We spent this morning visiting the 17th C. Dzong at Trongsar and the museum which was a guard tower for the Dzong. These monastic buildings were designed as forts as they were built during a time when Bhutan was at war with Tibet. They are great looking wood & stone buildings, very detailed and beautifully decorated. The size is immense, and surprisingly for a Buddhist monastery, has no resemblance to those I've seen elsewhere, very little in the way of religious idols.
After lunch we ride 84 km to our next stop, the Swiss Guest House at Jakar/Bumthang. It was a cold bleak ride back up through another 3600 mtr pass, with some rain, after this we stopped at Chumey Yathra to see some of the local weavers products. the building architecture has changed now that we are in east Bhutan, with there being more buildings constructed totally of wood and decorated differently.
The Swiss Guest House where we will be staying for the next 2 nights is very comfortable, with a wood heater in every room, as it is very cold here I have already fired it up and the room is nice and cosy.
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