Today started with a long drive on rough winding road--we were leaving Thimphu and heading to Phobjikha valley. Heather and I both attempted sleeping, but it was not very effective as we bounced from side to side in the car. I also tried reading, but again, difficult. It was a nice drive though and we stopped along the way a few times to visit a Dzongs (forts-which usually have courtyards and temples within them), Stupas, and Temples.
I was a little disappointed that we weren't able to visit Bhutan during one of it's big festivals; however, we got lucky and were able to stop by a smaller festival along our way. It was in a huge Dzong with an awesome bridge out front--again it seemed like something out of a fairytale. I felt very underdressed in my jeans and jacket as we crossed the bridge going to the fort and our guide pointed out that everyone was wearing their finest clothes (guys where longish robes called "gho" tied around the waist by a belt called "kera" and the women wear ankle-length dresses known as "kira"--which are made of bright colored fine woven fabric with traditional patterns).
Once inside the fort we entered the courtyard where traditional dances where being performed by monks in bright costumes with scary (in my opinion) masks. We stood out a bit in our street clothes--not to mention the white skin and blonde hair (although I did see one Bhutanese girl with blonde hair). Bhutanese people seem much more reserved than people in India were though. No one really paid any special attention to us--with the exception of the court gesture who jumped in front of Heather and was blocking her path dancing and waving his hands about waiting for her to make a donation. Our guide had to run interference on our behalf and break the news that we had left our money in the car before he would leave. I thought it was pretty funny--but I don't think Heather was as amused.
Once we arrived at our hotel we had a few minutes to chill (and it was cold) before our hot stone bath was ready. Originally we were going to stay at a little farm house without hot water and a shared bathroom, but sadly, the pipes had frozen, so we were forced to stay at the luxurious slightly more western styled lodge up the road. It was a gorgeous place and provided me with some great inspiration for my own lodge (which I plan to open at some point down the road).
We were a little skeptical about what a hot stone bath entailed, but it was pretty rad. Apparently most villages have one or two of these that are shared by the community, but there are tubes kind of out in the open. Fortunately, ours was inside a little shack with a 2' x 1' opening just in front of the tube which is used to place the hot stones from the fire into one part of the tub (they cover the opening by leaning a board against it while you are actually in the tub). The tub itself is just big enough for one person and it is devised into two parts by a piece of wood with holes in it. So what they do is fill up the tub with water, and then put the hot stones in the smaller section of the tub. Then they use a bucket to pull the water from the main section of the tub and dump it into the hot stone section to heat up the water. A man stands outside at the fire so if you want more stones they can slip them in through the little opening (Heather and I decided we were fine without adding stones mid-bath).
When we returned to our rooms after a hot bath and dinner, a fire had been lit in the "oven" (wood burning stove) in our room and a hot water bottle had been placed under the MANY blankets in our beds to warm it up... I could get used to this.
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