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Eight Chortens, River Punka Tsang and the road to Thimphu/Punakha.
Legends relate that Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, the unifier of Bhutan as a nation-state in 17th century, met a small boy named Wangdi (वांग्डी) playing in the sand on the banks of the Punak river and was moved to name his new dzong ‘Wangdi‘. While the name of the town was later changed to Wangdue Phodrang (Wangdi’s place), local people still refer to the town as Wangdi.
Small stores near the village center
After touring the Wangdue monastery, we frolicked around the little town until it was time for the bus. Remember that it is very important to book bus tickets in advance since they get full pretty fast, especially on weekends. There are few (sometimes just 2 or 3) services from Wangdue to Thimphu and the next option, i.e. shared taxi, is expensive.
Wangdi bazaar. Very noisy, crowded and full of nice smells.
Radak Natshang is a 17th century temple near the bazaar. This temple is dedicated to an ancient warrior king and there is a large collection of helmets, arrows and shields in the anteroom. The caretaker family lives on the lower floor while the temple is housed on the upper floor.
Taxi stand, Bus stand and space for general use
We had lunch at a dark shack adjacent to the bus stand. It was a large house probably consisting of several families. There are couple of such simple eating places around the bazaar and the options are limited. We had simple Nepali style rice and lentils (daal bhaat) with a generous serving of lime pickle.
Bridge across the Punak Tsang chhu at the immigration post. The dzong is on the hill behind.
All Bhutanese people carry a National Identity card with them. Our travel permits were checked again and the bus was let to pass on its way to Thimphu. This was the end of our little but fun filled 2-day excursion: Thimpu – Punakha – Wangdue – Thimphu. We visited the temple of Divine Madman, the grand Punakha monastery, got blessings from Bhutan’s highest Buddhist monk and saw the scenic Wangdue monastery among many other things.
Byebye Wangdue! Last view of the beautiful dzong.
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loved the first pictures..
“loved the first pictures..”
read as first picture.
Thanks Arun!
I loved reading this post..charming and quaint village
Thanks Lakshmi!
Amazing snaps and good narration. I like the landscape in the first snap and the view of temple in the hills last snap most.
Just thouht of reminding you to visit my blog also.
Thanks Rajesh
The whole valley is grand!
Nice!…So wats happening in Cannada? no traveling?:-)
Hi Ajeya, unfortunately no travel at the moment. Firstly I am busy at school and secondly I have no money (bigger reason)
Oh Man I so like to frolic as well,lol. Great pictures, very interesting. What type of stuff do they sell in these little shops, I bet you it cool stuff you can frolic with,lol. great post as usual.
So a shared taxi is expensive? What is the definition of expensive in this case? And yes, I like the first picture, with the cascading hill towards the river. And I like that immigration post, I suppose it is one of the most rural ones on the planet.
Hi LIW,
Good question. Perhaps I should include the prices too. Bus trip from Wangdue to Thimpu cost Rs. 72, while the same journey would cost Rs. 200-300 in a shared taxi. The actual immigration post is not in the picture, but yeah, it was a tiny one (office for 2 or 3 people)!
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Oh, wow… these are amazing photos! I would love to go to Bhutan. Interesting that there aren’t a ton of buses. I wouldn’t have thought it would be so important to reserve tickets in advance.
I’ve been enjoying your comments on my blog. Thanks so much for visiting! I’m reading through your blog now and it’s just wonderful.
Welcome to my blog Erin and thanks for commenting! I’m glad you are enjoying the travelog.
Wow! The first and the last pics are awesome! Just curious, but how much did the whole trip cost you in Indian Rupees?
Hi Amit! Rs. 1,200 a day is a very good estimate per day. My average expenditure per day was Rs. 1150 and we never spent money on private taxis or swanky hotels.
The first picture looks like a postcard. loved it. I can never get tired of reading your series on Bhutan. Lots of cool information.
That symbol of fertility is a little bit more direct than our Shiva lingas:)
Thanks Vamsee!
Oh indeed, shivlinga is quite subtle isn’t it!
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