"Let's get some drinks, I know a great spot for a party." And that's why I spent my last night in Bhutan drinking 8 percent beer on the side of a road by Paro airport, an appropriately weird way to end a weird couple of days in a weird country.
Until then Day Three had been relatively light on weird with its tried and tested temple-dzong-hill combo. But it was juxtaposed with Day Two where the penis-coated sightseeing was followed up by watching a terrible dance show in a delusional nightclub. So my weirdometer may have been off kilter.
We went to the Tiger's Nest, a temple in a cave half way up a cliff, so called because when Guru Rinpoche came here to meditate he came by tiger (it's the only way to travel). Whilst he was meditating the tiger hung out in a narrow cave beneath the main cave, which you can now get to by climbing down some rickety planks in the dark.
We had a picnic lunch (cheesey fiddlehead ferns, yum) in the woods underneath the Tiger's Nest. This sounds more idyllic than it was. We were joined by a pack of stray dogs, which added a frisson of excitement to the proceedings.
So, Bhutan, you big openair museum. Thanks for the fresh air and the sensible temperatures. Thanks for the genuinely spicy food. And, most of all, thanks for the weird.
No comments:
Post a Comment