The other side to TashichhoDzong

I never knew The Dzong had a short cut all the way up till Zilukha road until I had to take it myself on Ped. Day. It was just 5 minutes walk up the hill unlike the 20 minutes all the way around the golf course, in front of the high court, along the dzong entrance... Hah!

Safety 106

Dear Blog,

I wake up every morning thinking and telling myself that today is going to be a good day and nothing is going to try and stop me but then somewhere along these lines as much as I try, I fail to start the day in the way as I hoped it would.

Firstly, in the morning driving to work always seems to be challenge for me because it not only tests my patience of the crazy drivers out there but also how I cope with while I am driving at the same time. In the last year, after I got my license and started to drive, I’ve come across various types of drivers:

1.       Those who drive without giving any signals

2.       Those who stop immediately without any prior warning

3.       Those who pull over on the main road last minute

4.       Those who talk on the mobile and drive with one hand

5.       Those who go at 20kmph

6.       Those who open the door to spit out doma

7.       Those who stop to drop passengers blocking the road

8.       Those who turn in the middle of the road

9.       Those who drive through no entry zone

10.   Those who are washing their office car in the middle of the road

I could go on and on with my list of annoying drivers I meet every day on my way to work. I’ve almost had an accident about 3 times , for instance first time I was on the roundabout and a car was coming from the right side, he did give any signal to go right so I carried on and all of a sudden he came straight turning towards my direction where I stopped immediately shouting from the window “where is your signal?” and he just took out his tongue out of embarrassment. The second time I was going home towards motithang, after crossed the double turning a woman was coming out of her house gate and came straight on the main road instead of waiting for me to pass first and then entering the main road. The third time, it was at night when I was coming up Changangkha road where a mini van threw me off to the rough road as he was coming at a high speed that too downhill and  taking up 80 percent of the road. Luckily, on all these instances my reflexes were pretty quick to swerve off the road to a safer side.

Not to sound bias or critical but I’ve noticed that most of the time Taxi drivers are labelled as very reckless drivers. I’ve not only seen but experiences as well, they not only endanger their own lives but others at the same time. Oh! I wish RSTA or the Traffic Police would do something about these growing number of scary drivers in Bhutan...

Thin Red Line

The burning red line from behind the clouds

Brightened up the entire blue sky

It was already evening as they drove in silence

With a familiar song playing melodiously in the back

She tapped her feet to the rhythm

“How strange” she thought!

She felt alone sitting right beside him

No conversation, every word misunderstood

The silence meant nothing

But it brought a bigger hole in the heart

Hours later

Sudden laughter hid the remorse

Words were slowly exchanged

And this was all over

As night slowly crept in...

A Beautiful Dream

Finding nothingness in this search
I quench for the last sip
are things meant to be this way?
Dreams,
To what I clenched tight
Blurry and merely illusions
As reality kick in
Clocks start ticking
For I am Wide awake
Wondering...

In times of hazy judgement 
One can see the light
But not the way...
Dreams are but forseen future..
For night and day are logical thoughts
Sleep comes when the minds hazy...

Hazy minds need no distraction
For they see a different kind of light
Logical thoughts too seem to fade
As daylight distinguishes from the night
Sleep is for the old man
who has lived many years to see
For I am only a budding flower
A flower when spring finally wakes

The seasons are strange
Life some offers yet death comes after,
Budding flowers bloom in plenty
Fragrance enchants the air
Yet hail of shower stones the elegant
Flowers by plenty and the air filled with rot...
Be weary of the seasons
They change like the clouds dark yet heavenly...

Banish Fear and Ignorance
For the tide has hit the shores tonight
Welcome the unwelcoming
Release the mental thoughts
As stars dim underneath these clouds
Even silence is slowly swallowed
One moment after another
Dark and Husky shadows of light
As the flames from the candle dies...

Fear is for the brave as ignorance for the wise
Both shapes a soul
the tides are ashore and many to come in haste
For the tides need no gesture of welcome 
Nor did it ever know silence like the calm stars
The flames may die but the ashes will remain 
Embedded in the sands of shore
and the tales of flame the tides shall carry
a hope of silence for these restless tides...

Such like the tales of sorrow briefly washed along the sea
No permanence will it ever know
As fishes do not live to see
No glory in death not glory in living
The colorful canvas paints itself red
In tales of woe yet to be told...

Such is the joyous tragedy of life
the birds sing to the funeral
the dogs bark to the shadows
the breeze blows through a fire
the truth no one knows
if the fishes could speak and the sun could rest
impermanence would just be another lie...

If lies could be told
the rays of heaven speak blasphemy
As sen seek the truth and life does forsee the hidden path
Fire only replays the role left to burn
"As ashes to ashes
Dust to dust"
The golden words remain to b spoken
As winds carry the last sound from the dying conch
Through it be a message of hope...

How far does thee seek?
The realm hidden beneath all beauty
For the fulfillment of the bread when eaten
To the staleness of the yeast untouched
Everything else whispers silence
When truth seems to break and heal
Ans the winds of change come in...

I seek no truth to life
I seek no fountain of happiness
For the lead dried and decay
the winds carry me and the ponds embrace me in circle
I seek not the way nor the path
I remain covered with dirt
For a day will come
When the path find me...

Denying Truth

A strong wind swallowed us up in the air
swirling high, feet above the ground
I try to reach out to you but I was numb
All I could feel was the sudden climb...

As I opened my eyes
to a blurry silhouette
staring straight at me
A dark 2 am it was
I hid under the blanket

Lights switched on
Everything about me was shiver
Sweaty palms and feet
I was afraid to close my eyes

Vivid images from words
I look beside me for comfort
everything was still and unmoved
Tears swell, heart was pacing
I breathe for air

"It's all in the mind, there is no one, easy"
He said to me as if he knew it
I couldn't close my eyes
So waited for minutes to pass by
For dawn would break eventually
And then everything would be okay...

There is a truth to it:
"When we sleep we let lose our souls to wander"
We are incapable of this very control
over our minds and our body
lifeless we remain
to the truth beyond us...

The Universe and Me

This feeling...
The emptiness of a whole solitude
Heart falling in a matter of seconds
Suddenly trapped in a powerful wave
Moments disappear into this disease
Slowly eating every part of the body!

Simple things complicating life
The seed of love falters away
Truth buried deep within the sands
and
Life is beautiful for my own good.

The full moon and it's gravitational pull
I let it serenade me
weaving my thoughts together
unfinished and unraveled
It all collapsed helplessly.

Love is a wildfire
It burns so quickly
making darkness an unsung melody
refusing to applaud
The voice my tragedy
Ruining everything I love,

How do I  Love?...

First Week of April 2014

Earlier in March I didn't bother much to even wake up in the morning to go for my daily jog/walk/run as it was super cold still. But with April, I thought the morning would have warmed up more but in vain the cold pierced through my ears the first day, froze my hands all the way up and back down but with the week passing by it got better. I started the day at 6:30 so the sun was kind enough to warm me up and with slight jogging and running my body got warmer. The past few days I have been going to Sangaygang and it is not so bad at all. The first lap up to the Takin is the hardest especially for beginners as it hits the calves and shin of the leg but after that the slope is rather gradual and easy. Till you reach up to you just enjoy the view and keep walking.

Here are some of my favourite pictures from this week i've captured while walking to Sangaygang from my phone (Samsung Galaxy S4).

View of Thimphu City from Sangaygang, Motithang

Bend with Snow capped Mountains of Phajoding

My first glimpse of the snowy mountains in April

Morning Dawn

Motithang and the Minister's Enclave

The Enchanting Forests

View from one of the pit stops during my morning jogs