We spent the next day and a half exploring the town of Thimphu- going shopping, visiting the giant sitting Buddha that is mostly completed on a hilltop above town... And eating a combination of Bhutanese food and the American items we had all been craving on trail; specifically, pizza, burgers, and French fries.
We also visited a traditional paper-making operation, which was really interesting. They take a local plant called Daphne, cook it, and grind it to a paste. Then they mix it with water and use a screen to collect a layer of it, which dries to become a sheet of paper. This can have colors or dried flowers added to it, and it forms a beautiful product that looks like a cross between tissue paper and parchment. Today they still use this paper for all their important cultural and government documents.
The coolest part of our Thimphu experience was our 'cultural evening.' We went to the Hospitality and Tourism school and watched a series of traditional dances performed by a student group. They had dances and costumes to represent traditions of each part of Bhutan, including a dance of the horsemen in our region... The very same people still working today, that we met and got to know during our trek!
After the dance we went to the home of Tusker's Bhutan contact person, for a traditional Bhutanese dinner and some great conversation. We met three generations of the family, all of whom were lively and social. And the food was great!
Finally, on our last morning in Thimphu we went to the Art school - a wonderful place dedicated to continuing the traditional arts of Bhutan. We saw incredible examples of embroidery, painting, sculpture, woodcarving, and more. It was inspiring to see such dedication and incredible attention to detail in their craftsmanship.
Finally, we packed ourselves into the van, where we twisted and bounced our way along the road for the hour-long trip back to Paro... the town where it all started two weeks ago. It seems like a lifetime.
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