My daughter woke up feeling better this morning, which was good news to start the hectic day involving a hike to the Tiger's Nest, probably the most recognized monastery in Bhutan. The breakfast was Indian continental fare, so we feasted on puri and potato curry, gobi bhajji, in addition to toast, corn flakes and by now my favorite drink black tea.
We went on a 20-min car ride to the base of the Taktsang Monastery (actual name of Tiger's Nest) trail. We were apprehensive about how the kids will react to the hike. My 6 year old daughter held up surprisingly well and walked up all the way up and down the 6 km trek (one way). My 3 year old son meanwhile didnt take well to the horse dung littered along the way and wanted me to carry him. We managed to overcome his initial resistance and convinced him to walk along, distracting him with some impromptu games whenever he started whining. We packed the essentials for a hike with kids, but that made the bag an additional burden. In hindsight, almost everything we packed was used, so no regrets on that front!
My wife and I alternated between the kids to keep them entertained, as they are not at an age where they can appreciate the natural beauty around them that is hard to see anywhere else in the world. We wound through the pine forests and with breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains in almost every turn. There are horses available to ferry people halfway up the trail where there is a big prayer wheel. The horses are well trained, but we decided to trek the whole way up, earning quite a few raised eyebrows and praises from passers by, and we were actually faster than a few of them. We stopped for an occasional drink from the water bottles the guide carried for us. Beyond the halfway point, there is a cafeteria, where we got some biscuits, tea and coffee. It took us about 2 hours to reach this midway point.
After the stop over there, I decided to buy an orange juice bottle, which was one of the best decisions I have ever made in life :) It was a master stroke for the second half of the trek, which is even harder with rugged steep terrain. The orange juice acted as the reward for my son to walk a further 100m each time. The trail was mostly rocky paths laid crudely in the mountain, and the mud mixed with water and dung can be quite slippery in places. About an hour and a quarter from the halfway point, we came to a viewpoint from where the Tiger's Nest seems almost within arm's reach. It offers a great photo op and this is where most of the photos in the internet come from. However, due to the geographics, we have to take a flight of steep stairs down to a 100m waterfall, before climbing up steeply a few hundred steps to the monastery. Apparently, the trail was improved after a fire at the monastery in 1998. There were 2 deaths in this part of the trail in the recent past, prompting the authorities to install railings. Climbing down with kids on the narrow stairs, I cannot imagine how scary it would have been without railings, especially those with children.
It started drizzling just as we entered the Tiger's Nest. This was a monastery founded by the second Buddha, Padmasambhava, born on a lotus in Srilanka, who apparently flew here on a tiger from Tibet, hence the name. There is a cave inside the monastery where he had meditated for 2-3 months and laid out a prophecy foretelling the arrival of the unifier of Bhutan. There are 3 sanctums inside, including one of a Spoken Buddha. You cannot escape feeling the calmness and peacefulness inside, to the extent my daughter started meditating!
As we finished our rounds, the rain had intensified, as did the kids' hunger that is directly proportional to their crankiness. Rains so far in Bhutan have not been more than a mild inconvenience, as "intense" showers hardly make you drenched. It is just the start of the rainy season, so I could be wrong, but we decided to commence the trek downhill in the rain without an umbrella. My son started acting up and wanted me to carry him. A soothing doze of Milo didn't seem to calm him down, so thus began the trek back carrying him in my arms. It didn't take long for me to become exhausted at that altitude, even before I reached the top of the stairs near the viewpoint. Our guide Karma (a very common name in this country) didn't think twice to start carrying my son and walking. He has a son of the same age, so he definitely can relate to what I was going through I guess. He was so agile through the steep portions of the trail that I had trouble keeping up with him carrying my child! We ended up alternatively carrying my son all the way down. I was so thankful that he didn't insist on being carried on the way up! We stopped for lunch at the cafeteria for some decent vegetarian buffet (apparently, it is the same dishes here every day, but tourists don't have to worry about that point).
In all, it took about 4 hours up and 2.5 hours down including the midway stopovers, at the end of which I was sure about 3 things:
1) I was incredibly proud of my children for trekking on their own
2) There is definitely something divine about the place that you can only feel when you are there
3) DO NOT under-estimate the trek when you are travelling with kids.
Our guide told us an interesting story that every time somebody does something naughty in the vicinity of the monastery, it rains in the area. A part of me couldn't stop wondering how things would be if a similar thing applies to Chennai, maybe a hurricane every day!
