Today we had an action-packed day ahead of us – set up similar to our day in Gangtok with the morning on Buddha-heavy and the afternoon more profane.

We kicked the day off with a visit to the National Memorial Chorten, a Buddhist stupa and one of the most visible landmarks in town. From here it was on to Buddha Dordenma – a giant ~51m tall bronze and steel Buddha statue on the slopes of a mountains with a large temple (with more small Buddha statues) underneath. The place was magical – and there were also nice views of the surrounding valley to take in.

The highlight (well – for me) of the day was our next stop – Simtokha Dzong. This fortified monastery – originally built in the early 17th century – is the oldest zhong to have survived as a complete structure. On the inside it features many elaborate carvings and colorful murals. We got here, when a ceremony for a group of school children was going on – to get blessings for an upcoming exam. We joined their queue as we – in file – made our way through the various side chapels.

Things turned more secular during our visit of the Jungshi handmade paper factory – to see the production of traditional paper and then an opportunity to buy artist work and handcraft. Lunch was had in a local restaurant in downtown Thimphu – including the realization that Sichuan Pepper here indeed is the real mouth-numbing thing.