B@Dshah Banter: Bhutan Budget Backpackers

6 October 2014 – Day 10 ( Bumthang )

Jambey Lhakhang

I guess the town had partied pretty late last night, for even at 9 AM most places were still closed. We decided to hike it up to Jambey Lhakhang as that was the only other major roadway we hadn’t hiked up yet. Saying hello to friendly folks all along, watching farmers working in their fields, birds minding their own business, kids playing around gleefully and couple of other interpersonal sights we noticed as we climbed uphill through muddy roads, dead ends and small farms.

As we reached, we bumped into the two ladies and their Bhutanese guide at the entrance and right behind them , Angdu and his German group were just heading out. An artisan was selling hand made wares and paintings, though the most interesting one was the musical bowl (music caused by resonance I presume).

The monk who held an awesome memory

After praying, I asked a kid monk next to me if he could take me to the head monk Sonam. The kid replied he was the head monk Sonam and surprised how I knew him. I mentioned I was friends with Prathap Raja, a friend who had visited a month before and had given a lift to Sonam to the town and Sonam in turn had hosted him and his friends for dinner. Sonam was so pleased with that memory, he asked if we had a guide and since we didn’t, he took it upon himself to show us around and explain everything including the statue of the future Buddha.

He also showed us the map in which a demoness had been superimposed and 108 tiny huts dotter over her to show the 108 temples built in a day across present day Tibet, Bhutan and Nepal to subdue this demoness. Jambay and Kyichu (Paro) are two major ones in Bhutan. He then called me outside towards the monk quarters and asked for my number. He mentally memorised it in one go and asked us multiple times if we were facing any issues and if he could help somehow. After a while I was wishing for an issue so that he could help us. Extremely sweet, he then mentioned he needed to get back to his duties as more tourists poured in.

Biding him farewell, I went out to grab a few shots. Two elderly gentlemen sitting under a tree shade. From a distance, using body language, I requested if I could take a photograph of them. One of them gave a stern denial. I smiled with a nod and “Kuzu zangpo la” on my lips. That made the second man laugh and he asked me to go ahead and take a photograph of both of them. He probably gave me 0 for pronunciation and 100 for effort.

Kurjey Lhakhang

Motor able road stops at Jambey so we noticed a couple of tour groups walk through the wilderness towards Kurjey Lhakhang. It is about 1 km away from Jambay. Following their cue, we walked through till we lost sight and while taking a snap of nature around, we had slightly off tracked across a small stream. Reorienting ourselves by getting up to a higher altitude, we found through the tall grass another path leading up to Kurjey. This is another spectacular Lhakhang, multi layered with extremely high steps. After moving around as if in a maze and sitting up to a glowing Buddha up close with wooden musical chimes playing in the background and the sun peaking in every time the wind moved the curtains around, you felt a spiritual connect simply sitting there. It also hosts the remains of the first three kings of Bhutan.

I got a call from an unknown Bhutanese number at that point and it was Sonam, the head monk. He mentioned since his phone is kept in the living quarters, he couldn’t call me earlier (he mentally memorised that number in 1 go and recollected it half an hour later! ). His first question was in case we had any issues, to contact him.

The Lhakhang is pretty photogenic like most of the other Bhutan architectural wonders. Right opposite is the Zangto Pelri Lhakhang or Temple of Heaven, a depiction of how heaven / paradise would look as per Guru Rinpoche.

Conversations at Cafe Perk

The return journey was pretty quick, just over an hour around end of school time as the playgrounds and roads were filled with kids in all merriment. The owner at Café Perk was relatively free so we discussed her life in Bengaluru, her aims and aspirations that brought her back to her home town, her surprise at us having walked all over her town and more importantly, she explained the short cut to Jakar dzong which we had been unaware of and hence the wrong turn we had taken a day earlier.

At the culvert, instead of the long winding road, she asked us to take the steps next to it which cut through half the climb. Also for a town so small, she mentioned they had six drayangs / dance bars often frequented by drivers passing by since this is a major highway and important stop over for long distance drivers headed further West or East. After a meal for two @ 500 Nu, we headed to Jakar dzong.

Jakar dzong

Palace of Justice from Jakar dzong

This didn’t seem all that spectacular compared to some of the other dzongs we had seen so far but it did seem more frequented for day to day work as a lot of citizens roamed around with their paperwork in the governmental offices based inside the dzong. In the temple, a roughly twelve year old monk came up to us and explained the significance of the time we had turned up at explaining a prayer for the spirit of Long life was on during the eight day festival that started on 1^st October and on the final day, special blessings would be given.

We mentioned we were headed out earlier so then he lit a butter lamp for us and wished us well. Soon his friend came by and called him out. All that maturity he had shown was closed up as he allowed the kid in him to bubble up and they raced each other to a corner we could no longer spot them after.

Red Panda Brewery

We decided to check out Red Panda Brewing Company on the other side of Chamkar chhu. There were three guys working in it and they prepare and bottle beer for the entire nation! Red Panda is a very popular brand out there. They mentioned they’d be starting the café on 9^th after the festival was over. After conversing with them, checking out the cheese factory which unfortunately was closed for the festival, we roamed around the back alleys of the town where barber shops, snooker centres and tailoring stores emerged. Similar to our Indian darjee, the tailoring shop had surname of Dorji on it.

At 7 PM, decided to give Sunnys a chance for dinner. The hostess, a young girl in her teens was extremely cheerful and vivacious spreading her enthusiasm over to everyone at the establishment including a super lazy cat that roamed around the entire restaurant looking for a sweet spot where it could lie and stay lazy. We went for the set menu with ema datsi and mixed veg between the both of us plus something to wash them down with (400 Nu total).

Karaoke bar

Moving over to a karaoke bar, turns out we were the only ones after a kids walked out. The owner had wanted to start a sports bar but karaoke bars were the rage so he had to switch over. We discussed Indian sports, Bhutan’s performance at the Olympics, archery inter village rivalries and the achievements of the 4^th King and the reasons why he is revered by most Bhutanese.

He also explained how a Swiss guy came down, married a Bhutanese lady and they started the cheese factory, brewery, fruit jam factory and also run the Swiss Guest House. After an hour of animated conversations, we decided to call it a night as we had the long journey back to the Indian border over the next few days. We paid out our hotel rent and were asked to leave the keys in the room itself as they might not be up when we leave the next day.

Key Points

Jambey Lhakhang - 5 km from Chamkhar town

Kurjey Lhakhang - 1 km walking from Jambey Lhakhang (non motorable)

Sunnys ($$) - Chamkhar town, set meal of rice and gravy (150 Nu)

All temples and government buildings usually close by 5 PM so plan accordingly.