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Experiencing The Final, Fire-Laden Ceremony Of The Kharchu Dratshang Drupcheen in Jakar, Bhutan

Gallery

I love good fortune. While we had some days with rain for our 2013 Bhutan Photo Tour, we had some good fortune as well.

Having previously been to the Namkhe Nyingpo Goemba (Monastery) above the town of Jakar in Central Bhutan, I knew it as a great spot for sunset photos. After a day of trouncing around the countryside our group gathered in our trusty van and headed up the small, winding road (this describes almost ALL Bhutanese roads, by the way) to the monastery, hoping for a break in the clouds just at sunset.

What we were greeted with instead was a parking lot full of cars. Monasteries in Bhutan don’t have a lot of cars because the monks don’t drive much, if at all. We came to find out there was a retreat going on and that the next day there would be a ceremony in the courtyard. I’ll have more on the indoor ceremony we found that night in another post as it was a unique experience (we were allowed to take photos during the ceremony inside the temple, which is usually not allowed).

At the appropriate time the next day we headed up the hill again and watched as the monks set up for the ceremony, burned a lot of offerings and then ignited a huge fireball near the end of everything. You can see the fireball about 2/3 the way into this photo essay.

The experience was fascinating even though we didn’t understand a word of what was being said. I loved the pageantry and colors most of all and it was fun to be at on a local event.

How To Use This Slideshow For Best Effect

If you are reading this in a RSS viewer or on email, I suggest you click on over to a webbrowser. It works on your phone, tablet or computer. The bigger the screen the better. Here’s a link to make it easier for you.

Now do you see that x in the upper right corner above this text? Once you click that, you’ll have a full browser view of the images. You can then use the control arrows at the bottom of the image or your mouse’s scroll wheel. Or just flick them aside on your tablet like you would other pictures.

Feedback, Please

I would love you feedback on this new format. I know it will load slower as the images are each about 2MB (and there are 57 of them here, so that’s 100MB+), but other than that, how does it work for you?

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Time Lapse Video Of Morning In Kyajo Ri Valley Of The Nepal Himalayas

Video

This quick one minute slide show was shot during our last morning in the valley at the end of an attempt on 20,290′ Kyajo Ri in the Solukhumbu region of Nepal, about 26 miles as the crow flies from Mt. Everest.  Most of our mornings were like this, clear before the sun came up with clouds down the valley.  Once the sun dropped its rays into our valley things warmed up and more clouds formed.  Sometimes it snowed, sometimes it hailed and some days were just flat out sunny.

At an altitude of 4500m (14,500′), this is the lower of the three valleys on the way to Kyajo Ri.  The second is  500m higher and the last is another 400m, containing the bulk of the Kyajo Glacier which must be crossed on the way to the summit.  Looking down the valley in the video you can see the lower flanks of the sacred Sherpa peak Khumbi Yul Lha (spelled differently on each map, it seems).  The water in this area is clean enough to be drank straight from the stream, although only one member of our team was brave enough to do this.

Click on the map for a full size image of the valley. The pen indicates where we were camped.

Morning Comes To The Kyajo Ri Valley from Peter West Carey on Vimeo.

An Island In Creation – Visiting The Lava Flows Of Hawai’i With KapohoKine Adventures

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