Dzonged Out

Posted on October 11, 2011 by debbie

Trongsa Dzong is the second most important dzong in Bhutan.  It is an enormous structure. It took eons to build. Currently, it houses about 300 monks. We arrived at the dzong early, just after 8:00 am. Tashi tells us that this is the dzong that he studied in. Everywhere we went we seemed to run into a monk that knows Tashi. After wandering around for a while, we heard a loud slapping sound we learned is the call to the 9 o’clock prayer.  Two monks are slapping leather “whips” on the stone and it is quite loud.  Monks gather in the courtyard where we are standing.  Once all the monks are there, the head monk comes out and leads them single file to another part of the dzong for prayer time. It was special to be able to watch this procession. Again our guide looks brilliant, as we are going out the crowds are on their way in. Score another point Tashi.

We headed off and drove for 6 hours toward Punakha.

We have spent numerous hours in the car plying the roads of Bhutan. Every single road is hanging on a cliff. Down these cliffs pours water. Every kilometer there is another waterfall with water gushing from it and across the road. Between the streams are weeping walls that sparkle when the sun shines on them. The rainy season is over, it is fall so the snow has long since melted but the water continues to fall.

It is little wonder that Bhutan has chosen to build an infrastructure of hydroelectric facilities and export the electricity.  The country is adjacent to the two most populated nations in the world and both are starving for power. Personally I look at this with mixed emotions. I understand that if Bhutan wishes to increase its economic wealth it has to find ways to do that, but the cost in terms of changing an unspoiled environment is huge. The fast moving river at the bottom of the gorge, which is quite a spectacular sight, will no longer exist. The land as it exists naturally will once again be transformed by human intervention and not necessarily for the better. The choice for change may be the right one but it is very sad to see a nation that had resisted ‘modern life’ for so long give in to follow a way of living that even those that embrace it know is not the proper direction.

In Punakha we quickly checked into our hotel and were on the road again.  We wanted to visit the Punakha Dzong today too.

Punakha Dzong

On October 13, the king (K5) is getting married at the Punakha Dzong. As we approach the dzong we realize it is all decked out in its finery.  The only access road is lined with colorful banners, the dzong itself has banners surrounding it, and all the eaves of the immense building have been completely lined with colorful skirting. It looks like a North American house decked out with Christmas lights. You can tell something big is about to go down by the army and police presence. The dirt parking lot was being paved for the occasion. We arrive at the front gate rife with expectation. We are 8 hours too late. The door was shut to foreign visitors this morning. Not even Tashi’s cache could get us by the guard this time. As with people in general here, even the police in Bhutan are polite and a bit reserved, although adamant we would not get in, the fellow seemed a bit embarrassed about the whole situation.

This dzong is the premier dzong in the country and it is too bad we were not able to breach the security to satisfy our self-centered desire to see the place, and I’m sure we would have loved it, but after the number of dzongs we have visited I think I can image its grandeur and will have to suffice with that.

I’m sure there are a few more monasteries and other places of Buddhist significance on our itinerary but I think we have exhausted the inventory of dzongs in western Bhutan. I can’t say I’m sad about that, I am working on a bit of information overload right now and could probably use some time for the knowledge gained to gel.

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Prayer Flags

Posted on October 11, 2011 by debbie

The Yotong La Pass, at 3,551 m (11,540 ft), is the highest pass that we drove over on our tour.  When we reached the top, we stopped so we could hang up a string of prayer flags. We bought the prayer flags in Jakar and wrote the names of our dear family and friends on the 10 flags.  So, if you noticed some extra vibrations coming from the east, that is the prayer flags sending their message out. All of you were in our thoughts this morning as we hung the prayer flags.

As we headed out of Jakar this morning, we noticed that the colours of the leaves had started to turn from green to yellow, red and orange.  Three days ago, they were still green.  Winter is approaching at the higher elevations.

Our first stop in Trongsa was at The Museum of Monarchy.  It is Sunday, the museum was closed but Tashi did his magic and we managed to get a personalized tour.  It turned out that when he was a monk he had studied with the monk that helps to run the museum.  Tashi seems to have connections all across Bhutan.

We were really impressed with how the ancient watchtower had been refurbished. It consists of a circular five story tower and 2 lower towers.  The inside was redone in a modern style in complete contrast to anything we have seen so far in Bhutan. The displays were statues, religious paintings and artifacts from the kings of the Wangchuck dynasty. The picture below was taken from the courtyard of the main tower looking over the Trongsa Dzong into the valley the towers once guarded.

