Khuruthang Gompa

↑ Khuruthang Goempa – the building looks like a woman’s face, doesn’t it?

A Gompa (गोम्पा) is a Buddhist place of learning, lineage and meditation. The pictures in the post here belong to the Khuruthang Goempa. It’s design is similar to some other Gompa’s I saw in Bhutan – a geometrical mandala, a large statue of Buddha and surrounded by a number of stupas. This Gompa is located at the center of this new planned city.

↑ Khuruthang Gompa – A monk unwinding the water pipe.

After a mostly sleepless night as described in the previous post, I woke up early in the morning and went out to explore the city. The sky was cloudy and the place was covered in a thick fog. An occasional a ray of sun pierced through the clouds, suddenly lighting up a small area on the street. The town wasn’t big – you could walk its perimeter in about an hour – and that’s what I was upto while my buddy snored peacefully.

↑ The large prayer wheel

I watching men unload groceries and produce from large trucks and women sweeping the areas outside their door while birds flew around making incomprehensible calls. Khuruthang Goempa looked nice from a distance – especially in the picture above where it looks like the face of a woman. Very nicely decorated – with an eyeliner, necklace and even a crown.

↑ Prayer Wheels

Apart from the young monks cleaning the premises and running around with their long robes that kept slipping off, there were a couple of old people who were spinning some prayer wheels. There was a nice smell of fresh incense and an occasional chime of the bell.

↑ Khuruthang Goempa, monks cleaning up the monastery grounds

I came back from my walk, woke up my friend and prepared to leave. We wanted to go to Wangdue, but since there was no direct transport that morning (except taxi), we boarded a bus at 8 am that would take us to a village called Metshina. We’d figure out what to do next from there.

What we didn’t know was the surprise that awaited us on the way… 🙂
(oh I love suspenseful endings.)