Jakar town in the shadow of the impressive, if somewhat sinister
dzong on the mountainside above, is little more than a crossroads,
albeit a fairly important one by Bhutanese standards.
Population 3 plus a donkey, but apparently growing fast in response
to tourist demand for tatty souvenirs, it was an opportunity to see
traditional Bhutanese buildings in various stages of construction.
Unlike many of the new buildings, they seemed
not only to make them look traditional, but were actually using
traditional construction methods, solid timber frames, wattle and
daub...and absolutely no insulation!
It had all the charm of a Wild West
frontier town; rather incongruously bedecked with Buddhist monks. |