Poor photo, but it proves that they paint the woodwork after it is placed on the building |
Laundry day in the apartments |
Local guide Kinga shows the scarf he must wear when visiting the Tashichho Dzong/fortress, which houses both the secular and religious offices of government |
South side of Tashichho Dzong (17C, restored and enlarged when the 4th king moved the capital to Thimphu in 1962) |
Roses still blooming in October |
Tashichho Dzong with the national flag on Bhutan |
East side of Tashichho Dzong where the first entrance is only for the king |
The king's house is not far |
Across the Thimphu River are the National Assembly (47 members based on population) and the National Council (20 members from 20 districts plus five appointed by the king) buildings |
The portal through which we entered |
Mahakala, the wrathful protector of Buddha is in red over the stairs; others are unknown |
Sarp Lhakhang/Chapel façade; the chapel was part of the original 17C dzong (KSS) |
The chapel has mythical beasts supporting beams (KSS) |
Garuda is located on the corners of the chapel |
The 17C utse/tower |
The 17C Dukhang/assembly hall |
We could only take photos on the veranda of the assembly hall, with murals of an astronomical almanac and Yama holding the wheel of life |
The hanging textiles seemed to act as lampshades |
Detail of a hand-painted column |
Tamiko waits outside the assembly hall |
Kent spins the prayer wheels |
The prayer wheels |
Back in town, we passed the main entrance of the Changlimithang Football Stadium |
We spent some time at the Changlimithang Archery Ground; archery with a traditional bamboo bow is the national sport |
The scarves hanging at the waist apparently indicate target hits |
It is amazing that the target is 145 m/476' in distance |
The competitors at the target end did not seem worried about being hit by an arrow |
Oh, we can see Buddha Dordenma from here |
I believe there were two teams of four each at this end; when it was their turn to be the target end, they kept pointing out the target and yelling instructions to teammates |
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