We were hungry after arriving on our delayed flight, so after meeting our new driver, we headed directly to Sherab Dema Homestay for lunch, driving up increasingly narrow rural roads. On arrival we were seated in a open room with a wood stove and offered black tea with milk, plus puffed rice (popcorn like!)
Lunch was a set menu of buckwheat noodles, wheat noodles, potatoes, (very) spicy chili cheese, chicken (with bones), pumpkin soup, red rice, and my favorite, fried dumplings. Served family style and our guides ate with us – there was a ton of food!
After the meal, we were offered Ara, a whisky-like wheat liquor. I has an earthy sweetness and a light floral smokiness, unusual but pleasant.
After lunch we got to try archery and lawn darts!
Our next stop was Kurjey Lhakhang, a large temple complex. The ornate interior features Guru Rinpoche surrounded by one thousand brass statues, apparently in a cave with his body imprint after meditating for two months. Lots of other Buddha sculptures, incense, and nearly every surface was painted, carved or draped. We couldn’t take any photos inside but the grounds and interiors were gorgeous. We had to remove our shoes to step inside the temple spaces.
At the end of that visit, it started raining so we began the drive to the hotel on a very winding, bumpy, single lane road. On the way, we stopped at Mebar Tsho, or Burning Lake, near Tang Valley, where the revered saint Pema Lingpa discovered sacred treasures in the lake while keeping a butter lamp lit in his hand. Eric braved the ladder down to the lower rocks but I stayed up above enjoying the scent of pine trees after the rain.
We had some lovely valley views on the drive but the 25 mile journey took us almost 2 hours!
Once we arrived and handed over our bags, our guide found the museum caretaker so we could do a tour before it closed for the evening. The 4 story museum was surprisingly good, with 22 generations of family artifacts to pick and choose from on display. Examples: face masks, agriculture equipment, weapons, manuscripts, textiles. Lots of info on trade routes with Tibet (salt), China (silk), etc. The first two floors were originally for grain storage (hiked up the hill from the valley below) and the upper floors were for living. All the levels were accessed by some very steep stairs!
After the museum we all went for a short walk through the village and around some upper fields. One of the local women came with us and answered our questions about the different crops and life in general in this area.
The next morning we had a surprise dress up which involved several complicated foldings of fabric. Unfortunately, I was too small for the outfit Thuji brought for me, so she let me wear her new kira instead. Thankfully we were close to the same size!
All dressed, we headed for Ura village. Along the way there were lots of farm plots through Tang valley and marijuana growing wild on the roadside. It was a very sunny morning and although we enjoyed the farm views, the 3 hour drive on a very rough road in restrictive clothing wasn’t the most pleasant. At least the rain held off!
Our destination was the once a year Ura Yakchoe Festival but there seemed to be some ignorance about when the festival actually started. We arrived a little after noon and tents were still being set up with a few other fellow tourists looking a bit bored. We eventually found out that the Chana Dorje statue would be brought to the temple around 1pm, so we had some time to explore the temple and have a drink at an outdoor stand. I had another Druk 11K and Eric got an orange Fanta. An Indian family was feeling generous with their spicy snacks, so we had a few handfuls of some tasty rice puffs as well.
The festival procession was wild, lots of smoke and noise.
We all walked through the gates into the temple complex where there was a ceremony in the courtyard. While the participants proceeded clockwise around the temple to the entrance, I noticed a few women pouring singchang, a local brew, into people’s outstretched palms, so I tried it out, mild and not too boozy. We left for lunch once everyone entered the temple.
When we arrived for lunch, the place was deserted, apparently our hosts had to be called back from the festival! This time we received Ara as a welcome drink before the meal and we were encouraged to take a healthy sip and then have it refilled. Lunch was a set menu (again) with plain noodles, red rice, spicy potato chili cheese, spinach, and carrots. We also learned that Ara is pink because of the addition of sandalwood. The two men seen below were from France and we would run into them every day for the rest of the trip!
Our driver took a different route back that was still curvy but generally smoother. Mostly views of deep valleys covered in pine trees, with the occasional village and ravine with some rushing water.
Our agenda had us going to Centennial Park, but since it was the opposite direction of Ura, our guide said it would have involved several more hours more in the car… really, this day’s agenda was too stretched. Instead, we got to stop at Bumthang Brewery to try their Red Panda witbier which we both enjoyed. Despite having a tap at the counter, only 500ml bottles were available.
We had a quick stop to explore Jakar town, but it looked pretty run down and there wasn’t much to see, so we went to to hotel.
In retrospect, I think we should have skipped the festival and focused on the nature park, as that would have been less total driving and aligned better with our interests.