown a great deal of kindness from friends new and old since arriving here.

 

FEBRUARY 28th A SIGN: A rather pale looking me standing in front of the sign for the school that we started at on Monday. At this stage it is teacher orientation only and we are on a steep learning curve but we couldn’t be happier about being right here right now

 

FEBRUARY 29th MY NAME: we are in teacher orientation and my name along with everyone else’s has marked our seating positions each day. I love the artistry of the Dzongkha script and today asked one of the Dzongkha Lopens (teachers) to write my given name in Dzongkha on my name card

 

THE PROMPTS