Attempted trip in the snow

Today I set out with a group from the nonprofit where I'm doing my internship to look at a site for a conservation project. We planned to drive to a site about 2.5 hours from Thimphu, but the trip was very slow going from the combination of snow, ice and slush on the highway. After about three hours on the road, we decided to turn around since the roads got even more dicey, and we wouldn't be able to make it to our site and back that afternoon. Even though we didn't make our destination, I was thrilled to appreciate beautiful views and meet more fascinating people.

This site at the top of the highest pass on our journey today was built in 2004 as a memorial after the Bhutanese army drove terrorists out of the country. The pass is at about 10,200ft.

We got out of the van and walked a bit when the road got really icy.

This was a pretty path where we stopped for a break on our way back to Thimphu.

The clouds were much thicker over the pass on our way back into town.

Buddha statue

We visited the Buddha statue yesterday, which is up on a mountainside above Thimphu. As you can see, it's still under construction -- I think someone told me that the area under the statue will be a museum. The statue is somewhere between 50 and 60m tall (164 to 196ft), and offers beautiful views of the surrounding valleys.

This picture shows the valley where we live -- you can just see some white buildings in the center of the photo -- we are up maybe 500 meters or more from there. We'd really like to hike to the top of the highest ridge you can see here -- apparently it's only about a 6-7 hour hike from where our apartment is, and the views are incredible.

What is this fruit?

No, this is not a rhetorical question or a fruit lesson; I actually have no idea what this fruit is. In fact, it might be a vegetable, but the little spines all over it make me think fruit. I decided each week I'll get some fruit or veggie I'm not familiar with from the weekend market and learn how to eat or cook it. The miscalculation this week was that I do not yet know the words for "fruit" or "vegetable" in dzongkha, so the only thing I was able to find out from the woman I bought it from was its price.

So, if you know what this fruit (?) is, send me an email or leave a comment letting me know, and I'll send you a postcard. And yes, I tried searching online for a while, but no luck. Maybe I'll take it to the office staff tomorrow and ask...

Park downtown

Since I'm now downtown most days for my internship (which I'm loving), I've been stopping by this park on my lunch hour to soak in the sun. It's called the Thai Pavilion, and features this structure and a religious building that's not in the picture. There is also a little playground and lots of sitting areas.

What we're eating

When we eat at restaurants in town, we often have Ema Datsi (chilis and cheese), which doesn't even taste very spicy anymore, with red rice. Sometimes we eat meat, either pork or a dish called Chicken Chili, which is not chili as you would think of it in the US, but oh-so-delicious. Definitely one of the recipes I will be learning while we're here.

Mostly we cook at our apartment, where we make a lot of stir-fry type dishes from recipes we find online. Two of my favorites so far have been a hot and sour Chinese eggplant dish and a Thai red curry recipe. The fact that they're both quick and easy makes them even better.

I've also made two batches now of home-made yogurt. Although it involves a bit of time upfront, the taste and health factors make it worth the effort. I also attempted to make pizza just using our stovetop burners (we don't have an oven). It looked okay (those are tamarillos, chilies, and onions on top), but needs some major sauce adjustments and a thinner crust next time around.

Inside a restaurant

We stopped for momos (delicious stuffed dumpling-like snacks) at this restaurant last weekend. I love the intricate woodwork on the piece around the counter. Many restaurants have a structure like this.

Inside the weekend market

This first photo gives you an idea of how big the weekend market really is -- although this is just one part of one half of the first floor. Each vendor has their own corner spot. We bought some tamarillos (aka tomate de arbol or tree tomato), which come from a town about two hours from here. With some sugar and yogurt, they make delicious smoothes. We also bought blue ginger (aka galangal, I think), although I thought it was just plain ginger at the time.