Weekend Market: Being a Saturday, the weekend market was open, so Peep and I, accompanied by Pema, the housekeeper, went to see what they were selling. It just so happened that both the driver and housekeeper had the same name, even though the driver was male and the housekeeper female. In Bhutan, newborns are named with one or two given names, and most can be used for either males or females. Also, they do not use surnames, so it can be difficult to tell what gender a person is and to whom they may be related just by knowing their name.
The morning market was crowded with people trying to get the freshest food. The market is open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and offers many fruits and vegetables, as well as Yak’s meat, for sale. They also sell some household items and clothing.
Downtown Thimpu: We spent the remainder of the morning walking around town and eventually made it to the Memorial Chorten. A chorten, also called a stupa in other countries, is a monument to the deceased. The Memorial Chorten is very famous and many people visit it throughout the day to pray while circling it in a clockwise direction, always keeping the chorten on the right. This is probably why they also drive on the left side of the street in Bhutan.
Private Temple: We returned to have lunch with our hosts and then went with uncle to his mother’s house. His mother has a private temple on her property, built by her and her children. Being private, we were able to take pictures inside this temple, whereas it is forbidden in all public temples. After meeting his mother and receiving many apples taken from trees in her yard, we continued on a short driving tour of Thimpu.
Takin Preserve: After returning to our temporary home, we went with auntie to observe Bhutan’s national animal, the takin, which is the largest member of the goat family, in a small preserve in Thimpu. The preserve was built by the king to house the takins, which normally roam high in the mountains and are normally only seen in the winter months, when they descend in search of food.
After viewing the takins, we continued up the road to a communications tower, where we got a good view of the city below. Then it was back home for dinner before retiring for the night.