2 November | Punakha to Thimpu

On the way to Thimpu today we passed through another high pass where the custom is to hang prayer flags. The thick fog at Dochu La Pass made it feel like being in a set from a Tim Burton movie. Between the spanish moss draped trees hung thousands of prayer flags, their color muted to grays in the thick mist. One used to enter this pass with its 108 memorial chortens by driving and under the flags, but now they limit the flags to areas outside of the chortens, so a short hike up the nearby hill puts you in a forest dense with flags. We spent a lot of time here capturing this unusual site where we’ve previously hung many flags ourselves. Archery is a favorite sport in Bhutan. We observed a match today that was also televised on the local TV station. The players use compound bows, but it’s still amazing to see them hit the target that’s so far away you can barely see it. When the target is hit the team sings and dances a ritual song. It’s unlike any other sport we’ve seen, and one of the highlights of this match was seeing the King’s brother participate, who’s quite skilled, as he helped his team win the tournament.   Throughout Bhutan’s history, the people have continued to wear the traditional clothing and continue to do so today during business hours and at schools, dzongs and temples. Men wear ghos, robe-like garments, belted with a tight sash at the waist and adjusted to just above the knee. The women wear kiras, long, wrap-around and single pleat skirts worn with short jackets. Both men and women’s garments include high cuffs, almost to the elbow. We’ve made it a tradition to purchase the traditional clothing to wear when we dine with the owner of the tour company in a traditional Bhutanese restaurant. Locals enjoy seeing foreigners wearing ghos and kiras, and sincerely consider it a sign of our respect for their culture. We needed our guides and women at the hotel to help us get dressed since it takes practice to learn how to wrap and cinch the fabric in the correct way.  Our dinner consisted of all the traditional dishes in season now – red rice, hot peppers served in a light, cheesy cream sauce, river moss soup, sauteed cauliflower, carrots, brocolli and green beans, curry chicken and dried pork fat reconstituted with onions and broth. We also enjoyed the locally produced Raven wines.