Friday, August 17, 2012

Last days in Bhutan - Back to Thimphu

Buddha in the background and we are hoping for everlasting
happiness and enlightenment
We drove out of Thimphu at 8:00 a.m. to escape Pedestrian Day and a week later, again on Tuesday, we headed back.. Once we were in Thimphu, but before reaching the police barrier we stopped at a handmade paper factory. The trip to the factory was to see how handmade paper was made to and buy our last souvenir/gift.

Rattu gave us the best buying souvenir advice ever (I will follow it in the future), - spend one day "window shopping." We did. We listed things we wanted to buy, where we could buy them in Thimphu and their prices. As we traveled  in Central Bhutan we bought most of the items locally.

The Junghi paper factory is typical of South East Asian factories, that is, one would never guess that the unassuming building houses a factory. We wandered in, found the manager (or he found us), shook our hands, made a few seconds of small talk, and then he invited us to look around. One of the staff members came over to explain various parts of the process. (I will rely on pictures to show part of the process; the link above leads to a fuller description.)

The first thing that hit my eye as we went to the side of the factory was not the vats of fiber that were being soaked and soften. It was the lady taking advantage of the water to shower. She continued bathing oblivious to our presence, and we tried to ignore her.




From fiber to pulp
A piece of paper emerges
Spraying water to create a dappled pattern

Some final products that incorporate leaves


We then tested the limits of Pedestrian Day - tourists get a pass in Central Bhutan, but not in the capital. We drove to the Police Station to see if we could get permission. Like police stations everywhere the man in charge was in a meeting. He finally emerged, but Thimphu is not Punakha. Our three options were: to walk, to have tea and wait until 6:00, or take a taxi. Taxis were lined up waiting for hapless people who didn't want to walk or wait until 6.



The next morning we went to the Post Office to take advantage of DHL's rate of USD30 to mail a box of souvenirs. In the back was a shop with stamps, coins, and Gross National Happiness tee-shirts. Once our business was completed we went to the new offices of the Royal Bank of Bhutan. After the small paper factory, the old post office building, the various dzongs, and small cluttered shops the modern interior of the bank was a surprise. It was open and airy and customers and managers could get around easily.




Our last tourist stop was to see the statue of Buddha that overlooks the city. As we drove along we had some final views of Thimphu. The picture shows the government complex.

As we drove we chatted with Rattu's sister-in-law who "dreams"  to work for awhile in the United States and experience its culture. To give her information to  fulfill her dream legally I been learning about US immigration policies. We had suggested that she might be an au pair or nannies. Not good advice, au pairs must be between 18-26 years old, and nannies have to have relevant training and experience. In our conversation we tried to strike a balance between being encouraging and communicating that the US is expensive and immigrants working in low skill jobs are often exploited.


The statue of Buddha (the Buddha Dordenma Project "Fulfilling the great wish of all sentient beings for everlasting happiness and enlightenment") that overlooks the city is massive. While the statue is complete the Buddha's throne is not. The throne will contain three meditation halls and each will house "Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in auspicious directions, effortlessly invoking visitors' inherent Buddha nature as if they entered pure Buddha realms" (from the Dordenma Project web page).



Our last stop was to the studio of Sukbir Bishwa (sbees8@yahoo.com) located a few meters from the paper factory. We finalized the purchase of a painting that we had spotted the day before.Since the monks are shy of having their pictures take we thought that a gathering of monks would keep our memories fresh and vibrant. 





Our trip was drawing to a close. We returned to Paro, had a farewell dinner, and left for the airport around 6:00 a.m. For two weeks Rattu, who had taken leave from work, had shared time, his country and his thoughts with us. Words are inadequate to describe what this trip and his friendship meant to us. For over two weeks what we learned and experienced went beyond mere tourism. To any reader of this blog we hope that you share a similar friendship that opens up new worlds.



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