Trip to Bhutan: Tiger’s Nest Hike

@ Tigers Nest

The 3^rd day of our trip to Bhutan was hiking on a mountain to reach Tiger’s Nest Monastery. Taktsang Monastery hangs on a cliff and stands above a beautiful forest of blue pine. The hike to reach the Monastery is tiring but when you reach there it’s like heaven and you feel like you are @ cloud 9. The monastery seems to appear and disappear in and out of the trees and the mists while trekking up. It is said that even cat is at peace on top.

Takhtsang Monastery playing hide and seek between Clouds

There were prayer flags all over the route to Monastery. These are blessings on the land, a way to sanctify a place in nature, and the higher we hike, the more prayer flags appear, until it seems, the entire sky is strung with long kites of red, green, yellow, blue, and white flags, the pattern repeated again and again, by the hundreds and thousands—a million fluttering prayer flags across the rocky path, and then across the open chasms of the Himalayas.

Cute

Entire Journey was full of ups and downs, first you go up and up and up and then down, then a bridge and then again up. Bridge is between two mountains and after crossing the bridge we have the Monastery.

The return journey is much faster, but equally dramatic. When we were coming down, there was a little bit of rainfall so we were slipping all the time. We had to maintain our pace and balance at the same time. We met lots of people on the way, there was a foreigner singing “Ye dosti hum nahi todenge” song. Then there was one who had her Bday and also the one with whom I took picture-the beautiful one.

Anna

After Monastery, there was another Monastery-a 7^th century one, normally it’s a lot to say about monasteries, but unfortunately there was nothing much about this one. But outside Monastery our Photographer had a conference call, which was something interesting. When we were coming out, we had a conversation with a family and our chatter box started his speech, the dialogue turned so interesting that it lasted for more than 30 mins and kept on going and going. Since half of our crew was waiting outside, so I interrupted the meeting, even then a guy was so moved that he escorted photographer to the car so that they can still talk on the way out. It’s really great thing about our photographer.

Maaji

The FIGHT

There is a known fact that every organization/team/group/company goes through 3 phase.

1.       Grouping

2.       Fight

3.       Regrouping

Our crew also passed through these phases, 1^st in train, we grouped together, and then in restaurant we had a really cool fight, thanks to Bhampi and Anna and kick to Pahadi. Then in last we regrouped. I think this much info is enough here. Will visit Thimphu in next Blog.