My last day in Paro was very special. I spent the day at the festival watching all the dancers in costumes and masks. The festival was held in the Fort, which is spectacular in normal times. It is a holy festival with the monks performing the dances.
There were eight different dances with unique masks. I don't remember them all, but a few were: the black hat dance, the buffalo dance, and the skull dance. You can imagine how colorful and amazing it was to watch them.
The crowds were difficult. I had to tell one lady from the UK to chill out. She was concerned that people were going to sit in front of this one group. By the time everyone was seated, the group was 5 rows back. It was hard to fit all the people in the Fort and everyone was craming in. I guess you can always fit one more in.
Most of the locals were there to see the King and Queen. It was unusual, but they did show up for half the day. Yes, I did get to see a lot of Royalty this trip: King, Queen, Mother Queen, two princes, and one princess. I feel very special.
Everyone sat crossed legged. Most of the tourists ended up standing in back because they couldn't last with their legs like that. Interesting that it did not bother me. I guess my time at Kopan Monastery in meditation has built up my legs.
The rest of the festival is held outside, so it is not so crowded.
I sat with a group of local people and they were so sweet. The one little girl was so beautiful; I kept taking her picture. They kept offering me food. I wasn't sure what the food was so I graciously declined.
The Bhutanese people are beautiful, but their teeth are terrible. They chew this red root nut wrapped in leaves. Their teeth are always red and most have a mouth full of decayed teeth. It must be habit forming, because they were all chewing it.
Tonight was a farewell to Palden and Numgay. There were so willing to indulge me; most of you know I can be high maintenance. I probably won't ever return to Bhutan; I think it was beautiful, but not the dynamic country like Nepal.
Namaste, Paula
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