CHAPTER XV
MY FIRST MISSION TO BHUTAN—continued
From Tongsa-jong to Bya-gha, Lingzi, and Phari, Hospitality of the Tongsa and Tongsa’s sister at Bya-gha. Old monasteries near Bya-gha. Ancient traditions. Carvers and carpenters at the Champa Lhakhang Monastery. Regret at leaving Bya-gha. Lama dances. Farewell to Sir Ugyen. Reception at Tashi-cho-jong. Last interview with the Deb Raja. Ta-tshang lamas. Cheri Monastery. Magnificent scenery. Incorrect maps. Exposure of the dead to lammergeiers. View of Tibet from the Ling-shi Pass. Break-up of the Mission.
It was now time to move on again, and, accompanied by the Tongsa, we left next morning, ascending by a very steep path to the main road running above the upper fort. Thence our progress was comparatively easy to the top of the Yo-to-la (11,500 feet), and an equally easy road brought us to our camp at Gya-tsa (8740 feet), a distance of twelve miles. It was a very pretty march. The country had again changed, and we emerged from the confinement of narrow gorges into a series of broad valleys, the upper ones providing grazing for hundreds of yaks, the lower ones rich with barley, buckwheat, and mustard fields. Dotted about we noticed for the first time the temporary huts erected to shelter the cultivators during their stay in high elevations at the times of ploughing, sowing, and reaping; while lower down their substantial dwellings showed we were entering a better governed and more prcsperous district than those we had left behind. In the village of Gya-tsa itself there was a fine substantial rest-house for
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