Bumthang Brewery LTD

With my new found stash of pine sticks I had no problem starting a fire this morning. My room did get a little smoky and it turns out you can add too many pine sticks, but it calmed down and my room was nice and warm in no time.

Traveling alone gave me great flexibility to go and do what I wanted and my guide was constantly changing my itinerary, really customizing the trip for me. However it was a little more difficult for the other group. We had been eating together, sharing our stories, and going to a lot of the same sites together. They had to stay together as they only had one guide for the six of them. Some wanted to return to the festival, while others wanted to explore new areas. I talked to my guide and said that we had all kind of bonded, and if some of them don’t want to go back to the festival I’d be happy to have them along with me. I was going to be hiking all morning, heading to a private temple and a private monastery. Tess and her Mom decided to join me. We headed off for a short 30 minute drive to get to the start of the trail, driving through another farming village.


We started hiking and to give us some perspective my guide pointed out that on the other side of this mountain is China.


We continued on the trail for a while, which now that I was acclimated, was quite enjoyable.


We then saw the private temple we were heading to.


In a few more months my guide would be coming back here to stay and meditate for three months.






We finally got to the care taker’s quarters, there are only three monks here.


We then reached the entrance of the temple. This is clinging to the side of the mountain, even hanging out over the edge a little, and I hoped that if it had been here for hundreds of years that it could make it a few more hours.


You have to climb up to it through this small cave on very old steps, before reaching the small three room temple.




The reason for this temple’s location is that it was here where Buddha left his foot and hand print on the side of the rock, leaving a deep imprint in the rock itself. The room was around 10 feet by 8 feet with a small Buddha statue next to the imprints. It was chilly as I sat on the old wooden floor and watched the incense slowly rise up in front of the candles lighting up the Buddha statue. My guide began chanting, and I closed my eyes, letting go, starting to meditate. I’m not sure I’m ready to try and put in to words the details of this experience, but years went by like seconds, and while I’m sure I could not have left my hand print in the stone, it was a pretty intense experience. Afterwards the monk came out and offered me another spiritual cleaning with holy water, and I repeated the practice I had previously done. We continued along and I was pretty much alone with my thoughts.


We found a few farmers too lazy to open and close the gates to their property, and instead built a ramp over the fence that they could navigate, but that their livestock could not.


We passed another Dzong while hiking and took a quick look around but did not go in.




We then arrived at the private monastery.




The dorms where the monks live.


The courtyard where monks were discussing texts in preparation for their examinations tomorrow. On this side of the monastery it was like our high schools, while on the other side it was like our elementary schools.








We went inside and saw an amazing artwork that they were creating with small colored sand. It is not just artwork, but also a lesson in patience. It was at this point I realized that I could never pass this kind of test and become a monk.


In fear of sneezing, or just tripping and falling, I stood back and took a few pictures.


Even the monks have a little protection from heavy breathing as they wear a mask. This actually has a second lesson for the monks, in teaches that nothing lasts forever. Once complete, the monk on clean up duty, comes by with a broom and sweeps it way.


The Buddha statue at the front of their classroom.


Their "desks".


Another classroom.




We worked our way back and drove to the lodge for lunch. Afterwards we headed out to Tamshing Gompa. This has some of the oldest known paintings in Bhutan. Here is a very early version of the six domains of Buddhism.


Some of the life of Buddha.


A few monks in training around Tamshing Gompa.






Over the last few days my guide and I have covered most of our lives, and he knew I brewed my own beer. So he took me to the one microbrewery in Bhutan, Bumthang Brewery LTD.


It was a nice operation and I really enjoyed talking with the brewmaster. Unlike my previous conversations about Buddhism, I finally had a topic that I can contribute to.


It’s not a bad beer, however they leave a lot of yeast in it, which gives it both a unique taste and a unique consistency. Very much an acquired taste. However they gave us a free case and it did not take long for my taste to acquire it.


At this point I thought, Bhutan may be the perfect place for me to immigrate to. They just started allowing in the internet so there is a lot of computer work available, plenty of room for a second microbrewery, I love the mountains, and an actual functioning government. Something to keep in the back of my mind I guess.


That night when we got back to the lodge my guide taught me a Bhutanese dice and shell game. It’s kind of a gambling / strategy game in which you try and get all your coins past all the shells before your opponents do. This is done with strategic placement of your coins and lucky rolls of the dice. My guide giving me a brief tutorial.


You know that things are going perfectly for you when you are sitting in a lodge in the Himalayan Mountains, heated only by a small fire, drinking beer from the local microbrewery with your new Bhutanese friends, and playing a newly learned Bhutanse dice and shell game.


The guy in the middle was the guide from the other group, and he had two wives. In fact in Bhutan a man can have up to four wives, while a woman can have up to two husbands. He told me he did not have four wives because he only has the management skills for two.


Yeah, things are pretty good, even good enough for me to win one out of the three games we played.


We even attracted an audience, the one on the right was my driver.


Good games, good beer, and great company. Bhutan was definitely growing in my heart. I went back to my room, figured it was pointless to build a fire that would only last an hour, so instead blew out my room light and went to sleep.


VIDEO: Day 6 - Bumthang