Here are some of our favorite photos from the trip (each photo is a thumbnail linked to a higher quality picture.):
91) Our enthusiasm to watch the archery resulted in our parking illegally and that got us hauled to the Paro police station. Fortunately, the law enforcement process in Bhutan is significantly different than in western countries - for our crime we were asked to officially apologize to the local police chief. Afterwards, we were welcomed to Paro and the chief spoke with us for about 15 minutes about where all we were planning to go in Bhutan and to hear about our trip through Nepal and India.
92) The ride from Paro was another good one with more curvy roads and more lovely scenery. We arrived in the capital city of Thimphu by mid-day and rode through the gates of the city.
93) Our lunch was at a restaurant and cultural center in Thimphu. After our traditional meal we were treated to a display of Bhutanese singing and dancing.
94) Jonna, ever the enthusiastic dancer, was quick to join in!
95) After lunch we rode up to a mountainside overlooking the city where we got a great scenic view down onto the city.
96) We also visited the Motithang Takin Preserve which is a breeding center for the takin, the national animal of Bhutan. The takin is considered a threatened species so this center was created by the royal family of Bhutan to protect a herd for breeding.
97) Back in Thimphu we spent the evening walking around town including a visit to the local market. As always, visiting a market in a foreign country is always a fascinating experience.
98) Mythological Buddhist creatures and Buddhist icons are painted on many of the buildings in Bhutan. This house is protected with the four primary Buddhist mythological beings - the Dragon, the Tiger, the Snow Lion and the Garuda.
99) After leaving Thimphu we rode over Do Chu La pass. We stopped at the top to walk circumambulations around the 108 Druk Wangyal Chortens built there and to visit the nearby Druk Wangyal Lhakhang temple.
100) Keeping the Lateral Road open is a full time job. The rainy season causes rock and mud slides which cover the road. As soon as the snows melt and the rain stops road crews go to work trying to reopen the road and repair the damage. When the fall comes and the snow starts to fall the cycle starts all over again. For most of the summer there are multi-hour road closures during the day so we had to carefully plan each day's schedule to get through the construction areas before the road was closed. We usually arrived early and then watched the road crews finishing up their morning work before they could re-open the road.
101) All of the landscape in central Bhutan is epic in scale. High mountain passes, thick jungle forest, cascading waterfalls, and steep river valleys. This photo just shows the lower portion of a waterfall that torrented down a cliff along side the Lateral Road.
102) The Lateral Road is supposed to be paved all the way across but the weather conditions make that impractical at the highest elevations. Still the views more than make up for the rough road conditions. Thankfully, the Royal Enfield's tractor-like performance meant we could go into low gear and just chug through the mud, rocks and potholes when the road surface degraded.
103) Our next overnight stop was in the village of Punakha. This was another historical regional stronghold and the Punakha Dzong was another impressive fortress.
104) We got a tour of Punakha Dzong including this section were the secular government offices are located. Can you imagine going to get your driver's license renewed in a place this amazing?
105) We also visited the active Buddhist monastery which is co-located within the Dzong. No photos are allowed inside so this is a shot of Jonna on the steps outside. Note all the shoes lined up outside where visitors to the shrine have left them while they are inside. Crime not only isn't a problem in Bhutan, it practically doesn't exist.
106) The road between Punakha and Trongs was even more crude in places. A single lane of crumbling pavement. Still, the route was again very beautiful winding through forested canyons.
107) As with the earlier passes the road crews were hard at work on this section of road as well. We got to this section so early that we set up camp on the side of the road to have tea and cookies while we waited for the road to open. Further down the road we crossed the awesome Pele La Pass where giant eagles soared just over our heads as we rode over the highest point of the pass.
108) Trongsa was another splendid little town with another spectacular dzong overlooking the valley. We did another tour and were again awed by the size of the fortress.
109) The next sublime experience was riding out of Trongsa the next day through a rhododendron forest - 30 and 40 foot high trees covered in bright red blossoms.
110) At the top of mountain ridge overlooking Trongsa there were hundreds of flag poles with colorful Buddhist prayer flags fluttering in the breeze and with the tallest of the Bhutanese Himalayan peaks on the horizon.
111) Wild yaks wander the mountain sides and make for unexpected traffic jams on the lonely roads in the high country. Here Jonna and a yak contemplate each other.
