Pilgrimage to the Golden Buddha

Well it is Saturday, so Ed and I made a pilgrimage to the "Golden Buddha.  The Golden Buddha is a massive bronze statue of the Buddha which sits on top of a small mountain outside of town.  It is 6 km from town to the Golden Buddha, and a gorgeous day for a hike.  As we headed up the road we were treated to some marvelous views.

 

As we walked prayer flags fluttered in the breeze.  Each flag has a prayer written on it.  As time passes and they are dissolved the prayers are released to heaven.

 

 

We also passed numerous small shrines in the rocks in which offerings had been left by pilgrims.

After walking quite a distance the Golden Buddha finally came into view (it still looked quite a distance away, and the road was a steep incline with numerous switch backs).

Given that Thimphu is 1.5 miles above sea level and we were getting well above Thimphu the continued climb at altitude was a good work out.  I quietly gave thanks for my persistent walking program at home from the cancer center to the hospital (So now it does not seem so strange, does it people!)  After about an hour and a half of waking we arrived.

 

The statue is impressive in size.  If you look closely you will see the carvings of white elephants at the base which are larger than a man.  To give you a further idea of the scale, below is a picture of myself in front of the Golden Buddha (I hope this satisfies those sending me emails asking me to include pictures of myself.  Its hard to do when you are the one with the camera.

 

The walk down was considerably easier than the walk up.  There was one final adventure.  As we are staying in different locations I separated from Ed.  I somehow missed a turn and ended up in a part of Thimphu I was not familiar with.  The simple solution was to walk into a shop and ask for directions.  They called for a cab (60 Nu which is about 1$) which I had take me back to the hospital from which I walked back to the Yeedzin Guest House where I am staying.

So now I am sun burned and tired, but content and satisfied.  Time for a good dinner.  We are going to go for a change of pace and try and Indian restaurant.