It’s a national holiday in Bhutan today, the Death Anniversary of Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal. Enjoy the read for those interested. It’s pretty cool. The day is of importance to our Bhutanese Himalayan Flyfishing staff and we were asked a long time ago not to fish today. We happily honored this holiday as well and relaxed, freshened up gear and visited a local village. After over a week of filming with a bit of recent rain, Chris was more than happy for the tune-up.
If I was still in my 40’s or less I’d probably have gone crazy. But as you get older trading a day of fishing for some local culture and rest was highly welcomed. Also, you may remember we ended yesterdays fishing with high off-color water. Things didn’t get much better overnight. In fact, as you can see by our tents, we took on another night of rain.
I had my usual enjoyable coffee. There were no anglers to watch which in turn had me looking up. We’ve dropped a lot in elevation from the start so the Himalayan Foothills stick high above. My highlight today was seeing a pair of great hornbills and then one of the rarest birds on earth, the white-bellied heron.
As breakfast was served we had visitors. Four river rangers hiked down from the forest. They were very nice and professional. I mentioned earlier this week about rangers protecting these rivers from poaching and illegal fishing – these guys were here to check all that. And they went thoroughly over all our float, camping and fishing permits. Bhutan wouldn’t be an easy DIY destination.
Once we were squared away I worked on yesterday’s blog. There’s been a ton of great stories to capture this week and photos to organize. My computer battery was close to dead so Jigme walked me up to the village we ended up having lunch at today and believe it or not, he got me fixed up with a charge (I carry my own plug converter). I worked on my blog there and enjoyed a lot of curious locals. It was incredible.
Bryant and his crew continue to impress. They arranged lunch at a house in the local village. Bhutanese are incredibly friendly people and they went out of their way to be prepared. The welcome drinks were local ara and bang chang. Not the tastiest to be honest, but ok. I never turn down giving something a try. Plus it was fun toasting with the boys!
Next these lovely people served us hor d’ oeuvres. Some were delicious, but I’ll be frank, the meats were not my favorite. In the Himalayas they love to take machetes to whole chickens and mutton, bones, tendon, cartilage and all then cook it as is. For Bobby and Jigme they were finger-licking good, but eh – I stuck to the cucumbers and chips.
Actual lunch was great. No doubt, more chop-chop meat but there were great vegies and salad foods. And of course rice and momo.
I kid you not, desert was a platter of peppers. Ghost peppers. Bobby ate these like I crush the pickles off to the side at a hamburger restaurant. Jim and I each tried one and it took us about 15 minutes to safely get it down!
It was a wonderful visit to the village. Folks were so nice and we left full and happy. Not only was my computer fully charged but more importantly Jim and Chris got all the big time Yellow Dog film equipment charged. We returned to camp and got ready for fishing tomorrow.
And how could I forget? Luckily I packed a few “mahseer” sharpie colors. Sure enough Bobby asked if I had them and before you knew it, there was some mahseer art being proudly paraded around the village.
Jim Klug never ceases to amaze. You may be aware of Jim’s Yellow Dog WAYPOINTS Podcast. If not you definitely should be. He brought along his microphone and recorder and hosted two shows that will air this summer. One with Bryant about Bhutan and his long experiences over here. Then one with me about fishing the Himalayas and mahseer in general. This visit will be my second time as a guest. If you never caught my first, click here.
Photo by Jim Klug
We ended yet another action packed day in Bhutan around a bonfire. Tonight Bryant’s staff didn’t mess around. I guess they needed some bright light for cooking. We’ll be fishing at sunrise. Hope for no rain tonight!
Upon return from this wonderful journey, this trip will be available at Yellow Dog Flyfishing Adventures!
Hope the rains subside and the fish go crazy
Thank you Howie. Me too!
Pumped to hear that two Waypoints are coming from this trip! That and Mill House are the two best fly fishing podcasts, and it’s not even close.
Yeah should be good. I still can’t believe Jim pulled out his techy gear in the meddle of nowhere!