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14/02/2013
Got a bangin breakfast in the morn at the hotel before Kharma and Jimmy nocked on for me in the helped me get dressed in my goh. Today was the day I fulfilled my dream of seeing the Tigers Nest monastery. And I was gonna do it in traditional dress, boom shiva lol. The day was a cloudy and I was praying it weren't gonna rain or snow. We then drove back to Paro and started the trek. We came through the woods and there it was! Perched on the cliff all the way up in the distance. We decided to take the short cut and beat the crowds and made it to the half way point in half an hour, which he said was record time. There were ponies at the bottom for the old foggies who couldn't hack the climb. Jimmy manned the motor and didn't come with us, but me and Kharma had a good craic on. After weeks of trekking in the Himalayas this was a breeze.
The tea house was like a long corridor surrounded by many glass windows, we grabbed a coffee and chilled for a while as well as got some snaps of us with the monestary in the background. Kharma said the cliff even looked like the face of the Budha who built it in the paintings, how fitting and retrospective I thought!
On we went till eventually we curved around the corner and there it was! Absolutely 110% breathtaking. The most beautiful thing I've ever seen. It was perched on the rock with all the prayer flags handing across the drop into the valley. We following the pathway around and got some mega pics before going inside. No cameras were allowed. We went in many different rooms and Kharma kneeled down and said a little prayer and offered some money in each. Rummour has it that the second Budha turned one of his wives (yes he had two) into a tigeress and flew up on the back of her. With the help of local spirits he then built the monastery and then prayed for 3 months, 3 weeks and 3 days. Bumped into yoko who was also just on the shortest tour, cheapskate! We went back down and got lunch in the tea house.
On the night we went to a farm house for some skran were there were some other Chinese tourists in there. Tried some locally brewed wine, one which was clear, and the other which was an egg wine and coloured, both served in a tiny tray. It was f***ing mingin, and it was apparently up to 70% in strength. The egg one had horrible bits in it, and they insisted on filling it back up every time I took a sip. Also tried some red tea where we hoyed in some cereal things which floated on the top. Bizarre. The food was good though and I again got some really good pork. Explored the farm house after and filled in a feedback form on the tour and sorted a small $20 tip for Kharma and Jimmy.
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