Mandalay

Promptly at 8 am my tour guide,my driver- OK the kid with the motor bike came to collect me for my day of exploration.First stop the Pagoda and market and my introduction to  Myanmar Buddhism in Myanmar a much less solemn affair than Bhutan.Then there was a tour of the handicrafts shop while our bike had its wheel fixed next door.

What happened next seemed rather bizarre to me,but judging from the hundreds of tourists that were there a well established item on the things to see in Mandalay,we visited a huge  monastery,a collection of non-descript buildings similar to an army barracks in appearance,nothing like th imposing 16th century wonders of Bhutan to witness 3000 monks from very young children up to early twenties I would guess, file silently past the Abbot into there mess after holding out their bowls for a serving of rice.It felt to me voyeuristic and an intrusion into  monastic life,but for all I know it may well have financed the rice.

We motored on over the great steel bridge spanning the Irawaddy river to the complex of golden temples and stupa's at the neighboring  Sagaing hill for glorious 360 degree views of Mandalay.Then a ride through country lanes where a small ferry took me over the fast flowing river to the ancient city of Innwa.Transport to and around the architectural ruins of Innwa was by charismatic horse and buggy over heavily rutted and potholed roads of dried mud. Luckily my recent journeys had stood me in good stead for this sort of torture.

The next and last item for today's itinerary,and the most looked forward to was the visit to the U Bein bridge,this is a teak column and plank footbridge spanning well over a kilometer,a busy,well used thoroughfare,slightly daunting at first as there are no handrails and it tends to sway a little,but one quickly gets used to this as there is much to hold ones interest. People fishing,monks and soldiers standing around chatting,multi coloured ducks,artists and handicraft sellers all serve to distract ones attention.

Arriving at the little township of  Amapura  I settled down near the waters edge with a cold beer whilst awaiting sunset and the hoped for photo opportunity.The sunset was wonderful,the return walk over the bridge in semi darkness interesting and the bike ride home exiting,and I get to do it all again tomorrow.

Mandalay Myanmar

Worst part was the taxi from Sukkumvit to Don Muen airport,the cab was stuck in traffic for half an hour.

Again the flight left slightly earlier,clear skies and great views all the way,I was first through immigration and customs and then waited forever for a taxi to town.Have barely explored Mandalay,just a walk around the streets and an interesting foray into a local restaurant for dinner,which was spicy and plentiful and interesting,the contents of which I am blissfully ignorant of.Another observation is that English is not spoken or understood making communication a hit or miss affair.

Just about to go on a sightseeing tour of some local places of interest.

Bangkok

The flight out of Paro was supposed to depart at 11.45,but we boarded at 11.15 and started taxiing at  11.27,with a full load and the only plane at the airport,why wait?The take off was as exciting as the landing,the engines rev to full throttle with the pilot holding the Airbus 119 on the brakes then whoosh,I imagine it must be a little like the standing start of a hotrod race.

Then a wonderful close up view of the mountains of Bhutan,sharp left turn and follow the Himalayas.We stopped at ,Bangladesh  for 5 passengers to get off and 5 to replace them,refueled and proceeded on to  the next leg to Bangkok. Druk air,Bhutan's national airline do a fine job of looking after passengers,plenty of food and free drinks spoiled to the end,lucky me.

After a hiccup at Suvanarbhumi airport when an ATM ate my card,I took the train into the familiar Sukkhumvit area of Bangkok,and enjoyed dinner and a few drinks,the familiarity of it all made me miss Mandi a lot.Happy birthday sweetheart.

Taktsang Monastery AKA Tigers Nest

WOW WOW WOW.this is what it is all about,all the sightseeing,the acclimatization,the training hikes of the last 12 days are all preparation this,for the strenuous climb up to the most famous landmark in Bhutan.It was so hard but so worthwhile,several times I didn't think I would make it and after all from less than half way up there are good photo view points,so I seriously thought of copping out.It was my failure to complete the Mt Kinabalu ascent in Sabah some years ago that kept me going.

I had a photo of the monastery as a desktop picture on the home computer for ages I would study it and try to define the route to it but I never could,today during the climb up the well worn but treacherous track I was still trying to pick it.In fact it wasn't until a third of the way across the traverse could I figure out the why and how ,and now I look at the photos,and have a vivid recollection of it and I still don't believe it.

