Angkor Wat

The girls finally arrived late Friday evening after an exhausting two days of flying! After a good night sleep, we all headed off to the temples the next morning. The girls at Preah Ko temple during our first day visiting the temples Monk rushing to the temple

The following morning, we woke up to darkness at 4:15am, crammed into our Tuk-tuk at 4:45am and were off to see the sunrise at Angkor Wat. Unfortunately it was a very cloudy morning so it wasn't the most picturesque. Here is a picture of sunrise behind the temple.

Inside Angkor Wat - the temple is enormous!

Later that day, we took a boat ride on Tonle Sap Lake to see the sunset. As we were riding around the lake, various children and vendors tried selling us their goods. At one point a little boy and his father were behind us on their little canoe boat. We were all furiously taking photos of this boy while they slipped up beside our boat and he jumped on board. All of our bargaining powers left us and we paid this little boy $8 for a couple of sodas and a beer (extremely expensive for Cambodia)!

After we rode through two floating villages, we stopped on a floating shop in the middle of the lake to enjoy our wine and cheese and olive platter that we packed. We walked up to the third floor roof and opened up the wine. Then the clouds started to roll in and the wind started to pick up. Bernadette and I (the only native Californians in the group) thought that we should stay on the roof until the storm hit and then head for shelter. Good thing the other girls did not like that plan. We packed up our food and headed down stairs to absolute chaos. The wind was now whipping through the little shop and the shop owners were furiously boarding up the place and protecting all of their goods. The storm then hit hard - the wind and rain was so intense at times that I was a little afraid (I'll admit it - I am a California girl and it was scary!!). Obviously we made it out unscathed and were rewarded with an amazing sunset.
The impending storm

All together it was an amazing day shared with great friends and an unforgettable storm

The Faces of Laos

During my second visit to Laos, I fell in love with all of the Laotians. The people in Laos are some of the most generous and sweetest people that I have met in SE Asia. Rather than swindle you, they wish you good luck and help you whenever they can. And they are always thanking you even when you should be thanking them - Here are some photos of the beautiful people in Laos.

Day in Agra

After arriving to India, I booked a taxi down to Agra to see the sights. It was a blistering 42 degrees Celsius - over a 100 degrees Farenheit. We started off in Madura - which is the birth site of Lord Krishna (recognized as the supreme being in Hinduism). I was the only tourist there which was amazing as it gave the temple a very peaceful feel as everyone there was praying and admiring the temple. We then went further south to see the Agra Fort and Taj Mahal. I have never been haggled and harassed more in my life while walking up to the Taj Mahal. Everyone wanted to sell me something - a snow globe of the Taj Mahal went down in price from 2 for 100 rupees (about 2 US dollars) to 7 for 100 rupees. I really didn't want a snow globe - I didn't really care how many rupees it cost and I definitely did not need 7 snow globes of the Taj Mahal!! I then found this cute little India woman who took me under her wing while speaking to me in Hindi and gesturing who protected me from all of the vendors. She showed me where to buy my ticket and let me cut in line with her family! Not quite sure what she was saying to everyone but I think that she was telling them either that I was her long lost daughter or her personal photographer because everyone thought it was hilarious. Too bad I don't understand Hindi!!

"Baby Taj Mahal" - Tomb of I'timād-ud-Daulah. He is the grandfather of Mumtaz Mahal (the woman whom was the inspiration for the Taj Mahal)

Agra Fort

I loved the little monkeys around the Taj Mahal . . . until later that day at the train station I was attacked by a whole family for my bag of bananas!

The Taj Mahal -

Overall it was a great day and I have never been more thankful for an air-conditioned hotel room and a shower when I got home -

Delhi

Although Delhi is unbelievably hot and chaotic, I loved the people and the feel of the city. Here are some of my favorite pics -

These guys were very excited to have their pictures taken!!

Sunset over the mosque

I love all of the colorful saris that the women wear -

Gasa Weekend

This past weekend we had a three day weekend in honor of the death anniversary of Zhabdrung Ngagwang Namgyal. Zhabdrung is the third most important person in Bhutan history (behind Buddha and Guru Rinpoche). He is known for uniting Bhutan and building multiple dzongs throughout the country (including Punakha Dzong).

This was definitely my favorite weekend in Bhutan so far! We experienced hail stones (which are literally the size of small marbles). We saw the king and Je Khenpo (the head monk in Bhutan) at the Punakha Dzong. We drove an eight passenger jeep without four wheel drive on muddy roads along a cliff and survived. We made a new friend with our driver and cook, Ugyen. We soaked in the Gasa Hot Springs (known to have special healing properties).

I can't fully explain how amazing the weekend was - all I can say is that we had great karma and definitely contributed to the Gross National Happiness of Bhutan :-)

Punakha Dzong

The King is in the middle of the picture in yellow and Je Khenpo is on the right in yellow. We were not allowed to take pictures of the king so I stole this one off of the Kuensel website (one of the local Bhutanese newspapers).

