Okay so I didn't exclaim HAA (though it most certainly is HAA-worthy!) as we neared this part of Bhutan, but I did remark to my husband traveling in the car with me that the mountains here suddenly looked very different from the mountains I had seen so far during my two weeks in the Land of the Thunder Dragon. I even remarked that these looked like the mountains in traditional Chinese paintings, individual mountains, not the rolling, continuous mountain ranges I had grown used to seeing. "Are we driving in the direction of China? Are we nearing it? These mountains look unlike others in Bhutan", I said to my husband. I had not studied a map or asked about the location of Haa or done any reading on it before we set off. Anyway, I can't remember what he said in response to my question and I forgot all about my observation.
Half an hour later we are warmly received with traditional khadas (long white silk scarves) by our hosts and led into their quaint, beautiful, and impeccably maintained house. Haa gets very cold in the winter, and the houses are built to keep in the warmth. Made entirely of wood, decorated in traditional Bhutanese style with wood carvings and colourful frills and trimmings, the floor is springy and cushiony, lifted away from the ground as it is by probably a foot or more. We are treated to the famous richly coloured, shiny, chocolate brown Hoentoe or buckwheat dumplings, a speciality of this region. Hoentoe has more than twenty ingredients and happily for me these are completely vegetarian!
Between bites of the Hoentoe and during the conversation with our hosts I find out that the border with the People's Republic of China is as little as 30 kms away from where we are! Yippee! I feel elated that my instinct had been correct, that we had been traveling towards China, which is in fact quite close by to Haa Valley. However I am soon deflated when informed that Haa shares a border with Tibet, (which is admittedly technically China), and for this very reason has nothing to do with the mental images I had of the mountains of Guilin that I had seen in Chinese paintings. Tibet is a plateau and Guilin is far way. So much for my logic!
It had been a complete fluke that I had guessed we were near China. What had in fact prompted the question I put to my husband and struck me as different and interesting was the first sight of three distinctive and separate yet very similar mountains, that had I am told, drawn a delighted gasp of "HAA!" from the first visitors to this valley many centuries ago, and given it its name! I love this story of how this beautiful valley got its name - simple and beautiful!
The Lhakhang (monastery) Karpo in Haa Valley is under renovation. The living quarters of the monks around the temple are being rebuilt but the temple itself is open for visitors. Legend has it that while the idol of the Buddha in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple was being built, and when the body had been completed, a monk turned up with a Buddha head that fit perfectly on the torso! Having handed over the head, the monk apparently just disappeared into thin air! Another legend associated with Lhakhang Karpo (White Temple) tells how it got this name...... a sacred white pigeon from Tibet landed on the spot where a temple-monastery complex came to be built, which was given the name Lhakhang Karpo!
Driving around the valley, the buckwheat fields of pretty and delicate pinkish-peachish flowers flanking the road force me to stop and take pictures. Here is just one of the many I took.
As we drive between the buckwheat fields I get the feeling I seem to be seeing more traditional Bhutanese houses in Haa Valley than anywhere else I have seen in Bhutan. But then I have not seen much of the country, right? Anyway, the top storey of a traditional dwelling is reserved for drying chillies,
corn, hay, meat, vegetables. This top storey is covered by the roof but has no
walls and is open to the wind and air under the eaves. The bottom storey originally used to be
meant for the animals, but lately in the interest of hygiene and health the
animals have been moved out. In the old days however, the middle storey which was meant for humans remained insulated, sandwiched as it was between the animals and the
drying food!
So what are these prayer flags? When a relative passes away, prayer flags are hoisted in high, sometimes remote and difficult to access places that are also likely to be windy. The prayer flags are inscribed with prayers and chants to ward off evil, and to help the soul of the deceased to free itself. This is one of the explanations I have been given. I am sure there more....
Half an hour later we are warmly received with traditional khadas (long white silk scarves) by our hosts and led into their quaint, beautiful, and impeccably maintained house. Haa gets very cold in the winter, and the houses are built to keep in the warmth. Made entirely of wood, decorated in traditional Bhutanese style with wood carvings and colourful frills and trimmings, the floor is springy and cushiony, lifted away from the ground as it is by probably a foot or more. We are treated to the famous richly coloured, shiny, chocolate brown Hoentoe or buckwheat dumplings, a speciality of this region. Hoentoe has more than twenty ingredients and happily for me these are completely vegetarian!
Between bites of the Hoentoe and during the conversation with our hosts I find out that the border with the People's Republic of China is as little as 30 kms away from where we are! Yippee! I feel elated that my instinct had been correct, that we had been traveling towards China, which is in fact quite close by to Haa Valley. However I am soon deflated when informed that Haa shares a border with Tibet, (which is admittedly technically China), and for this very reason has nothing to do with the mental images I had of the mountains of Guilin that I had seen in Chinese paintings. Tibet is a plateau and Guilin is far way. So much for my logic!
It had been a complete fluke that I had guessed we were near China. What had in fact prompted the question I put to my husband and struck me as different and interesting was the first sight of three distinctive and separate yet very similar mountains, that had I am told, drawn a delighted gasp of "HAA!" from the first visitors to this valley many centuries ago, and given it its name! I love this story of how this beautiful valley got its name - simple and beautiful!
The Lhakhang (monastery) Karpo in Haa Valley is under renovation. The living quarters of the monks around the temple are being rebuilt but the temple itself is open for visitors. Legend has it that while the idol of the Buddha in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple was being built, and when the body had been completed, a monk turned up with a Buddha head that fit perfectly on the torso! Having handed over the head, the monk apparently just disappeared into thin air! Another legend associated with Lhakhang Karpo (White Temple) tells how it got this name...... a sacred white pigeon from Tibet landed on the spot where a temple-monastery complex came to be built, which was given the name Lhakhang Karpo!
Driving around the valley, the buckwheat fields of pretty and delicate pinkish-peachish flowers flanking the road force me to stop and take pictures. Here is just one of the many I took.
Driving back from Haa to Thimphu we take a different
route from the one we took on the way up. This time we drive all the way up to Chelela pass, down the other side of the mountain to Paro, then down to the
Chuzom (the confluence of the Paro River and the Thimphu River), from where we take the road back to Thimphu. (Check out my earlier post to read about the Chuzom at http://himalayangembhutan.blogspot.com/2014/08/hello-bhutan.html)
Chelela Pass is cold, windy
and cloud covered. Hundreds of prayer flags stand fluttering amidst the ghostly
clouds. This is the highest point on this road. The Pass closes down in the winter, hence our eagerness to make the return journey using this route while we are still in the summer. On a clear day I imagine the view down from Chelela Pass must be phenomenal!
So what are these prayer flags? When a relative passes away, prayer flags are hoisted in high, sometimes remote and difficult to access places that are also likely to be windy. The prayer flags are inscribed with prayers and chants to ward off evil, and to help the soul of the deceased to free itself. This is one of the explanations I have been given. I am sure there more....
After Chelela the road
winds itself to the other side of the mountain and steadily downhill to Paro. We stop by the roadside to take in a bird's eye view of the Paro River and the airport. For the first time we see how narrow the valley is and how tricky it must be to manouver between and around the mountains in the top left corner of the picture below and land a plane on this airstrip!
Tempted though we are to see a plane come in to land, we don't linger too long here and are soon on our way home ..... I need to get back to unpacking the hundreds of cartons lying around waiting for my attention, and more importantly to prepare for a royal visit to the Residence the next morning!!!!!
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