Travel day today as we started making our way back to Paro. We backtracked on the same dismal road. This time, in addition to the road work, pot holes, mud holes, people, horses, cows, dogs, and even yaks on the road, we also hit snow! This is apparently unheard of here, but we seem to attract unseasonably cold weather wherever we go. Because of the snow and very slippery driving conditions, we did not stop in the valley of the black-necked cranes (which have not...

Today on our way to Punaka we stopped at the mad monk's temple. It's named after a carousing monk who defied all of the "acceptable" religious things to do and chased women and drank a lot. However, people came to revere him for the miracles he performed and for showing that religion is not just about "show". In the temple we were blessed with a bow and two penises - one wooden and one ivory. Baren women here believe that if they sleep in this temple with the t...