Near the trailhead into Jigme Dorji National Park described in my last post, there were several farmhouses.
Farmhouse at Dodina
Farmhouse at Dodina
Even when a home has power, it rarely has any large appliances like a washing machine or a refrigerator. The clothes get washed by hand and hung out to dry.
Laundry and Piping
Note the pile of long pipes and the coil of hosing in the foreground. I don’t remember ever seeing a well. Most rural dwellings received their water via some combination of above-ground piping. Hosing that extended for a half mile was not unusual.
There were also several chorten in the vicinity–large
Walk-thru Chorten
and small. Travellers supposedly earn merit by walking through the above chorten.
Middle of the Road Bhutanese-style Chorten
Within a 1/4-mile there were several more of these chorten.
Middle of the Road Chorten
Note the children playing to the right rear of the chorten
One had some prayer flags nearby, but the others didn’t. Note the little stones sitting on the white shelf below the red stripe.
Chorten and Prayer Flags
I assume these are the equivalent of the stone-slab mani in Tibet which usually are inscribed with “Om Mani Padme Hum” or sacred formulas of the three protective Bodhisattvas (Chenrezi, Jampelyang and Chhana Dorje).
Bhutanese-style Mani?
A mani wall typically connects multiple chorten where the stones are piled inside the chorten as in the above photo
Mani Wall Chorten
and along the wall as in the photo below.
Mani on the Mani Wall
A nearby pedestrian covered bridge across the Wang Chhu is the beginning of a path to Cheri Goemba.
Covered Bridge over Wang Chhu leading to Cheri Goemba