The Divine Madman

After a good night’s sleep, I got up, showered with warm water, packed my bag, and then went and checked out. We would be leaving Thimphu heading out to Punakha. Foreigners can only leave the city if they are escorted by a government licensed guide. This is one of a few check points where my guide had to show his government license as well as my government approved route permit. If you don’t check in at places when you are supposed to be there then you get to have a chat with immigration officials at the airport before you fly out.


We drove over Dochula Pass and at this point we still had nice paved roads, something that would disappear on the way to Bumthang Valley. On a clear day you can see the beautiful Himalayan range, today was not a clear day.






As we came down from the pass we approached a small rice producing village.






We stopped and walked through the village on the way to Chimi Lhakhang, a fertility shrine built by Lama Drukpa Kunley, also known as "The Divine Madman".








I love visiting villages like this, it’s such a simple life, and while it may be difficult for a western mind to comprehend, it’s quite a happy life as well.






"The Divine Madman" earned his name due to the fact that he was a Lama, a teacher of Buddhism, but that he also, and I guess the polite way of putting this, spent most of his day going around pleasuring women. In fact every painting of him shows him with a glass of red wine in one hand and two to three women in the other. You may think that families would lock up their daughters when Lama Drukpa Kunley came to town, they did not. Instead they would line them up for him to pick from as it was such an honor to "receive his teachings", again trying to put it nicely. This was the second time on this trip I considered becoming a monk.


Young monks playing quarters. Just like what I used to play in college, except instead of a shot glass they dig a hole in the ground, and there is no drinking involved.


Prayer wheels at the shrine. As I was still waiting for Ms. Wonderful to enter my life, this seemed like the perfect shrine to give them a spin. I went to each one, spun it, and said a little prayer, "More red wine", "More red wine"…




We continued East to Punakha and visited the Punakha Dzong, where many monks spend their winter as it tends to be a little warmer.






We crossed the bridge and went in.




This place was huge and it was here that I would get my second lesson in Buddhism. While my first lesson focused on generally what is Buddhism, this one told of the life of Buddha. Again my guide would walk me through the various paintings that told this tale. Now that I was out of the city I was on a much shorter leash and could not explore this Dzong as much as I would have liked, but it was still very impressive.




A monk spotting.






Again, I can only take pictures outside. Inside were amazing massive temples, hundreds of Buddha statues, monks chanting, incense burning, and old paintings. It was breathtaking, both in the sights and sounds, but also in the clogging effect of inhaling all the incense.


At this point I understood and was glad not to take pictures. These are all very sacred places with sacred texts, many of the paintings contain a language that has never been seen outside of these temples. Bhutan appreciates their history and culture, and they want to preserve it, keep it sacred. You don’t just look at these temples, you experience them. Looking at a picture on the internet could never do it justice, it can never give you the feeling you get when you walk in to one. It’s not just what you see, but everything together, what you see, what you hear, what you smell, what you feel, and you are transported to another state of mind. The experience is earned, you have to come here, you have to be opened to it. I hope that there will never be any pictures taken inside, it would not be right.




The stairs are pretty steep.


The roof leaks a little when it rains, so they place a layer of dirt to help absorb water before it reaches the inside ceiling.


In the courtyard is a tree that Buddha was said to meditate under.


We went across the bridge again and continued to the town.






Even the gas stations are constructed in traditional architecture.


Afterwards we went back to the hotel. Looking in to my room from my deck.


I was a little tired but not ready to call it a night, I wonder if they have one of those crazy cum bar places around here. I was in luck, and from the look of the outside I would have a lot more options then just sliders and chicken wings to go with my beer. I got up the nerve to enter thinking to myself, "Well, when in Rome....."


OK, so now that I have all the details let me provide some insight here. In Latin "cum" means "with", so this sign is saying nothing more than "Restaurant with Bar". So why is there a painting of a penis in action on these buildings? Well to keep away evil spirits of course. In Buddhism everything is very symbolic, and my guide told me of this ancient story. A local farmer would plant his crops, and every night demons would come and dig them up. He went to consult a monk, who told him that he can scare off the demons by dancing naked at night. You may think, like I did, that my guide is making this up. However they even have a "naked dance" that takes place at midnight at the Tsechu (a festival) in Bunthang, fortunately three days after I leave. Anyway, apparently a bunch of naked Bhutanese dancing around the fields at night was enough to scare away the demons and they never returned.

Armed with this new bit of information I kept an eye out for a building with a penis on it that did not have a "Cum Bar" sign out front. Strange part is that for the rest of my trip I never found one…

The beer alone was enough for me to relax and I turned in for the night.

VIDEO: Day 3 - Punakha