Trongsa Dzong

We then drove to the neighbouring valley to a palace where “K2” lived, and is now home to monks.  In Bhutan, the people fondly call all the Wangchuck dynasty kings K1, K2 etc to K5. K4 is the king that introduced democracy to Bhutan. K5 is the king getting married in a couple of days. Anyway, back to the story….This palace was where K2 lived and died.  Tashi again did his magic and convinced the main monk at the palace to let us into K2’s bedroom. In its day, the room would have been magnificent.  The room has bright yellow walls with large flower designs, windows on 3 sides and a painted ceiling.  The story is, that after planning the assignation of one of the local deities, the deity’s protectors had cursed the king with an illness and the king died by the window in this very room.

Two monks at the palace of the K2

Mur’s two bits

I’m from the prairies and when the lightning flashes and the thunder claps, it is a single boom. I lived in the mountains for several years and was quite surprised and impressed the first time I heard the thunder echo down the valley. It was quite an awesome concert. Bhutan is a country of mountains and valleys. When the thunder booms here it echoes, and echoes, and echoes. The local belief is that Druk, the dragon of Bhutan, is running up and down the valley, his footsteps creating each echo.

Druk, the Dragon

Bhutan is full of stories and imagery such as this and it makes for a very colorful society. I think that there is a good number of the population that still, if not truly believe, would like to believe in all of the country’s stories. If the number of prayer flags that are hung up is any indication, the beliefs are still strong and the folklore will continue to be part of the Bhutan fabric for many generations to come. Let’s hope so.

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Darts and Mokoli

Posted on October 8, 2011 by debbie

The staff that have been serving us and helping us at the Mountain Lodge, in Jakar, are absolutely wonderful.  There are two younger fellows and a young lady.  The two fellows are dignified and would do almost anything for us.  And they would do it without a word or a grumble.

I am amazed that they are cooking special food for me due to my dairy, wheat and egg issues.  If carrots with butter are on the buffet table, they will bring me a small bowl of carrots with no butter added.  At breakfast, I am eating Bhutanese porridge, which is rice made into porridge with tomatoes, onions and a bit of meat, instead of eggs and toast. The Mountain Lodge has been over the top accommodating with the meals, and I am impressed.

Murray and I have decided that we are blessed to have such great traveling companions as L&R.  We all get along and they are of the same mind as us when it comes to travel. Conversation at meals is entertaining and quite often our guide has to hurry us along. Four people on a tour works fantastically.

We have been seeing a mantra engraved onto rocks, painted on cliffs and inscribed over doorways.  The mantra is “Om Manee Padmay Hong”.  There is not necessarily a meaning to this mantra, it is just said over and over again while circumnavigating a temple and spinning prayer wheels.

We are getting trained in the courtesies of entering a temple or dzong.  Like the Canadian “No shirt, no shoes, no service” Mur has created “No hat, No shoes, No pictures”. Whenever we have to remove shoes or hat, it means that we cannot take any pictures.

We happened upon some young monks playing darts today.  Tashi, our guide, is always kibitzing with the locals and he got the monks to let us all try throwing a dart.  Our darts did not go where they were supposed to – duh!  As we watched the monks, I wondered how they don’t get frustrated as the target is so small and very hard to hit.  The whole time we watched, we saw only 1 dart hit a target in about 30 throws. To me it looks like an exercise in futility. Of course playing for money, monks or not, lessens the frustration factor.

We learned a new word today.  It is mokoli.  Our guide also learned a new word today.  It is toque.  I hope when we get home, we do not have to put on a mokoli when we go outside.

Tashi used his magic again today and took got us into a monks dorm room. I’m quite sure normal tours do not go there but we did. It’s a small room that 2 monks call home. 2 single beds, a corner for books and maybe an ipod and a corner for a 2 burner propane hot plate. Monks are not supposed to own much so I guess palatial digs are not in the offing.

We have had a good few days here in Jakar.  Tomorrow we are heading back west and our first stop is Trongsa.  See you there.

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Buddhamania

Posted on October 7, 2011 by murray

The altitude here has not been affecting Debbie as much as it did in Tibet.  A slight headache for a day and the adjustment was complete.  Practicing in India was a good idea.  We traveled high then slept low, then high then low and even in Bhutan, we are sleeping lower than our highest travel points.  It seems to be working.

The local festival took up the bulk of our day. The dancing and entertainment, of course, with religious overtones, goes on all day, for days.  Everyone gets dressed in their finest and off to the fair.  All the kids get spending money and buy junk.  Sound familiar? I’m still working on why Buddhist kids get to buy guns.

