Myths, tales, legends, warriors were all topics of great interest as a child. As an adult, you always have dreams to experience such a fairly tale during one of your traveling experiences. Although experiencing such a thing still remains a dream, you could certainly carry whatever knowledge you have about the travel destination and go with the flow.
Yes, we are talking about a holy, spiritual land called Bhutan. Most of Bhutan depicts Buddhism and its culture and quite an enchanting place, especially if you’re a first timer. Conditions apply in Bhutan where cigarette buying is illegal. Normally, you’d find men attired in local tunics and houses decorated with huge pillars. Bhutanese have their own concept to life. They rely on natural happiness rather than improving economic growth for happiness. This truly speaks of the Bhutanese culture and sends out messages that it’s a holy land indeed.
There’s no doubt Bhutan has modernized to a little extent other than just known to be a land of hermits and saints. Monks these days could be found recording age-old Buddhist texts via computers. Despite it being a holy land, Bhutan by no means is a cheap travel destination. One needs to shell out at least $200 daily for a decent Bhutanese day out.
Bhutanese Attractions
Thimphu – Thimphu is Bhutan’s capital and situated in a silvan valley along the banks of River Thimphu, which is home to Bhutanese culture. An interesting fact about this city is you’d not find any traffic lights while still being the capital of a country. At Thimphu, you’d find Trashi Chhoe Dzong, Simtokha Dzong, Stupa of statues and paintings, Memorial Chorten, School of Crafts and Arts, weekend market, National Institute of Traditional Medicine and Changlimithang Stadium.
The secretariat construction, Trashi Chhoe Dzong, holds the prestigious Government departments, assembly hall, ministries, throne room and the office of the King. A great sight here is the statue of the Buddha himself that’s 2 storey tall, murals of stages involving the path to Buddhism, columns of Tenju and Kanju signifying the importance of religion in Assembly Hall. Annually, the Thimphu festival kicks off at the courtyard.
Bumthang – Bumthang is truly Bhutan’s spiritual land. Bumthang showcases the most precious and ancient Buddhist sites namely temples, dzongs and palaces. Places worthy of visit are Wangdichholing Palace, Jambey Lhakang temple, Kurjey Lhakang holy cave as well as Jakar, the biggest Bhutanese dzong.
Legend says, Pemalingpa, a renowned Buddhist teacher, originally a blacksmith was lured by spiritual forces into finding spiritual knowledge at the bottom of the burning lake. The female spirits from the heavens or simply Daklinis helped Pemalingpa in the art of preaching the spiritual knowledge to the world outside. When Pemalingpa started preaching, a heavenly event of flowers being thrown everywhere and disappearing into thin light was witnessed.