We arrived to our hotel in Paro just after breakfast and a few of the staff girls came to our room to help us change. You can't show up to the town's biggest party in your western gear, so we dressed up for the occasion. Just a few chillups out on the town trying to blend in.
David wasn't feeling the gho steeze. The gho didn't seem to be feeling him either... his waist belt kept coming loose causing the whole thing to sag and unravel. Towards the end of the da when we were back in town, the whole thing came undone and David threatened to just wear it like a loose hanging robe. A young man stopped in the street to help tighten him up but David's orange and purple Clemson basketball shorts had fallen too low and the hem was showing below the bottom of his gho skirt. Zero fuks given at this point so Dave rocked it.
People thought it was the most outrageous thing they'd seen all year. A chillup in a gho is already a spectacle in itself, but his shorts hanging out the bottom?? That was just too much for them. These people couldn't stop laughing. And they don't pretend to hide the fact that they're all looking and pointing at you, they're just trying to keep from spitting doma all over themselves as they slap their friends to get their attention.
Paro town is packed for tsechu so we wander around to people watch for a bit after dinner. And we meet a man who could only be described as a wizard...
We interpreted this mystical encounter as a positive omen for the final day of the trip. The following morning Michael went home to Thimphu for work and David and I set off on our last adventure: Conquer the Tiger's Nest.
This would be my third time doing this hike, but each time we stand at the bottom looking up at what we're about to climb I still can't believe it. Tiger's Nest is probably the most photographed site in Bhutan but you simply cannot understand the structure's sheer defiance of gravity until you're here.
Our warm up hikes in Thimphu put us in a good place for this climb and we blazed up the first half. As we got further along the trail became congested with other tourists. There were plenty of hours left in the day so we decided to go big.
A small, steep footpath veers off the main trail zigzagging straight up. We followed.
Now this was a true Bhutanese hike-- none of this gradual business, just find the most direct route and scramble. Each time we would get to the top of the ridge there would be another one, with another distant hut likely to be filled with fascinating treasures and meditating monks. We climbed as high as our legs and time frame would allow us. The views of Tiger's Nest below made you feel like you were seeing a perspective that few people get to see. We drank our mate at the highest point and ran back down just in time to reach the temple before it closed. In those final, quiet hours of the afternoon we had the whole nest to ourselves.
We were starved and exhausted by the time we made it down. At the nearest shop we ordered ramen noodles and ten chocolate bars. Our taxi driver took us to a lady's house just as it started to rain.
She walked us around back to a seperate little building with a metal roof. Inside, our hot stone baths were steaming. The rains turned torrential as we eased into the near boiling troughs, melting into the sound of waterfalls on roofs.
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| David prostrating to a Channa Dorji shrine, his birth sign protector |
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| Tiger's Nest from above |
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| a distant mediation retreat |
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| the dorji |
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| top temple |
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| mateeeeee sesh above it all |
Brother, I am so damn proud of you for making this trip happen. My heart soars to see making travel and exploration a priority in your life. Travel can be brutal on the body but is oh so good for the soul. I am so grateful to be able to share this wild, fantastical place with you.These Himalayan memories will weave their way into our stories for the rest of our days.
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