After the exhausting hike, we did a quick tour of Paro downtown, with a stop at the vegetable market to pick up some local delights (like chilli and cheese of course) to try back home. A Bhutanese dinner with rasmalai rounded up what was an amazingly lovely trip of Bhutan that I would highly recommend everyone. When I think about the trip, some things are just meant to happen in life :)
We went on a 20-min car ride to the base of the Taktsang Monastery (actual name of Tiger's Nest) trail. We were apprehensive about how the kids will react to the hike. My 6 year old daughter held up surprisingly well and walked up all the way up and down the 6 km trek (one way). My 3 year old son meanwhile didnt take well to the horse dung littered along the way and wanted me to carry him. We managed to overcome his initial resistance and convinced him to walk along, distracting him with some impromptu games whenever he started whining. We packed the essentials for a hike with kids, but that made the bag an additional burden. In hindsight, almost everything we packed was used, so no regrets on that front!
My wife and I alternated between the kids to keep them entertained, as they are not at an age where they can appreciate the natural beauty around them that is hard to see anywhere else in the world. We wound through the pine forests and with breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains in almost every turn. There are horses available to ferry people halfway up the trail where there is a big prayer wheel. The horses are well trained, but we decided to trek the whole way up, earning quite a few raised eyebrows and praises from passers by, and we were actually faster than a few of them. We stopped for an occasional drink from the water bottles the guide carried for us. Beyond the halfway point, there is a cafeteria, where we got some biscuits, tea and coffee. It took us about 2 hours to reach this midway point.
After the stop over there, I decided to buy an orange juice bottle, which was one of the best decisions I have ever made in life :) It was a master stroke for the second half of the trek, which is even harder with rugged steep terrain. The orange juice acted as the reward for my son to walk a further 100m each time. The trail was mostly rocky paths laid crudely in the mountain, and the mud mixed with water and dung can be quite slippery in places. About an hour and a quarter from the halfway point, we came to a viewpoint from where the Tiger's Nest seems almost within arm's reach. It offers a great photo op and this is where most of the photos in the internet come from. However, due to the geographics, we have to take a flight of steep stairs down to a 100m waterfall, before climbing up steeply a few hundred steps to the monastery. Apparently, the trail was improved after a fire at the monastery in 1998. There were 2 deaths in this part of the trail in the recent past, prompting the authorities to install railings. Climbing down with kids on the narrow stairs, I cannot imagine how scary it would have been without railings, especially those with children.
It started drizzling just as we entered the Tiger's Nest. This was a monastery founded by the second Buddha, Padmasambhava, born on a lotus in Srilanka, who apparently flew here on a tiger from Tibet, hence the name. There is a cave inside the monastery where he had meditated for 2-3 months and laid out a prophecy foretelling the arrival of the unifier of Bhutan. There are 3 sanctums inside, including one of a Spoken Buddha. You cannot escape feeling the calmness and peacefulness inside, to the extent my daughter started meditating!As we finished our rounds, the rain had intensified, as did the kids' hunger that is directly proportional to their crankiness. Rains so far in Bhutan have not been more than a mild inconvenience, as "intense" showers hardly make you drenched. It is just the start of the rainy season, so I could be wrong, but we decided to commence the trek downhill in the rain without an umbrella. My son started acting up and wanted me to carry him. A soothing doze of Milo didn't seem to calm him down, so thus began the trek back carrying him in my arms. It didn't take long for me to become exhausted at that altitude, even before I reached the top of the stairs near the viewpoint. Our guide Karma (a very common name in this country) didn't think twice to start carrying my son and walking. He has a son of the same age, so he definitely can relate to what I was going through I guess. He was so agile through the steep portions of the trail that I had trouble keeping up with him carrying my child! We ended up alternatively carrying my son all the way down. I was so thankful that he didn't insist on being carried on the way up! We stopped for lunch at the cafeteria for some decent vegetarian buffet (apparently, it is the same dishes here every day, but tourists don't have to worry about that point).
In all, it took about 4 hours up and 2.5 hours down including the midway stopovers, at the end of which I was sure about 3 things:
1) I was incredibly proud of my children for trekking on their own
2) There is definitely something divine about the place that you can only feel when you are there
3) DO NOT under-estimate the trek when you are travelling with kids.
Our guide told us an interesting story that every time somebody does something naughty in the vicinity of the monastery, it rains in the area. A part of me couldn't stop wondering how things would be if a similar thing applies to Chennai, maybe a hurricane every day!
After the exhausting hike, we did a quick tour of Paro downtown, with a stop at the vegetable market to pick up some local delights (like chilli and cheese of course) to try back home. A Bhutanese dinner with rasmalai rounded up what was an amazingly lovely trip of Bhutan that I would highly recommend everyone. When I think about the trip, some things are just meant to happen in life :)
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