112) The highest points on the section of road between Trongsa and Jakar were the combination of Yotang La Pass and Kiki La Pass. In the center of the road at both were circular shrines with flag poles, strings of prayer flags and statues. We rode three loops around the circles on the bikes as a form of motorized circumambulation.
113) We arrived in Jakar early enough in the afternoon that Jonna and Alan took off to explore two nearby monasteries while the rest of the group explored the town. The first monastery we visited was Kurjey Lhakhang Monastery which is one of the most sacred Buddhist sites in Bhutan.
114) A shot of the 108 white prayer flags erected in front of the monastery. Groupings of 108 flag poles like this are common at sacred sites all over Bhutan.
115) The second site we visited in Jakar was Jambay Lhakhang monastery which is supposed to be one of the oldest in Bhutan. We got a tour from one of the monks and then joined all the elderly Tibetan women doing kora circumambulation around the temple. It was quite the cultural moment to walk along with all the Tibetans as they chanted their prayers and counted off their circumambulations by placing small stones on the window sills of the temple.
116) A dinner bet resulted in one of our tour mates agreeing to take a swim in one of the ice cold rivers. We were happy to stay warm in our riding suites while the unlucky rider stripped down and dunked himself into the frigid water of the Tang Chu River.
117) Another day, another fantastic pass to ride over. We crossed over Thrimshing La pass in the morning and then took our lunch break in the little village of Sengor. All the Aussies huddled around a little wood stove trying to warm back up after the chilly temperatures as we went over the high pass.
118) We had been warm wearing our heated jacket liners so while the others tried to get feeling back in their fingers we walked around the scenic valley enjoying the view.
119) It turns out that Thrimshing La pass was just the warm up (or chill down?) for the even more amazing Latong La pass which followed in the afternoon. What a great day to be a motorcyclist!
120) Another shot as we climbed up Latong La pass. It was cold, cloudy and windy at the actual pass so we didn't stop to take a photo there.
121) After a night in Mongar we were back on the road and doing the descent into the deepest valley on the eastern side of Bhutan. The altitude changes between Mongar and Trashigang were probably the biggest of the trip. We stopped in Yadi to look down onto the switchbacks that led down into the river valley below.
122) One of our tour mates agreed to take a photo of us so that makes three couple photos of us from this trip - surely a record!
123) Road construction on the eastern end of the Lateral Road was even busier than in the high mountain passes. Large Indian construction firms were trying to widen and re-pave the road so we had even more stops for road closures.
124) Our lunch break for the day was an impromptu stop in a little mountain village to watch the locals play darts - the second most popular sport in Bhutan. Teams of men fling weapons grade metallic darts at wooden targets while the opponents stand around the target yelling and trying to distract the thrower. As with the archery this is a very bolsterous occasion with lots of singing, dancing, yelling, laughing and camaraderie.
125) Why more Bhutan men aren't permanently maimed from their dart games is unimaginable. These three men are standing around the target while an opponent is getting a running start and flinging a 5 lb dart at them. They are actually trying to distract the throw so that he *misses* the target - which makes it even more likely that the dart will hit one of them!?!
126) The final descent out of the mountains down to the southern border was still a great ride. We were in and out of rain clouds on this day but when the clouds cleared we had super panoramic views out across the plains of northern India.
127) We ended our last day in Bhutan at the border town of Samdrup Jongkar. It wasn't the most scenic town but gave a very real view of life in a small rural town in Bhutan. We had put animal ear decorations on our helmets (Jonna with tiger ears and a tail, Alan with bunny ears) so since this was our last day in the Himalayas we took them off and gave them to some local kids. The three boys were thrilled to have some new toys to play with!
128) Back in India we had a straight shot on main roads to the end point of our trip in Guwahati. We still had a little cultural moment when we stopped in Rangia for a mid-morning chai break only to have dozens of locals surround the bikes and take pictures of all these strange westerners stopping for tea at a little roadside stand. The guys brewing up the tea was surprisingly calm given the noise throng of people filling the sidewalk in front of his little stove.
129) After a week of almost freaky peace and calm in Bhutan it was again a shock to be back in the craziness of India. Here we are on a two lane, one-way road with a big truck coming straight at us going the wrong way!
130) After finishing the tour we flew to Kolkata where we had a four hour layover. We stashed our luggage at in one of our tour mate's hotel room and did a couple of hours exploring Kolkata before catching our flight back to Colorado. Kolkata has to be experienced - descriptions just don't work. So the only photo to mark our time in Kolkata is this artsy shot in the window of a night vegetable market.
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