Mar 3 - There were a few choices about how to schedule the day, so we decide to start by going back to the Punakha Tshechu for the morning performances. This time we show up only at 8:55 so are able to get a ticket quickly. This time, the ‘tourist seating area’ is already set up, really just a marked rectangle on the stone floor of the plaza. From this side we get a good view of the massive bodhi tree at the northern end.
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After this, the time frame goes back to the beginnings of Buddhism in Bhutan (800’s CE), and there are some important dances concerning Guru Rinpoche. As a Buddhist master, he could convert himself into different manifestations according to what he needed to accomplish. Some were peaceful and others violent. There are performances by eight different dancers, each dressed as a different manifestation.
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We had to get moving after 11:00, as there was a lot of driving to do.
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Just before Thimphu, pass by Simtokha Dzong on the opposite side of the river valley. It was originally built in 1629 by Zhabdrung, the first construction of its kind in Bhutan (a combination fortress-monastery). It was attacked by the Tibetan army but was never successfully held by them.
We repeat everything we’ve driven since our first day here, ending up in Paro just north of the airport. The hotel here is elegant, but like a tomb, as we are the only guests.
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