Most of the people are gathered in the monastery courtyard watching the dances.  They come and go but spend the better part of the day watching the drama these dance portray that is repeated year after year.  The kids haven’t seen them too often but the adults still stand and watch.  I’m not sure if it is a religious obligation. I think it’s more of a social get together on a holiday.

Lunch today was picnic style.  Tashi ordered a picnic lunch from the hotel and we joined the locals and a few cows in a small orchard adjacent to the monastery to eat Bhutan festival style.  Noodles, beef, vegetables, chilies with cheese, potatoes and the customary rice. It was the first time I tried chilies with cheese as a standalone dish.  It wasn’t as scary as the anticipation.  They were hot but my mouth has burned worse after eating other foods.  I justified it by believing at the very least it would be good for the digestive system.  I’m quite sure the chilies and cheese dish will not become one of my staples.

As the Buddhist religion is the center point of life here, it would figure there are a lot of temple type places, monasteries, dzongs, and the like on our agenda.  Tashi, our guide, is making the visits much more interesting than church visits we have done in the past.  He was a monk from the age of 7 to about 15, so he knows the ins and outs of the monastery.  Today’s dzong in Jakar was almost deserted as the majority of the monks were off preforming at a festival in another valley.  Tashi located the big horns the monks use and showed us how to play them.  R and I had a try.  R was pretty good and I managed to get a sound, but nowhere near the deep resonant sound that is typically made by the monks. Tashi does spend time explaining about past Buddha and the reincarnation of the 2nd something or other such things, but for a good part of our visits he acts as a go between, between us and the monks.

There are only 700,000 people in the country and for the most part it is driven by Buddhism.  Whether it be hardcore dedicate your life to the religion, vis a vis become a monk, or if it’s the yearly take a few days off and let your hair down, the people’s lives all revolve around their spiritual beliefs.  The entire country seems to move as one.

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Across Bhutan

Posted on October 7, 2011 by murray

So far we’ve been witness to several “cultural” events.  We stopped at an archery tournament, visited a dzong and witnessed a once a year dance to cleanse out evil spirits, attended a yearly festival in Wangdu and happened on a dart match as we passed through a village.

Unlike other countries where such things take place in a controlled environment for tourists, these events were not staged, but were being played out as art of the cultural fabric of the land.  It was as interesting to watch the local spectators as it was to watch the participants.  Especially at the Wangdu festival, the attendees were in a festive mood and thoroughly enjoying their break from the work a day world.

Last night we stayed in the Phobjikha Valley.  An idyllic setting with an abundance of agriculture and the winter home of Black Necked Cranes.  We had been warned that the Hotel Gakiling was a little on the “rustic” side.  It had the atmosphere of a Canadian hostel; basic accommodation with a central dining/meeting hall where the guests met and exchanged travel stories.  Debbie’s and my room was in the main lodge and although basic was large enough to move in.  Our travel mates, L&R, had a room about 3m x 4m with a semi outdoor washroom.  Ouch. The heat in all the rooms was provided by small wood burning stoves that needed to be stoked all through the night. The owners are busy building a new hotel at the back of the property which should make for a much better experience.  On the bright side, the food has started to look up.  The dinner served was the best meal we have had so far in Bhutan.

We started out this morning with a 2 ½ hour walk through the Phobjikha Valley ending at the Gangtey Dzong.  There was a “prayer” session in progress and we were going to view the proceedings.  Of particular interest would be the playing of all the instruments, the drums, horns, cymbals and the gong.  Unfortunately, it was coffee time at the dzong and we had to be on our way.

The clouds here are nothing short of dramatic.  A few days ago Debbie pointed out how huge the clouds were and how tall they build to.  We’re fairly sure they are caused by the severe terrain of the area.  Every evening as the sun disappears from the direct line of sight, it continues to glare on the clouds and make for a most interesting back drop for the surrounding scenery.  I’ve tried to capture the drama with my camera but nothing matches being here and watching it all unfold.

After seven hours on the road, with a 45 minute lunch stop, a couple of pee breaks and a flat tire, we arrive at Jakar and the Mountain Lodge.  Our home for the next while.  The place is upper end, close to heaven, again. Rooms are great, with one oddity – they are heated by a small wood stove, but hey, it’s warm! If supper, our first meal here, is any indication, we’re going to have a wonderful three days.

Mountain Lodge room

Although the people here are aware of the tourists and seem to go out of their way to be accommodating, I don’t feel or believe that any of it is a put on.  The effort put forth is from an honest want to help out and is extremely welcomed from this tourist.

