Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Temple

One of my favorite places in Bhutan was Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten. It's a beautiful stupa on top of a hill overlooking a valley with a river running through it.

The half day hike rewards you with views of a landscape that make you feel like you are traveling through a picture book. Being part of the very few Westerners in the area enhanced the sense of “discovery” that energizes me so much when traveling somewhere for the first time.

The Demon Subjugated Cheri Monastery

After driving up Wang Chhu valley from Thimpu, we reached the trail head of the walk up to Cheri Monastery at the end of the valley. This was our first full day in the country so our legs were still pretty fresh. Reaching Cheri monastery took around half hour.

Cheri Monastery was founded around 1620. Like many monasteries, Cheri offers ample opportunities for people to go into retreat.

Once on top of the building, we had a great view of the surrounding area and Wang Chhu valley below. What was interesting was also a sign saying that the demons threatening this monastery had been subjugated. That made me feel a lot safer and relieved.

Overall, the sacred atmosphere of Cheri monastery gave us a very good feeling of our visit to Bhutan.

Bull's eye

Bhutan's national sport is ...archery. We made our way to a nearby field to watch a group of men having a friendly competition.

Two teams  were lined up 150m across the field from each other. 150m....that's the distance to the wooden target. Olympic target distance is only 50m! 

After the arrow is fired, the men then huddle around the target. If the arrow missed the target, the men would howl, chant and basically shout back at how bad the archer's aim was. On the other hand, when an arrow hit the tar­get, the men would perform a celebratory dance and sing the praises of the shooter.

We had no clue about the rules of the competition, but it really didn't matter. We really enjoyed it!