The guru Rimpoche,known to many as the second Buddha and also to some as the living Buddha,flew to this spot on the back of a Tigress from Tibet in the 8th century,he slew some trouble making demons,and then meditated for 3 months in a cave.The cave is still there  I saw it.There is actually a second cave too which was a Tigers Lair.Then during the 16th century this monastery was built, how I don't know.It appears to hang in space but is actually constructed on a narrow rock ledge,using just about all the available real estate,about 25 to 30 monks live there and the nearby small buildings are solitary meditation places for devotees.There is also a policeman,he frisks everyone and ensures no photos of the inside are taken.

The walk back down was knee buckling,but descending from the thin air at 3,000 meters to the valley floor at 2,300 almost had me feeling like I might survive.

Well that was the grand finale, I fly to Bangkok tomorrow en route to Mandalay.

Tigers Nest, the three white spots center.

During the walk.

Approaching

From above.

Below.

Looking up.

ì

Looking down.

Guru Rimpoche.

Punakha to Paro

Before leaving Punakha this morning I visited the Temple of the "Divine Madman", a pleasant 20 minute walk through the village and  rice paddy.Childless couples come here for a blessing to make them fertile,many houses have giant phallus's decorating them as it wards of evil spirits,There are plenty of souvenir shops too with the penis as the main feature.Perhaps a place for Tony Abbot to dwell.

A bleak,cold and cloudy day to drive back through the Dochu La arriving here in Paro mid afternoon,enough time to visit the museum and the Monastery/Fortress.Don't tell anyone but I am a little over Monastery's.

The Temple of The Divine Madman.

The Pass

Thimpu Valley

Paro Monastery

Trongsa to Punakha

Awoke to another dreary day and the long drive back over the Pele La and down the worst stretch of road to Punakha Valley, about six and a half hours of rockin and rollin through drifting cloud and mist.Had a compulsory stop for road works.While road stabilization is an ongoing fact of life here it feels voyeuristic watching heavy plant teetering on the edge of the cliff amid tons of rock and shale crashing over the edge.The work was scheduled  to keep the road closed for another hour but when the road crew became aware there were tourists waiting,they made a path through the rubble for us such is the value placed on foreign tourism here.It is very flattering,it humbles me whereas some foreigners from certain countries seem to think the high price of tourism here justifies there high and mighty attitude to the Bhutanese.There are no young people touring here everyone is older than me at least in my biased view,you would think being steeped in Buddhism from morning to night a little of it might rub off on them.

Moving right along,this morning I set off on my hike across the swing bridge ,through the rice paddy currently being harvested and up the trail to the picturesque temple built by the Queen mother to honour her son the crown prince,now the 5th King.This will be the last training hike before tackling the daunting climb up to the Tigers Nest at Paro on Sunday.

Had a delicious lunch of pea soup,rice,braised beef and vegetables,mushrooms,spinach and broccoli  in butter and chicken curry, I find hiking really helps the appetite.We set off for one of the most important of the Monastery's.Built as a fortress monastery in 1637 it sits where two major rivers converge and now houses the usual government offices,monks and temples and the all important Central Monk Body has its winter residence here.The current king was crowned here and as today is coronation day it is a national holiday.A jolly good excuse for a drink.

Roadworks.

The bleak Pele La.

Rice Harvesting.

The stalks become winter cattle fodder.

The Hike objective.

Through the paddy.

Past the prayer wheel.

The 108 Stupas

The Temple.

The view down Punakha Valley.

And up the Valley.

The Terraces of rice.

Tashi on the bridge

River view.

Punakha Dzong

And how to get there.

The Temple within.

The Horoscope.

Trongsa

Today's drive reversed the route into Bumthang and  brought us back to Trongsa,and a misty moisty drive it was,the clouds almost obliterating the magnificent views but mercifully concealing the fear factor too.

Trongsa until 1975 was the Kingdoms capital,it is almost in the centre of the country and has the second largest Dzong after Thimphu.It is still a very small town and appears to cling perilously to the valley wall.When the monastery and the impressive watchtower some hundreds of feet above it were built in the 16th century it was a formidable defensive position,in the following years,utilising its central location various wise men have united the warring tribes of the valleys into the Himalayan kingdom we now know as Bhutan.

The monastery today is a multi use building,as well as housing monks and it's temple functions it houses various state beaurocrats  and offices,therefore cleverly uniting the Royal,the religious and secular arms of state.

My rather classy hotel is just across the valley and despite the dreary weather conditions has picture window views to die for.

Last nights hotel window view,Jakar Monastery.

From the pass.

Autumn colour.

My Hotel,the top right building.

The Watchtower .

Trongsa Dzong.

Below.

Wall Art.

Ceremonial Dance practice.

I thought he was going to ring it.

Watchtower from the Dzong.

Garden detail.