Bhutanese lining up to receive their blessings

Me in front of the Punakha Dzong - 2nd oldest dzong in Bhutan

Ugyen - our faithful driver, cook and new friend carrying our rice up the hill to Gasa Village

Sunrise over the Himalayas

Little monks posing for the picture

Bhutanese friends (Samtin and Pema) who cooked for us the whole weekend!!

Archery - the national sport of Bhutan

Morning Walk

Our little apartment is about a 10 minute walk from the Changangkha Lhakhang. It is one of the oldest temples in Thimphu and was recently renovated in 1998. It is a perfect morning walk and very peaceful as well. Throughout the morning, locals walk up to circumambulate the temple while spinning the numerous prayerwheels. The monks walk up as they prepare for the monastic school that is also held at the temple. It is a great way to start the day and I will definitely miss this little temple when I leave Bhutan

View of the Temple

Prayer Wheels

View of Thimphu from the Temple

Weekend Market

One of my favorite things about Bhutan is all of the fresh fruit and vegetables at the weekend market. The market is held Friday thru Sunday and they sell the best produce at CHEAP prices!! If we need produce in the middle of the week we go to the Hong Kong Market although it is a little more expensive. Here are some pictures of the market –

My favorite vendor at Hong Kong market -

The Bhutanese love their chilis!!

Eggs, which are more expensive than in the US because of the recent bird flu outbreak -

Grain market - selling rice and cereals

Weighing system in Bhutan

Sunday Afternoon Hike

This past Sunday, the Physio Department Head, Sanga took us for a 6km hike with 3 other physiotherapists from the hospital. It was a gorgeous hike – it started off relatively flat (for Bhutan that is!!) and we arrived at a monastery about an hour into the hike. We entered the monastery and saw the footprints of a monk who prostrated so many times that the outline of his feet were etched into the wooden floor. One of the monks told us that he prostrated upwards of a 100,000 times - talk about dedication. We then sat down and had tea and snacks. The Bhutanese are serious about their tea – Sangay (a friend of one of the physios) carried it in a huge canister the entire hike!! After some snacks and tea, we embarked on the second part of the hike which was definitely more treacherous than the first half – definitely got my workout for the weekend!!

Karma, Sangay (carried our tea the entire hike!), Sangay, Sanga (our faithful, blind guide), Thinley

Wongduetshe Monastery

Bhutanese woman drinking

Little girl spinning the prayer wheel

Prayer Wheel

Me - loving Bhutan and my life here :-)

Meditation Class

Every Tuesday night, Lama Shenphen Zangpo hosts a meditation night at Deer Park, a center for art and contemplation. Lama Zangpo is an author of Buddhist texts and teacher/ mentor for new monks. This past Tuesday was the first time I have meditated and I really enjoyed it. I thought that it would be really hard and my thoughts would wander too much but it was actually very relaxing and therapeutic.

We started out with ten minutes of meditation and moved on to a five minute reading from a Buddhist text. The cycle repeated four times. I thought that ten minutes would seem like forever as I tried to clear my mind and focus on my breathing. However, it went by quickly. Maybe all the years of trying to clear my mind during Shavasana in Yoga helped -

After the class, I walked home and enjoyed the feeling of peace that I felt after my meditation practice. Later, the effects of my practice had worn off. However, when I saw Lama Zangpo at a local coffee shop yesterday (yes Thimphu is a VERY small town), I remembered my meditation practice and am looking forward to my next meditation session.

Paro Tsechu

This past Sunday, we went to the Paro Tsechu - a 5 day long festival that is in honour of Guru Rinpoche, the saint who brought Buddhism to Bhutan and the Himalayan world. That morning, Stanley and I went down to the market to buy a Gho (the men’s traditional dress) and get help putting on my kira. It was so entertaining! Unfortunately neither of us had cameras so we have no pictures to document the experience. There were 5 teenage boys dressing Stanley while he stood in a woman’s stall in the market. By the end of the experience, there were about 10-20 Bhutanese surrounding the stall watching as we were dressed by the locals. Here is a picture of me in my full kira -

A religious dance during the tsechu. The Bhutanese people believe that by attending a tsechu you gain merits and blessings.

The crowd watching the tsechu.
Monks watching the tsechu
In front of the dzong in my kira -

It is believed that turning a prayer wheel clockwise sends thousands of prayers into the spiritual atmosphere to cleanse negative karma for all sentient beings. Inside the wheels, Om Mani Padme Hum text are written on rolls of thin paper, which are then carefully wrapped and placed inside the prayer wheel. The six syllables of the mantra, Om, Ma-Ni, Pad-Me, Hum, are believed to purify the six negative emotions: anger, pride, greed, jealousy, desire/lust, ignorance while simultaneously engendering the six qualities of the enlightened heart: generosity, harmonious conduct, endurance, enthusiasm, concentration, and insight.

Bhutanese man wearing a gho and hand-made traditional boots with a kabney across his shoulder (Bhutanese men must wear the kabney to enter a dzong or political office).