We awoke to find that there had been some overnight rain but by the time we’d finished breakfast the drizzle had cleared and, despite it being cloudy the air was quite warm.

We then drove to south Thimphu and followed the road up a steep winding section to reach the Buddha Dordenma.

This is a huge 51 m tall statue of Buddha made in bronze and steel perched on a massive three storey base which houses inside amongst other things, thousands of donated Buddha statuettes and several elaborately decorated golden shrines.

Buddha Dordenma, Changi Kuensel Phodrang

The site is called Changi Kuensel Phodrang after the former palace of the 13th Druk Desi that once stood there.

The statue was made in China, cut into pieces and then shipped and road transported to this site and then reconstructed!

An unexpected occurrence was that there was a special Buddhist ceremony taking place at the time we visited. About three thousand Buddhists from all over Bhutan were gathered around the statue sitting cross legged on rugs, mats, cardboard and in many cases just the concrete. Most were sitting under a 60 m square, canvas covered temporary pavilion. There was almost continuous chanting of Buddhist prayers being broadcast on large speakers across the area. This annual high density gathering lasts for three days and during this time the devout stay seated and have a minimal diet of food they bring plus water and rice dished out from buckets by army personnel. Apparently there are just twelve public toilets available so we’re not sure about issues of ablution!

Some of the crowd at Buddha Dordenma, Changi Kuensel Phodrang,

Crowds of Buddhists at Buddhist ceremony at Buddha Dordenm

Army support handing out food at Buddha Dordenma, Changi Kuensel Phodrang

This whole Buddhist religious festival was extraordinary and conjured up thoughts of the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.

On leaving the giant Buddha and all the worshipers, we descended a giant set of 268 steps to find our bus waiting at the bottom.

Our next stop was at the National Memorial Chhorten which is a large stupa built in memory of the (third) King Druk Gyalpo Jigme who died in 1972. The stupa’s square white base is surmounted by a white conical tower above which is a golden spire.

Pilgrims say that it is necessary to walk rounds the stupa three times to be assured of happiness and freedom from evil spirits. We took some photos of people in one of the ancillary buildings housing three large, gold painted prayer wheels. Others then asked to be photographed too. People in Bhutan appear not to be shy about photos and we’ve not yet met anyone who objected to being photographed.

We then moved on and headed back to central Thimphu to visit the Post Office Museum established in 1962. This museum has a most extensive collection of philatelic memorabilia and associated equipment going back to the time that postage stamps were first introduced into Bhutan in 1924.

Apart from the earliest Bhutanese stamps there were hundreds of ‘first-day covers’ and historically significant envelopes from famous people bearing stamps from Bhutan and other countries. The museum also had sections showing ancient post office equipment, antique telephones and other telecommunication systems plus motor bikes and old vans used for delivering mail.

After a lunch break we drove to the Royal Takin Preserve at Motithang. This preserve was built in 1974 to function as as a genetic reserve for Bhutan’s national animal the takin (Budorcas taxicolor whitei).

This curious animal shows a strong evolutionary link between the bovine family (cattle) and the ovine family (sheep). The takin normally live at high altitudes above 3500 m and when their population was looking endangered, a zoo was established to support their population growth. The fourth king decided that this was not in keeping with Bhutan’s environmental and religious convictions so the takin were released into the ‘wild’. Unfortunately the animals were now so tame they took to wandering in the streets of Thimphu looking for food and being a nuisance so the solution was to establish this expansive open-air preservation where the takin are free to roam within a broad boundary fence.

The setting is peaceful and the extensive walkway around the preserve gives visitors the opportunity to observe these oddball animals relatively close-up.

In the same preserve we observed large numbers of horned Samba deer as well as the non-horned barking deer.

In addition to the takin and the deer we were able to see two of Bhutan’s pheasant species namely the Himalayan monal and the Blood pheasant. The monal is a large and colourful pheasant known for its iridescent blue and red plumage. The blood pheasant is smaller and has a blood red face and tail.

After our most interesting visit to the takin preserve we headed to the Jungshi handmade paper factory.

This small traditional operation makes paper from fibre obtained from the bark of one of the daphne plant species which happens to be insect-resistant. The paper produced looks a lot like Japanese washi and is widely used for religious scripts, writing paper, envelopes and calendars.

We then walked a small distance down the road and visited an outlet specialising in the production and sale of premium quality thangkha paintings. Artists were at work painting these intricate and exquisite works of art that take many days to complete because of their phenomenal complexity.

Our very busy day was completed with a visit to a temple called the College for Astrology. We observed the blessing of a new stupa and the progressive downing of a giant mandala from in front of the main temple building. Monks were moving in amongst the small crowd offering drinks and blessings.

Blessing of the stupa, College of Astrology

A feature of this temple is the giant cyprus tree that stands nearby; it is thought to be over 400 year’s old and grew from a Buddhist monk’s walking stick who arrived all those years ago from India and collapsed from exhaustion.

We returned to our Hotel Druk (Dragon) and as has become the custom had pre-dinner drinks in the bar before our evening dinner. Food in Bhutan is reasonably expensive with AU$7 for a coffee but wine is expensive. For example, the cheapest white wine at our hotel was Jacob’s Creek chardonnay at AU$64. Dan Murphy’s could do it for a little less we suspect!

This has been another amazing day and we’ve seen so much in this short period of time.

This enchanting country has often been compared to Shangri-La, the lost paradise and we can well understand why.

Tomorrow we head northeastwards towards Punakha which was the capital of Bhutan until 1955.

DAY 12: Monday 12th May 2025 THIMPHU; BHUTAN

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