Autsho

I must be a little crazy, but I love waking up in the early dawn to the sound of roosters crowing. I'm an early bird anyway, and I think it stirs childhood memories of staying at my grandparents' farm in rural Tasmania.

We stayed the night at Phayul Resort in Autsho village to have the chance to see a little more of this place. It is right in the middle of town and surrounded by small family farms. A Bhutan Canada Foundation teacher was placed here last year and I've heard another is coming for 2014.

Phayul Resort was a cosy, family run place to stay.

View from hotel.

 

I love the patterns on the outside of this house.

Remy running round the Chorten.

Autsho is an easy hour drive from Mongar (at this time of year anyway) and situated close to the river. Simple shops in wood huts by the road sell general items and fresh vegetables.

Even in winter the weather is warm and the evening was pleasant enough to sit with the door open at dinner time. No need to huddle round a bukhari, I like this place!

We spent a few hours in the morning exploring the village on foot. It was strange to have everyone we passed stop to stare at us: mustn't be too many foreigners come this way! We crossed the river on one of the many wobbly suspension bridges and walked through long grass and wildflowers past a handful of simple village homes. Women were milking cows as chickens and toddlers scrambled round their feet.

 

River view from the longest suspension bridge.

 

First our jumpers were shed, then our tshirts, then I was down to a singlet top while the boys went shirtless! Even in summer we never felt this hot in Chumey! I'm sure it must be sweltering in Autsho in summer, but it felt so good to be warm. I felt like I could be be happy living in Autsho.

Look at my muscles!

While walking we encountered locals busily going to and fro on the paths and bridges. One group with a pack of mules had come from a village two hours away with goods to sell and later we saw them walking back home. It is very true of Bhutan to say 'the hills are alive': dotted high on the mountains we see villages in the most unlikely places. While villages like Chumey and Autsho feel far away from it all, being on the main road they are actually well-connected. For a large number of Bhutanese being hours or even many days walk from the road is a reality and a largely subsistance life in the high mountains is how they survive.

We had a great start to our day spending a few hours walking and getting fresh air and exercise while exploring Autsho.  And then it was back to the car: destination Trashigang via Yadi to visit Colin.

Exhilarating Eastern Bhutan

My eyes woke up as if from a long winter sleep and my senses became alert to new smells, warmth and colour as we descended from the Thrumsing-la pass to the large eastern town of Mongar.

Coming from the changing colours and brisk cold of Bumthang, driving through humid and verdant villages towards Mongar was a breath of fresh air. I felt like I was back in the Asia that is familiar and that I love. Terraced rice fields tumbled down steep mountain sides, golden and dry after the recent harvest.

Cheery village folk working in the fields wearing just tshirts responded with smiles to our 'kuzuzangpo!' greetings. Mandarin trees were heavy with bright orange fruit, promising a vitamin C boost we've craved all year! Red poinsettias reminded me of Christmas at home and added to the rainbow of colour before our eyes.

It's all a bit poetical, but honestly it was exhilarating to see and feel things we haven't for nearly a year in our home in the high mountains. It feels like we've entered a new country, and yet this is just another side to Bhutan and we feel very fortunate to get the chance to experience it as our days here run out.

Bob buys some bananas at a roadside stall.

Tuesday we drove from Mongar to Lhuentse, taking about three hours. The drive was spectacular. The weather was clear and dry and the road surprisingly good all the way up the valley. The road follows the gentle curves of the  river, silvery blue far below. There were some moments that I got the heebie-jeebie feeling looking out the window down a sheer cliff seemingly only centimetres from the car wheels! But we feel safe in the hands of our driver Dorji and he worked hard to get us where we wanted to go.

We watched people carrying loads of mandarins emerge from the forest to cross the bridge where their fruit was added to an enormous pile for sale.

 

It's a long way down!

Xavier isn't the least bit scared of heights on these scary bridges!

Upon arrival at Lhuentse we unpacked our assorted food supplies for a picnic near the Dzong. After, we climbed up to see the fortress on the hill and amazing views in all directions. Men were rehearsing mask dances in the central courtyard in preparation for the tsechu at the end of December.

Lhuentse Dzong.

The plants in this area were all familiar from home including this bougainvillea.

 

 

Dorji and the boys at the entrance to the Dzong.

 

Dance rehearsals.

 

The other tourist site on my list for  the afternoon was the giant Guru Rinpoche statue at Takila that staff at my school visited and have talked of frequently. They always described it as being in Lhuentse (which is true as it is Lhuentse Dzongkhag), but which I took to mean Lhuentse town. In reality it was far from the town and an hour drive up a steep, dusty farm road. Climbing what appeared to be a sheer mountain side, switching back between farmhouses and fields revealed a more gradual incline than you can see from a distance, and hundreds of families living far away from the main town of Lhuentse and a day's travel from Mongar. 

Dorji knew what he was heading into as he'd been there before with a large group of tourists who had actually camped at the site, and although he must have thought it was a crazy adventure for late afternoon he politely drove us there without complaint.

At the top is an enormous statue of Guru Rinpoche in the final stages of construction. The grounds are just dry dust and building materials are scattered around. I wonder how the site will be finished in years to come to become a pilgrimage site for Buddhists from around the world.

To get a sense of the scale of the statue...

After circumambulating Guru Rinpoche, and with the sun already low in the sky, we started driving back towards the village of Autsho where we planned to stay for the night.

Next update: Autsho