A day in Phobjikha Valley

We woke up to a view of a spectacular isolated valley.  We are in a very remote part of Bhutan, and it really feels that way.   It’s rural, with farmhouses and fields, no roads, and a small population.  The Aman lodge is well-located, with a view both of the valley and of the very old monastery perched on the cliff just ahead.

We started today with a tour of the monastery.  We saw where the monks live three to a cell, and watched as the students hurried off to their lessons.  We then went on the “nature hike” which was an hour’s hike on relatively flat terrain, with a nice view of the great valley.  We had tried to switch plans and talk our guide into a more aggressive hike, but apparently one doesn’t do this at the last minute, and I’m afraid he has judged our (perhaps just my!) capabilities and felt the nature hike was better.

It was a glorious day, so Guy requested that our lunch be served outside, which was a brilliant idea.  They set the table at the best view spot, and we lunched to the mooing of cows with the “house dogs” sprawled napping besides us.

We did another hike this afternoon.  This was a “test hike” because there is a hike tomorrow we have been considering that is a shortcut to the next lodge.  It would cut one hour of driving, which is very appealing.  But the guide says it is difficult, and he was not encouraging us to do it.  So we agreed to do a hike of similar difficulty this afternoon for us to gauge the difficulty, and him to gauge our abilities.
The guide took off straight up a very steep slope on the mountain.  Within 5 minutes I felt that I had failed the test!  Each step, at about 10,000 feet above sea level, is pretty challenging.  I slowed my pace to try to manage, but after about 40 minutes straight up, I called “uncle” and conceded that I would not do the shortcut hike tomorrow.

The next casualty was Lenny, who decided that although he was handling the climb just fine, the steep descent, which was on loose rock, was more risky that he wanted.  Spraining an ankle on a hike in the middle of nowhere would be a problem.

The next domino was Pascale, who was doing fine on the climb, but was also nervous about the long descent.  The guide said it would last three hours on a steep, rocky trail that is barely a path.

So now poor Guy was the only one prepared to do tomorrow’s shortcut hike and, clearly outnumbered, he abandoned the idea as well.  We’ll spend the necessary time in the car to get to Punaka.

Late afternoon Lenny and I went off for a unique treat: a stone-heated bath in the local village.  We were guided there by an Aman staff member, walking over dirt roads, through turnip fields, and up and down ladders over fences to arrive at a small bamboo shed with a bath for two in it.  The bath was a wooden rectangular tub filled with water and some kind of healthy herb.  It was heated with stones from a fire next to the hut.  The spa attendant left us while we got in the bath, and then returned to open the bamboo doors so that we could see the view as we relaxed.  It was a funny experience. The two of us just barely fit in the tub together – it’s definitely an experience for couples, or really close friends! 

-- Donna