So day two was a Sunday which started harmlessly enough with a visit to a local farmer market. Was similar in many ways to ones I've been to elsewhere with the exception that cows and other animals were walking around and their was a fair amount of cow and horse poop on the ground, typically right near the fresh food! As was normal we saw plenty of color and great opportunities for photos...
No this is not child imprisonment, he was just on the other side of the fence...
Two of my friend looking to buy some spoons...
When I took this he actually moved his hat to the proper front facing way but I made him put it back like it was originally. He is bringing the gangster look to Bhutan!
After the farmers market we took our first real hike. From 2,000m up to 2,900m or so (approximately 9,514 ft) to begin acclimating to altitude in a real sense before our trek started the next day. We visited one of the most famous areas and most photographed called the Tigers Nest built on the side of a sheer wall. Incredibly it burned in the 1980's and they rebuilt it. We were able to walk all the way there and go inside. But given it's highly protected status no cameras, cell phones or other devises were allowed inside this temple. In fact a dress code was highly enforced. No tights for the women, no shorts, no pants with holes in them etc.
And yes a photo of me just so you know I was actually here.
This hike was mostly up stone steps after about the 1/2 way point. There was actually a rest stop with tea/coffee that we chilled at for a while before finishing the upward climb. Then on the descent our guide actually had someone bring us a meal that we ate like a picnic on the side of the mountain.
For dinner we actually went to a local farmhouse and ate with them. It was quite neat to see the house, made essentially out of packed mud and a little bit of structural support. It was well insulated but smelled like a farmhouse. The owner of the home had in the past cooked for the royal family but has since retired and his kids were grown up, leaving just 4 people living there. We found out the average family in the urban areas has 5 kids whereas the countryside is more an average of 7. We all enjoyed our time there but wished it was a house that still had a range of kids living there so we could really experience it. Here is a photo of some of my friends with the husband and wife who shared their home with us...
After this long day we start our true trek through the mountains to another city on Day 3, so more to come.
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