Bhutan

Largest Sitting Budha under construction

 A Couchsurfer at a bar in Thimpu, Bhutan where tobacco is illegal and alcholhol is prohibited on tuesdays. The photo was taken in a dimly lit bar on tuesday.

Monks playing a game which could be described as a mix of darts and horseshoe

Bhutan

Legend has it that a great Buddhist guru (Rinpoche) flew on the back of a tiger and meditated in a cliff near the town of Paro for three months. Today a stunning monastery clings to the cliffs commemorating the location.

Small stupas (figurative representation of Buddha) some containing remains of loved ones.

Dzong (Bhutanese fortress)

Nun lighting incense in preparation for arrival of royalty

 

 Cycle Rickshaw driver, Boo, and I in Delhi

Darjeeling and Sikkim

 After crossing the several hundred miles of pancake flatness from Dhaka I met the himalayas. During the 7000 foot ascent  to darjeeling, an abrupt shift in altitude, thickness of air, and topography was accompanied by a change in the people of the area. Contours of faces, Buddhist prayer flags, and steamed dumplings conjured memories of Mongolia more than those of India. I had entered Ghorkaland, a section of the Indian state of West Bengal whose residents are more closely related to Nepalis or Tibetans. Further into the Himalayas, I reached Sikkim, an independent monarchy until 30 years ago and now India's least populous state.

Harvesting of Darjeeling tea

My Surly Long Haul Trucker

 Orchids along the roadside in Sikkim

Chhath Puja (Hindu Sun Festival)

     After my day spent crossing the Bangladesh-Indian border I made my way across the Bramaputra to Dhubri, Assam, India. To my surprise, from a distance the Riverbank was pulsing with color and sound. I had serendipitously timed my arrival to India for the Hindu festival of Chhat Puja (sun prayer). Walking into town I was being passed by men with baskets full of offerings to be placed on the riverbank until morning.

            I was awoken well before sunrise by the beat of drums but otherwise silence. Exiting my hotel I joined throngs of Hindus solemnly following the drummers to the riverbank where the atmosphere became cheerful with free chai being passed out and music blaring over loudspeakers.

            The festival culminates at sunrise when baskets of fruit and floating candles are offered to the god of sun by dipping them in the river.

 

My Surly Long Haul Trucker Crossing the Brahmaputra River

Myself and a friend I met at the festival at a Sikh temple

Border

At least in the memory of the border staff, no tourist had crossed at this Bangladesh-Indian Border and the crossing was an experience in itself as no one on either side had experience handling of non natives. A day was spent riding the dirt trail between either side until I was finally allowed into India and given a tour of the town by the local chief of police.

Man at controversial Indo-Bangladeshi Barrier waiting to be let into India

 Children along the trail leading to the border

On the trail to the border

Bangladeshis waiting to cross into India

Bangladesh

Starting in Dhaka, I began my journey to Kolkata. Bangladesh was a place of endless smiles, often surrounding me en mass around my bike, and charming back roads through rice fields.

A daily meal for me: roti and curried vegetables, lentils, or chicken

evening in Dhaka

A common fashion for older men: henna died hair

A typically curious array of faces as I stopped to ask for directions

I started my trip by joining in Dhaka's Critical Mass