Bhutan Day 2- Phunakha and the Fertility Dzong

 We woke up in Timphu the next morning finally refreshed after an actual nights sleep! After our buffet breakfast we headed to the mountains.  After our hike the day before this mountain excursion was spent in a car and not by foot.  On our way to Punakha we drove over the Dochu La pass.  At the top if it was a clear day you can see the Himalayas but our guide said he has only been able to see them twice before in his life.  There is no smog but there is condensation creating a haze.

The Dzong at the top of the pass.  

I cant remeber how many of these mini prayer Dzong's there were (they have religious artifacts and scripts burried underneath them) but there were around 100 I believe.  

After about 1.5h of driving we made it to Punakha which is in a valley.  2 Rivers intersect here and they call one the female river (the more tame river) and the other the male river.

The Punakha Dzong behind us with the intersecting rivers in front. 

Highschool girls doing their schoolwork  

Entrance to the Phunakha Dzong... steep steps to climb!

After Phunakha we continued driving to another town where the fertility Dzong is located.  This is where we stopped for lunch as well.... At first I didnt know we were heading to teh fertility Dzong so after looking in a gift shop I turn to my parents and go "there are some really phallic looking objects in that store, I cant figure out what else they could be other then penises?" to which my dad responds "they probably are penises" and he was right... 

note the paintings on the wall... not sure if you can read it but the sign for the restaurant says
"RKPO Restaurant, Cum Bar" 

They really don't leave much for the imagination... 

the fertility Dzong is the one on the top of the hill in the distance... Mum and Chencho on the walk over. 

At the fertility Dzong... mum was a little nervous with me there!

On the way back we stopped at the botanical gardens which the King's mother set up.  It was more like a conservation forest but still a nice area to walk around.  Sorry no pictures but I did find a swing set to play on... this time I did not get kicked off for being too old!