Bhutan - November 2007
A Himalayan Kingdom
In November 2007 12 fabulous women from Australia, Paris, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, England, America, and Switzerland met in Bangkok before a thrilling flight through the Himalayas into the last independent Buddhist mountain kingdom.
The tiny Kingdom of Bhutan in the eastern Himalaya has successfully remained isolated from the outside world for centuries. Only at the time of the last King's coronation in 1974 was the first trickle of foreigners allowed in. Prior to the building of the road from India to Thimphu even visiting Indian dignitaries took six days on horseback to reach the royal palace. It still remains an isolated and aloof Kingdom and this last king, who had just handed over to his young son to reign for a short time before democratic elections, was keen to preserve its unique customs and traditions. Our visit to Bhutan, one of the most remote and tantalizing corners of Asia was timed for the last month before the ancient Royal family gave way to a democratic election.
Its history is a capsule of all that is mystical about the Himalaya; re-incarnate rulers who used black magic to defeat Tibetan aggressors, lama-saints who foretold the future and who fought demons opposed to the spread of Buddhism and civil wars between powerful district governors, or penlops, who laid plot and counter-plot in an endless cycle of strife and assassinations.
Nestled into the Eastern Himalayas, the Land of the Thunder Dragon is home to the most revered of all Buddhist sites, the Tiger’s Nest monastery, which clings to the side of a sheer mountain ledge about 3,000 feet above the Paro Valley.
Flying on Druk Air via Gaya in India we arrived in Paro and taken to the beautiful Uma Hotel for a sumptuous luncheon which spread into the afternoon. Not what we expected, we discovered the hotel had a New Zealand Chef and each mealtime was a difficult choice between Indian, Bhutanese and Western fare.
Meeting in the library for a Sfinx welcome by Buzz and Connie, we then had a wonderful presentation on the origins and purposes of a mandala by Alexandra Clarke who had brought crayons for us all and cut up card like a pie so we could all draw a piece of our own mandala. Cleverly Alex chose the middle piece on which she drew the Bhutanese emblem, the dragon, and the Sfinx name and date. Later this was presented to our guides and a request that it be hung in the Library of our hotel to commemorate our visit.
Our days were spent exploring Paro with two wonderful guides, one serious and one very funny man, taking in Paro Dzong, a large monastery fort, once the mainstay of Paro’s defences against invading Tibetans and often rival Bhutanese clans and the Paro Museum, both of which were beautifully maintained showcases of Bhutanese history, with armory, weaponry and textiles, and the oldest Buddhist temple in Bhutan, the temple of the Queen Mother and highly revered by all Bhutanese.
One day we took a 40 minute drive to the banks of the Paro Chu (river) for a picnic lunch. This was a most leisurely affair with plenty of time to soak in the beautiful Paro River valley, returning to the hotel early to enjoy the amazing spa facilities at the hotel or to shop. Both were inviting with exquisite jewellery and Bhutanese crafts tempting us, and the hot stone massages and baths available. Most of us managed to fill all of our senses by doing all of these things, and still with time to spare.
The highlight of course was our day at the famous Taktsang or Tiger’s Nest Monastery, 3-4 hours up the Paro Valley floor on mules without any reins! As Jan commented on the way up as the beasts trod a path only millimeters from the edge “this requires a whole new level of trust”.
Perched some 2000 feet or 600 meters above sea level and located high on a cliff overlooking, the Monastery site is believed to be where the legendary Indian saint, Guru Padmasambhava flew from Tibet on the back of a tiger to defeat five demons who were opposing the spread of Buddhism in Bhutan. The mules could only go so far and we still had about 750 steps from memory to climb to the monastery and there were many others on the road, pilgrims and other tourists. Half way into our time there everyone else seemed to magically disappear and the head monk, the Lama, invited us for a private audience with him. Amazed and delighted, we listened to him tell us through Tharchu, our guide and interpreter, that we were all sisters and he presented us all with sacred gifts of talismans and cords that he had blessed. The energy of sisterhood is the energy that he got from us, and of course, that is what Connie and Buzz have aimed to achieve with the Sfinx Women concept.
Because it was 11.11 we had planned a private remembrance day celebration at the monastery and the Lama requested that he join us, then insisted we all have photos taken in a group with him, and individually. This was absolutely more than we could have hoped for, and, when we debriefed the following day, it was a very emotional time with each of us having come to a deep personal realisation during our special and sacred time with him. Stopping on the way down to lay out a long line of prayer flags to fly in the wind and send our prayers to the four corners of the globe was another sacred moment in an already overflowing day.
Lucky to have the hotel’s lovely library as our meeting place, we used it for many presentations: we learned much from Yvonne Stucki-Vast on A Personal Approach to Wealth Management, we shared Joylina Gooding’s wisdom on Spiritualism, a session with Connie Schottky on Intimate Relationships followed by a heart meditation to connect with or attract your ideal mate and we created our 2008 Treasure Maps with Buzz and Connie, followed by a networking session one day.
On the last evening we were entertained by a troupe of local dancers and music giving us a taste of the old days of Tibet and Bhutan prior to enjoying a traditional Bhutanese banquet featuring the Kingdom’s speciality food and drinks.
The sheer beauty and timeless quality of this mystical land and its people captivated our hearts, and it was extraordinary to share this magical land with such outstanding women.