Today, we made our way from Punakha to Paro via Thimphu. On our way to Thimphu, Chencho and Ugyen entertained us with more stories. The Bhutanese apparently love practical jokes, and the jokes they play on each other can be a bit extreme.

Chencho was a little upset with Ugyen this morning because Ugyen yelled that Chencho was “fluttering” with other women, while he was on the phone with his wife. Ugyen had to call Chencho’s wife later to apologize, so Chencho could avoid getting the “tiger massage” treatment when he got home. Chencho also told us about how some of the staff snuck a pair of woman’s underwear in his rucksack after a trek before he got home, leaving his wife to find it. The lesson he took away — always make sure to inspect your bags for falsely incriminating evidence before you go home. Ugyen followed by telling us about the time one of the staff was sent on training to Thailand, and there was a big tsunami. Some of the guy’s friends thought it would be amusing to tell his wife that he died. His wife gave several offerings and prayers in mourning before her husband came safely home.

Apparently, there is very little that is sacred with their practical jokes, and the name of the game is often getting the husband in trouble with the wife. I read in one of the guidebooks that marriages can still be fairly informal, and government registrations are suggested, not required. I’m not sure if that has anything to do with it, but my impression is that casual sex is not unusual here.

Before lunch, we made a brief stop at the mini-zoo in Thimphu, where Bhutan’s national animal, the takin, reside. According to legend, Guru Rimpoche created the animal, by laying out a dead goat’s bones and telling it to walk. The takin is such a strange animal that it’s its own category. Words can’t really describe him, but he’s got a square jaw, a squarish face, antlers in the front of his head, and funny-placed eyes.

During our lunch break, I finally got on our first broadband connection in more than a week to get to the bottom of the Rimpoche that we met in Bumthang. Rob, the Punakha chef, joked that what 75% of his guys tell him is bullshit and the other 25% suspicious. I’ve suspected this was certainly the case with Chencho, but I found out that his spelling is highly suspicious too. After finally figuring out the correct spelling for both the Rinpoche and his monastery, I now have figured out that the man we met was Namkhai Nyingpo Rimpoche, the 7th reincarnation of Namkhai Nyingpo, who was one of the 25 disciples of Guru Rimpoche. The original Rimpoche could travel on the rays of the sun.

But the current reincarnation seems to be well-deserving of respect in his own right. He bought the land where the current monastery stands in 1982 when he was just 16, and he uses all donations to the upkeep of the monastery as well as several other offshoots. The guru preaches happiness and well-being, which I can completely stand by, and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that they have tons of children. In hindsight, I think our donations of 2,000 rupees were well worth it, though it seemed a little steep at the time. Ugyen is completely convinced that the guru saved his life, when he was able to walk away from a bad truck accident without a scratch. Patrick is a little skeptical, but just in case, I don’t think I’m going to take off my red string that was blessed until we get safely home.