momos, markets and monasteries

on a lighter note...

in terms of our touristy travels - we have spent lots of time visiting local markets, museums and monasteries. the markets are filled with items related to the practice and rituals of buddhism, and some useful handmade household items, such as bowls made out of rhododendron wood. the jewellery is beautiful - lots of silver and turquoise...during a visit to the national library, i came across a book all about the history of the jewellery in this region of the world - and there is far more turquoise than i would have expected. the book pointed out the historical reality that, despite suggestions that tibet was isolated from the rest of the world for most of its history, there are actually ancient trade routes that extended south through the himalayas and into bhutan, and onwards to india. these trade routes took on a new significance during the chinese invasion of tibet, allowing monks to escape persecution and death. one of the most significant Guru Rinpoche ended up in Bhutan, where the queen welcomed him and provided him with a home beside Bhutan's most ancient temple. we watched a video about him and his followers, including the dalai lama, narrated by none other than richard gere. apparently he has visited Bhutan, as has Leonardo diCaprio. Speaking of which, actually looking forward to his new movie, Inception - it is being advertised ad nauseum on the local (as in Indian) tv channels. many people in bhutan can speak Hindi from the influence of Bhutan's closest neighbour (geographically, politically, and economically). India is Bhutan's greatest ally and trading partner...and the Bhutanese recognize the necessity of not displeasing the giant to their south - especially after witnessing what happened to Nepal when it began discussing arms deals with China (India cut off their trade with Nepal and the country slipped into chaos, which continues to this day). Bhutan's greatest import is hydroelectricity to India, who has provided the funding and often the labour for Bhutan's biggest works projects.

this jewellery book also gave a nice history of the practice of Buddhism in the region - here is something I didn't know - not all buddhists are looking for nirvana (and the consequential end to rebirth), but rather, the type of Buddhism practiced here is a sect related to the Bodhissatva, wanting to gain wisdom and be constantly reborn so as to assist others in their own spiritual journeys. In the temples, the Buddha sits so peacefully, a small smile on his face, providing a space for prayer, meditation and deep personal reflection. I have never felt comfortable subscribing to any one particular religion, but I have always felt a resonance with Buddhism...since being here, I am particularly interested in the notion of the Middle Path which lies somewhere between self-denial and excess. Excellent wisdom.

Last Thursday was a national holiday celebrating the anniversary of the first sermon given by the Buddha following his enlightenment. Almost everyone had the day off work - and almost all found time during the day to attend a dzong or temple to receive a blessing from the monks. Since we were in Thimphu, we were able to attend the dzong which houses Bhutan's official monk body, which was just filled with people dressed in their tradtional (and very colourful) dress. To our surprise, we just happened to arrive to discover that the king himself was going to be in attendance! Not only that, but his father would also be coming! These are the 5th and 4th kings, respectively. Apparently, the older of the two (4th king) rarely makes public appearances, so it was a quite a lucky moment for us to be present. The queen mothers were also in attendance (the 4th king married 4 sisters), and one of them stopped to speak to us... The 5th king will not be carrying on the precedent of marrying sisters - he is 30 years old, and set to be married next year, I believe.

on a more personal note - traveling as a single woman continues to attract questions. they have only one word for me here - spinster. awesome. most people think all the 7 students i have in tow are my own. hilarious. the bhutanese marry well before 25, without much ceremony. actually, without any ceremony. they generally choose who they marry, and i've heard it described more than once that a one-night-stand that finds the fella still there in the morning is pretty much all it takes to get married here. divorce is also quite casual, especially if there are no children involved.