To the Top

November 22nd 2010

In the morning the air and the sky were both clear and the jagged mountains hung over the earthly little village of Paro. My friends and I ate a generous breakfast at the hotel then waited around for a taxi to come and collect us. Today was the day we were to climb to the Tiger’s Nest.
Once the taxi arrived it was a 20 minute drive to the foot of the mountain. For Yuri, Devin and Lina who had been there for four months, Bhutan was already starting to look ordinary but for me everything was new and different. I peered out onto the shrubby rice paddies, the migrant workers working on the road and was impressed when we crossed a bridge that was completely covered in prayer flags.
At the foot of the mountain the trail began immediately and the climb was steep and muddy. We stopped almost every 100 meters to take pictures of religious graffiti, religious signs and a prayer wheels—a prayer wheel where if you were to spin the wheel it would have the same effect of saying a prayer. One prayer wheel was powered by hydro energy—it was a mill connected to a stream—so it was constantly praying.
We took a shortcut up the half of the mountain which was a great deal steeper but faster. At the end of the short cut there was a café where we sat and had milk tea. There we met a couple from Colorado and shot pictures. Upon leaving the students who had been living in Bhutan were appalled by how expensive the tea was—about 5 usd a person.
The next portion of the climb began to get much more interesting in terms of scenery. We passed by shrines, endless prayer flags, prayer wheels, dogs, donkeys and all the while we were coming closer to the monastery Tiger’s Nest. On the way I climbed through this crevice in a the mountainside which promised to forgive all of my worldly sins if I could make it through. It was a little difficult because it was a 3x2 hole but somehow I made through to the other side. After a little more walking we came to a bridge over a waterfall that was covered in prayer flags. In the exceptional beauty of that moment I was certain I was in Bhutan. After crossing the bridge we came to the gates of the monastery.
At the monastery we left our possessions at the door and soaked up the beauty of the extraordinary temple alters. When we entered the first temple Yuri went front and center and prostrated in front of the Buddhist deity. The temples were bright in oranges and reds; they were well kept by the robbed monks who wandered around the premise. There were a couple of pilgrims praying in front of the alters. The place smelled like smoky incense and yak butter candles. We peered into a few more prayer rooms and then headed back down to the earth.
It took us almost two hours to get to the bottom of the hill where our driver from earlier was waiting for us. The taxi took us back to the hotel where we got refreshed and collected our stuff to head for Thimphu, the capital city where Yuri and the rest of the Wheaton tribe live.
The drive to Thimphu was about an hour and a half and because we followed a cascading river below reminded of the drive from Ukiah Ca. to Healdsburg and following the Russian River. By the time we were on the outskirts of Thimphu, on Bhutan’s only freeway, the sun had set. We headed into the city to meet the rest of the Wheaties for dinner. At a small pizza joint right off the main street I was united/reunited with some Wheaton students, a Wheaton professor and the visiting parent of a Wheaton student.
The Wheaton students discussed logistics and academic matters at dinner. This was their last week in Bhutan and they had many arrangements to meet. After dinner Yuri and I headed to where we hoped I was staying for night. Yuri had asked a friend/tour guide if I could home stay with his family for a few nights but he had never reconfirmed so we were unsure if the deal was still happening. When we arrived at Tsewang’s house (the tour guide friend) we were greeted by his wife and children who showed us to our own apartment on the complex. Inside there was anything and everything we might need—breakfast, beds, computer etc. We were very happy with our set up and comfortable even in the cold Himalayan night.