Day 2...
We had a full day planned, so rose early. Remedying the sleep deficit of the night skipped in Thailand would have to wait. Not that the morning was without consolations. Breakfast was served on a balcony overlooking the valley, with flowers in the foreground.
The hotel staff/waiter came out to ask what we wanted. In the entire time we were in Bhutan I think we saw one menu, and we didn't order off of it. English is widely spoken here, as with so much of the rest of the world, but it is a second language, and inflections can often be difficult. You never really realize how much language is not in the words... “Breakfast is coffee or tea... Toast...” His English was good, but halting. Were the pauses an implied question? “Yes thanks, coffee and toast would be great”, Susan answered trying to be both polite and encouraging, not leaving the poor guy hanging without a response. So we had a simple meal of coffee and toast with butter and jam. Fine, but a bit light considering our plan for the day was hiking.
Shortly we were on our way to the trailhead for the Tiger's Nest monastery. This is undoubtedly the most famous place in Bhutan, and was the backdrop for the ninja-training sequence in “Batman Begins”. The monastery sits high up on a clifftop, overlooking the valley below. It's a sacred placement, as well as a sacred building – the precipitous ledge into which the monastery is built is said to be the jaw of the tiger-turned-stone.
Even the valley floor is at altitude, and the steep climb ascends something in the neighbohood of 1000 meters total.
A goodly hike if you started at sea level. The path winds up through the forest, which changes in character as we ascend. We get lots of views of the valley and the cliff above us during our frequent water and oxygen breaks. About an hour from the top is a little concessionary where we had the prettiest cup of coffee I can remember.
There was a cute cat there, with a tick nicely nestled into it's neck. There are lots of cats and dogs all over Bhutan, and we were often dodging the canines while playing chicken with the oncoming traffic on the narrow roads. Coincident will all of this was some drama back home. My cat was causing all sort of problems for my roommate, and I wasn't sure he'd be around when I got home in December. My sister had graciously agreed to try and adopt him into her home. So I hoped for some instant Karma as I picked the tick out of the poor little cat here in this Buddist country.
The last part of the path was narrow and steep, with both ups and downs that included some steps hewn into the living rock.
I made the mistake of looking down a few times, and thin air combined with palm-sweat inducing cliffs makes for a light head. I hoped there was enough instant karma left over to preclude a fall.
Obviously, we did make it safe and sound (as apparently, did some 60-somethings going the other way without so much as one short breath).
Tashi gave us the tour. History here comes in layers. Most recently was the impressive story of the reconstruction, as this temple, like just about any old-wood building has been rebuilt. Before that the stories of the resident abbots and their role in Bhutan over the centuries. Farther back is the story/myth of the founding of the temple; how the “Precious Master”, Guru Rinpoche, the founder of the school of Buddism dominant in Bhutan, flew here on the back of his consort in the form of a tiger and made the cliff out of one of her teeth. And before that, the stories that mix Buddism and the local pagan mythology; of battles between Buddst masters and Bodhissatvas against the demons.
At this point it was almost 2 o'clock. Our light breakfast was long since burned up by our exercise, and we were all pretty hungry, but lunch was back at the restaurant where we had coffee. Tashi must have been even hungrier. He was setting the pace downhill and at times we were nearly sprinting.
Lunch was buffet style, a feast of multiple dishes, the cornerstone of which was cheese and chilis. I took a big plate and started with a nice big spoonful of this hearty dish. About two seconds later came the crashing realization that unlike the night before, this was not “not as spicy as one might suspect.” Turns out that the night before Tashi had asked them to make it mild for me by scraping all the seeds out of the chilis. Today's buffet on the otherhand not only used the whole chili, but used these little chilis that they import from India explicitly because they are spicier than the local varieties.
A beautiful downhill hike and a drive before we crashed for a nap back at our cute boutique hotel.
For dinner Tashi arranged a meal at a hotel in town, for a change. A feast, again, and we tried some local beer and a fierce little spirit made from rice. Afterwhich, Susan had the courage to try the “beetlenut”. Everywhere here you see the stained lips and teeth of the habitual users. The bright red fruit has a stimulative effect and is especially popular in wintertime. After a few minutes of “no result” the guys finally realized she wasn't chewing. One chomp of the molars and a few seconds later Susan was flushed and giddy.
The alcohol was flowing, and we bonded with our hosts. Tashi and Phubu tried to explain how, while they are married “here we are bachelors” since they crossed the provincial border. Apparently the zip-code rule isn't as culturally specific as I would have assumed.
