City girls in traditional costumes

On day 2, we visited 3 places of interest in all. In the morning, we attended the tsechu festival at another location, the Tashichhoedzong. In causal terms, I guess this is the government building, where the King and minsters work or have meetings in. Except that in Bhutan, these buildings (one in each major city) has a monastery in it. Tourist and locals will be able access the monastery part of the building but not the parliament side. 

Our tour package provided a set of local traditional costume for us to wear during our trip. We were given our set on our arrival. Still on day 1 evening, we bought our own set at a local shop! After the temple tours and before dinner, we went to the bazaar opposite our hotel. We probably started with the intention to browse or window shop, but eventually couldn't resist the lure of the vibrant fabric and the feminine feel of the traditional costume. So vain-pots-us had 2 sets to choose from for the rest of the trip! We were very excited and we wore the set from the agency to the festival on this (second) day. 

Here are some pictures as we arrived at the dzong and at the square where the ceremony was:

Do the locals get a lot of requests from tourists to be featured in their photos?  Will the girls remember us for many years to come?  Will they chance upon my blog one day?

The locals, such as this family, attended the ceremony for the whole day.  We lasted only 2 hours (till it got hot).  

At the square.  This section facing the entrance is for the king, chief abbot, and VIPs.  

Tourist section, on the left of the entrance.  The clowns, soliciting tips for posing for photos, were the fringe part of the festival, not necessary nor religious, but part tradition and part (probably) for the entertainment of tourists.  

Here are a few pictures of the ceremony going on; songs, dances, prayers, and blessings. 

This was the first picture that we took with Sonam, our guide.  He is young chap, only 26 years old.   A quick mental calculation told us that his mum is probably only a few years old than us?

One of the reasons this trip is memorable to me is due to the cultural exchange that took place.  Lili likes to chat with people, and so on this trip we learned a few things about the country and its people from Sonam.  Like most youngsters, he has anxieties and doubts about the future, about how much opportunities are there in and out of the country, to further develop his career and aspirations.  He's a very attentive guy and took good care of us throughout the trip.    

We left the ceremony at 10+, and toured the dzong.    

Our second stop was a tourist attraction, the Simply Bhutan Museum.  It's a showcase of the Bhutanese village, has a restaurant and few handicraft shops.  There's also the Garden of Phallus.  Here's the origin of the proliferation of the male sexual organ ornaments and drawings in the country: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phallus_paintings_in_Bhutan

And here's a more presentable photo out of the many that we took, ha!

Butter tea and rice cracker.  It's a snack, like a bun or bao that we eat in between meals.  It's what is served (free by organisers) at the festivals where the attendees usually stay the whole day.   

After hanging out at a local cafe till mid afternoon, we still couldn't do any trekking due to the drizzle, thus we visited the textile museum and bought some souvenirs at the stalls outside the museum.  For vain pots like us, the Bhutanese costume in itself is an attraction, and we kept "bio-ing" at pictures of the royal family, and the Queen in particular of course.   

That evening and night, Lili hanged out at Thimphu Square.  She wanted to make friends with the youngsters in Bhutan.  She said that she got a lot of add requests on WeChat from the locals, who were also seeking friends, especially foreigners, using some "nearby" function on the app.

Someone ever commented, that Lili and I are best friends, because other than one being an extrovert and one an introvert we are rather similar in character.  Well, can't say that this assessment is totally right, but we are definitely very comfortable with the others' "openness" and "closeness".   So while she "prowled", I "zen"..  Still, I secretly doubt the satisfaction that she can get from new friends.  The introvert speaking..