I didn't know my girls could dance (let alone do the hokey pokey in a farmhouse in Bhutan)

Day 13: Punakha to Paro

Every morning when Dawa sees us, he says "Did you have a good sleep?" There is something endearing about it. We did have a good sleep as there isn't too much else going on in Punakha after dinner. It is good we were rested because there wasn't much chance to get rest on the drive to Paro. There is only one highway to take you there and it is the bumpy, windy road we drove yesterday. Part of the reason it is like that is because they are undertaking this huge project of widening it. The other reason is that rocks often fall down into the road. We didn't see any accidents on the way up, but on the way back, we saw a truck that went off the side of the cliff. At the beginning of our stay here, when Dawa introduced Kasha to us, he said "He is a very good driver." We didn't realize how important that was until we took this road. He really is quite skilled at hairpin turns. At one point, a car came by with lights, followed by a few other cars, and Dawa told us it was a member of the royal family, the king's grandparents. I hope their driver is as good as kasha.

When we got in the van, I noticed that we had big waters (a liter size) instead of the smaller ones we had the day before. I asked Kasha, "Big water?"  And in return, he said "Long drive" with his typical smile on his face. He wasn't kidding. We had three hours back to Thimphu and then another hour to Paro. But of course it took longer as we made stops along the way.

First, we stopped at a different overlook (one with a tea house and hotel) overlooking the Himalayas. Our timing was great as it the clouds hadn't moved over yet and it wasn't overrun by other tourists. Next, in Thimphu, we stopped at the local Dzong, which is the oldest in the country. It is called the Trashi Chhoe Dzong and dates back to the 11th century although there have been a few fires and rebuilding since then. This structure seems to be around since the 1600s. It wasn't as large as the one in Punakha but it was still impressive.

We arrived in Paro for lunch which was some great pasta and pizza. Just kidding. It was rice. But before they brought us the food, I was about to get up from the table and said, "When they come to take orders, I will have the spaghetti bolognese."  The lunch was good, though and they did call the noodles pasta so I will count that as a win.

Our afternoon in Paro consisted of a trip to the Bhutan national museum and then the Paro Dzong which is more commonly known as the Rinpunf Dzong. It was built in the 1640s. The Dzongs are starting to run together. They all have the place for the government and the place for the monks. This one had great views of the valley. I also read that part of the movie Little Buddha was filmed here. I have never seen it so I can't recommend it. But if it is on Netflix instant, I will add it to my queue.

There were some great signs along the highway from Thimphu to Paro, urging safety. Our favorites were:
- Keep your nerves on sharp curves.
- It is a highway, not a runway.
- Life is a journey. Complete it.

The highlight of our day was undoubtably dinner. And not just because it was an opportunity for more rice. Dawa asked us yesterday if we wanted to try a meal at a local farmhouse. As these tend to be the best experiences we have, we said yes. And that is what we did. We arrived at the farmhouse (it looked pretty but,,even in the dark) shortly after 7, climbed the steep stairs to the third floor, removed our shoes and took a seat on mats on the floor. At first it was only three of us (and Dawa and Kasha) and the woman who seemed to be in charge whose name I will spell phonetically as Youngza. She first served us butter tea, with rice to put in it. It was MUCH better than what we had in Thimphu. After we had that, some other people came in. There was a guy who said he was American, but who was born in Singapore and now lives in Seattle. He had a guide too. Then a bearded Russian guy came in, who didn't speak much English. Next were a mother and daughter from the US. The mom lives in Denver and the daughter in Philadelphia. They also has a guide. All three Americans were actually staying at the farmhouse.

Youngza then passed us each a bowl of rice (shocker!) while the guides for big plates. It was followed by pots of yummy things to eat with it...green beans (almost like peas) with cheese, chiles with cheese, noodles with beef. It was all so good. Maybe the best meal we have had here. A little spicy but not too spicy for our western tastes. While we ate, the Denver mom peppered her with a bunch of questions from which we learned:
- The house had been in her family for generations. Likely back to the 17th or 18the century.
- 4 generations currently live in the house - her grandmother, her parents, she and her husband, her brother and sister and her 3 month old son.
- They are farmers and mostly do rice.
- Youngza lived in India a bit, working at a call center for British Telecom. She prefers what she is doing now as she can set her own hours. Her grandmother watches her son while she works.

Before dinner, one of the guide/drivers who was older, did a blessing. He was a former monk. After dinner, Denver mom got their guide, whose name was something like Tenley, to sing for us. He was doing the national anthem and former monk joined in. Former monk then kept telling us we all had to dance. Seems it is a tradition that after celebratory meals, it is customary to dance. So the guides sang and we all danced in a circle. It was kind of like you took three steps in one direction with your arms waving a bit out by your sides, turned and did the same thing back in the other direction. We weren't very good (or at least I wasn't) but no one seems to care. The guides were then encouraging us to teach them a dance. The in,y thing that came to mind was the hokey pokey. So, yep, that is what we did. We did the hokey pokey, putting out whole self in, our whole self out , put our whole self in and we shook it all about. Everyone joined in. It. Was. Hysterical. Never in our lives did we imagine we would be doing the hokey pokey at a Bhutanese farmhouse. Dawa said, "I didn't know my girls could dance!" Our answer was, "We can't. That's why we are doing the hokey pokey."

We then went through the same drill with songs. They sang a few folk songs and asked us to sing some. Umm...we didn't really have any and somehow we ended up singing Row, Row, Row Your Boat as a round. Then Denver mom suggested Kumbaya. While our Bhutan counterparts seemed to enjoy it, we were a little embarrassed we didn't have anything better to rally around. The evening ended with all of us doing a farewell song and dance, which sounded a bit sad.

Tomorrow we are going to be attempting the climb to Tiger's Nest (or as I called it earlier this week, bird's nest). I think Lynette...I mean, Lallande...said tonight it is at over 9,000 feet. Tough on oxygen deprived lungs. And to make it tougher, poor Dawa won't be joining us. He has been fighting a sinus infection and didn't want to risk getting us part way there and nor being able to finish. We will have a replacement guide, which is sort of like getting a substitute teacher for the big test. Send good thoughts. We will need them.

Things we learned:
- The king went to school at Oxford and Cambridge. He is 33 years old.
- Entrances to houses always face east.
- The era of the future Buddha is compassion.