Thangbi Lhakgang

We almost missed this one altogether due to our guide having not the faintest clue what was going on. It later transpired that we were her first ever clients and she had never even visited Bumthang before and was thus blissfully unaware of the existence of this temple nor, more importantly, that it was hosting what turned out to be one of the highlights of our tour, namely the Fire Festival. On health and safety grounds alone it was worth a visit with men, women and children all rushing headlong into the burning bonfires in the benighted hope that this would somehow enhance their fertility, credit them with Buddhist brownie points, bless their children, make them prettier...all the usual nonsense, but with the added bonus of potential death from asphyxiation, first degree burns or simply being trampled underfoot in the human stampede. The fire took place in a nearby field, with the warm up act of amateur folk singing and dancing accompanied by phallus wielding clowns in the temple courtyard. To the annoyance of the camera touting tourists, random old men assumed their rights as local Buddhist adherents and wandered around begging and plonking themselves down uncomfortably near (from an odour point of view) and generally right in front of the mass of expensive telephoto lenses.