Day 2 in Paro

We woke up early, ate, and were out the door. Well, they were. I rested until about noon since my stomach was bothering me. I met up with them at Bhutan's National Museum, Ta Dzong. The museum was big, full of Bhutanese history, and after an hour, dreadfully boring. The building was created like a Conch Shell, to wind down and down through each floor. And of course, we walked through the building clockwise. I found out that afternoon why clockwise is such an important idea to them. Apparently Buddha walked clockwise, and so they must follow in his footsteps. Got it.

Me in front of Ta Dzong


After a traditional Bhutanese lunch, hot chile soup and all, we made our way to Rinpung Dzong, or Fortress on a Heap of Jewels. This was one of the largest Fortresses in Paro and is now both a government building and a school for young monks.

The Fortress, Rinpung Dzong


Our guide Karma. Karma is wearing the traditional Gho and a white scarf, required for all men entering the Fortress. Before I took the picture he said, "Yes, I'll pose like Brad Pitt!"


Two monks studying at Rinpung Dzong


Our new guide Karma was an adjustment. He was a very jovial man, and he laughed at everything, including himself. After a couple dozen of his laughing fits, I had the slight urge to hit him, hard. I especially didn't like it when he would laugh hysterically, look at me (not laughing) and ask "happy, happy?" No. At first I was not happy. He was too happy, his happy attitude was dampening my day, especially after walking around four floors of the boring national museum looking at historical items and stuffed birds. But by the end of the day, I started to appreciate his upbeat attitude. Of course his constant laughing had my 'limited good mood behavior' dwindling at a rapid rate. If I had a relatively good nights sleep, and feed at a constant rate, I could keep up a good mood until well into the afternoon. He shot that time line right to hell with his manic fits and had my dark, teenage mood rearing its ugly head before lunch.
After the museums and lunch, we headed to Kyichu Lhakhang, one of the oldest temples in Bhutan. When we arrived, beautiful orange trees surrounded the temple. Our guide told us that a sacred ceremony was taking place. We could hear loud bells ringing and muttered chanting. We talked around the to the center of the temple and found dozens of people sitting in prayer.

Buddhists and Bhutanese sitting in prayer.


I was worried about offending the Bhutanese by taking pictures, but most didn't seem to mind. This man in particular was very excited to have his picture taken.