Adventures in Bumthang Part 1

Road Block near home (Chukha)

BCF retreat or “summer camp”

We had long taxi rides from Thimphu to Gaselo, where we stayed in Brick’s little paradise.  He fed us dinner, we sipped some K5 (Bhutanese Whiskey) and slept.  Paradise turned hellish as we were plagued by mosquitoes during the night and did not get much sleep. Two days later my arms looked like pin cushions.

Taxi adventures:  the driver who was supposed to take us off the mountain left for Thimphu early in the morning.  We managed to rouse another driver in order to meet the Bumthang bound bus.  We picked up BCF’ers along the way and arrived at the River Lodge for a late dinner that turned into an even later evening.  Dancing, Red Panda beer, Gin and tonics, wine and CC brought us into the wee hours of Canada Day.

I did not relish getting on the bus again however we were headed to a very special place:  Kunzang Choden’s home Ogyon  Choling in the Tang Valley.  She is a Bhutanese author who wrote the novel I teach in class 9.  Her family manor is steeped in Bhutanese history and the visit was certainly worth the few hours in the bus.

Bumthang Valley and BCF crew

Nancy Strickland and Kunzang Choden

The next day we spent discussing our experiences and going over necessary protocol and logistics for the next 6 months of our stay in Bhutan. 

It was so much fun to see the “eastern crew” and to meet up with everyone to share experiences.