10.19.2018 A Very Interesting Day...


Our day started out with a casual stroll through vegetable fields just outside a tiny village in Punakha... 

Grandmother and granddaughter harvesting broccoli.

Brian admires one of the many haystacks. 

Chopping and bundling the hay.

  

Yeshi helps an 80-year old man prepare a beetle nut wrapped in a leaf.

Men and women preparing lumber for home construction in the village.

...We mosey into town and suddenly there are penises everywhere - on commercial buildings, on signage, on homes...

A real dickhead (upper left). 

Not sure I would be in a hurry to eat at Chha Yang Restaurant (upper right).

Not enough free time to really explore the Phallus Handicraft shop (middle right).

Loved the Welcome and Tourist Restroom signs!

As you can see they have a shape and/or size for everyone!

...and, if that wasn't hilarious and crazy enough to make your day, we hiked about 40 minutes to Chhimi Lhakhang Monastery, built by Lama Drukpa Kuenley (also known appropriately as the Divine Madman).  This temple was the destination for childless woman who were hoping to receive a blessing so that they might conceive.

The phallic symbols are also the product of the Divine Madman's unorthodox teaching methodology, which was intended to be bizarre and shocking. Traditionally they were intended to drive away the evil eye and malicious gossip.

And speaking of the evil eye, these trucks had them painted on their front fenders.

When we stopped to visit with a family sorting grain, we had the pleasure of watching their pet monkey hilariously entertain us with his shenanigans.

Dogs roam everywhere in Bhutan and Punakha is no exception. This one was dangerously lounging in the shade just under our front bumper when we returned to the van.

These 2 little adorable girls entertained us with a song they learned in school.

We were invited into the home of this wonderful woman who served us butter tea and homemade rice wine, along with homemade popcorn and 2 types of rice.

After leaving this amazing village and its people, we headed to the Sangchhen Dorji Lhuendrup Lhakhang Nunnery, perched very high up on a ridge above the Punakha Valley. A surprise, luxurious lunch was awaiting our arrival, complete with a magnificent view of the valley and the river below.

After lunch we had some free time to explore the Nunnery before we sat down with one of the nuns-in-training for a more personal discussion of life in the monastery. Our visit then concluded with a group photo in front of the temple.

Students enjoying the holiday.

Our 18-year old little nun asked me to friend her on Facebook. (ha ha)

(Front row) Barb, nun, Karen and Cathy.

(Back row) Gerhard and Brian.

One last look at the Punakha countryside before heading back to our hotel.