TALO TSECHO, THE TALO FESTIVAL, BEGAN TENTATIVELY as if the performers were sizing up the audience. Clashing cymbals and hooting horns announced the first act, a trio in red masks who clowned and cavorted as the audience settled in. Today is not a holiday in Punakha so only the self-employed, unemployed and stay-at-home moms attended, along with swarms of truant kids – actually, they may not have been truant; education isn’t compulsory in Bhutan – each it seems with a blanket to sit on, baskets of food and pots of tea. Everyone, down to the tiniest tot was wearing the native Bhutanese costume, ghos for guys and miras in every color and pattern for the girls. We couldn’t understand the jokes, of course, but the locals got a chuckle or two. The dances, we surmised, told stories of Bhutan culture as they have for centuries before the people could read.
Too fast for the eye
Cumquats, Talo Festival
Connie wandered off in search of birds while I walked around taking photos of the marvelous faces. The Bhutanese not only don’t seem to mind being photographed, they seem to welcome it. Perhaps it adds merit to their karma. And they welcome foreigners. I found Connie surrounded by several young monks discussing birds and sharing peeks through her binoculars.
Connie's new friends
Not everyone was interested in the dancing. Downhill from the performance area were dozens of makeshift shops selling food, tea, crafts and made-in-China junk to tourists and locals alike while handsful of money exchanged hands as bets were won and lost on darts, dice and wheel of fortune.
Luch be a lady
After reversing the terrible road back to Thimphu, none of us was particularly interested in following the rest of the program for but we all looked forward to another night in the wonderful Khang Residency. Thimphu was more of a break in the travel from Punakha to Paro than must-do destination but before heading to Paro we did take time to see Bhutan’s national animal, the takin, a goat/antelope that, much like the wildebeest, appears to be made up of spare parts.
Takin
