Thimphu Area
Thimphu is the capital city of Bhutan with around 150,000 people. Built in a valley among some mountain passes and next to a river, it is one of the most picturesque cities from the mountains in a lot of Asia.
We went to a Memorial Chorten Stupa and saw some of the older people staying here all day to pray and watching them go around the Stupa and staying by the prayer wheels to pray.
We made our way up to(what will be upon completion) the biggest sitting Buddha statue in the world that overlooks the city. The sheer size of this is amazing and the statues surrounding the Buddhas are very colorful that glisten in the sun…..
An old temple was a very interesting place we stopped as people bring their kids their to be blessed by the Monks. We were not allowed to take photos inside but it was awe inspiring seeing the Monks chant…
We had the chance to go to a Wild Animal Reserve in which we saw a bizarre looking animal called the Takin. This animal looks like a cross between a goat and a buffalo but are very shy and it was hard to photograph them. We were also able to see a Musk Deer off in the distance….
We also had the chance to go to the Tashochlo Dzong Fortress (Fortress of Auspicious Glorious Religion), which like the other fortress is built along a river and was used to protect the city from invaders.
We then made our way to the farmers market in which people sold everything from dried beef, to dried bacon, to more vegetables that you can imagine. Most of the food is organic and are produced by farmers from nearby areas.
As we drove by the national staidum we noticed they were having an archery competition. As archery is the national sport of Bhutan, you see people practicing everywhere!!!! During the competition which is shooting an arrow 145 meters away we saw how the teams react to their wins or losses in games that can last a full day….
The rest of the day was just spent people watching as we sat near a café and did some street walking to see how people went about their everyday life….