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“Your View is Here”

Posted on October 7, 2011 by debbie

6 AM…KNOCK KNOCK. Mur’s mind, “ What’s that? We don’t have a wakeup call??” Mur, “Yes?” Young Lady, “Your view is here.” Mur, “Pardon?” Young Lady, “Your view is here.” Mur’s mind, “We didn’t order a view.” Mur’s mind, “ Oh, Ya, our view!” Mur, “Thanks!”

It’s sunrise and the clouds that have been obscuring the Himalayas are now gone and the sun is lighting the snow on the tallest mountains.  They are quite some distance away but they are still spectacular.  We are awestruck. Photos at 6 AM.

Up early, might as well eat breakfast early. Fast shower and downstairs to the dining room.  Buffet breaky as all meals have been in Bhutan. Cornflakes, toast, rice, hard boiled eggs and porridge. Totally boring and bland.  Most of the food has been that way.  I’m afraid of the chili’s that seem to be a staple in Bhutan, but the food we have been getting is beyond mild.

Rice is a Bhutan staple.  White rice or red rice is at every meal, breakfast included.  As it is such an important food stuff, you can imagine how many rice fields populate the country side.  I’ve seen rice before.  While it is growing, it is the most beautiful green colour.  The rice in Bhutan is ripe and just about ready for harvest and the golden colour is just amazing.  The last 3 days, I have taken numerous photos in an effort to catch that colour.  I’m hoping I’ve been successful.

Today’s big event was the festival in Wangdue.  We were a kilometer outside of town and the traffic jam started.  Everybody for miles around comes to these regional festivals and with only one main road in this country, it gets hugely congested.

Everyone comes dressed to the nines and the festive attitude is pervasive.  So much show and so much colour.  The pathway to the dzong is elbow to elbow with market stalls lining the sides.  Inside, the dances occupy the center of the courtyard and the spectators pack the perimeter.  The idea of personal space is no where near what it is in North America.  At lunch, L mentioned that it reminded her of the Calgary Stampede – the whole city gets caught up in the festivities.

The dance has a story.  The details are lost on us foreign folk but the general outline is relatively easy to follow – good spirits fighting off bad spirits – and if nobody explains the real story, your own made up version will suffice.

The main highway in Bhutan gets smaller the further east it goes.  We are not past the busiest tourist area and the road is maybe 4 m wide.  For what reason, I’m not sure, they maintain a centre line.  The condition of the road has deteriorated but overall it is still not as bad as Indian highways.

The drivers here are quite courteous. They don’t race to see who can get farthest along before pulling over to let each other pass.  They just wait.  As things go, everyone is patient and very few people exceed the speed of safety.  Our driver, Mr. Karma, is a saint.  I don’t think I’ve held my breath even once.  He’s very cautious and slows when the road surface is bad, even if we are the only car for miles.

That being said, it is amazing that these roads even exist.  I was on the “cliff” side of the car today and the edge of the road drops straight down, I’m guessing about 500 m or more. I ski and generally do not have a fear of steep slopes, but if these slopes had snow on them, I would think twice about embarking on a slide down them.

At 6 AM this morning, we took in a long distance siting of the Himalayas, but the view of the festival and all the other views along the road today, close or far, were no less spectacular.

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Thimpu

Posted on October 7, 2011 by debbie

Our first stop today was the Iron Bridge. Bridges were made of wood, until a Tibetan bridge-builder named Thangtong Gyalpo came along and introduced using iron to support the bridge deck.  Great chain links span the river and support a wire mesh deck, where bamboo was laid over top.

Bridges are used by more than just people!

We saw house ruins along the way.  An uninhabited house is not demolished as the spirit needs to leave the house in its own time, so the house is left to fall apart on its own.

We are off to Thimpu today.  Thimpu is the capital of Bhutan and has a population of about 100,000. The city stretches down the Thimpu Valley.  There are architectural controls on the buildings, which must be designed in the traditional style and have Buddhist motifs.  Thimpu is the only capital city in the world without traffic lights, just policemen directing traffic with ballet like arm movements.  There is a surprising amount of traffic congestion.

Banks are always an interesting experience.  If your business is with a standard teller, they have adopted a “take a number and wait in the queue”.  As we needed to exchange Travelers Cheques, we went to the foreign exchange counter, where we got involved in a scrum.  There was no formal queue, but it was all elbows to get to the counter. On a side note, neither the Bank of Bhutan nor the Bhutan National Bank would cash Canadian dollar Travellers Cheques.  Although at the Bank of Bhutan, they did cash another tourist’s Canadian cash.

Drying handmade paper at the paper factory

Thimpu has all the necessary attractions.  Soccer field, 60 ft high Buddha, Palace, Folk Heritage Museum, Textile Museum, Painting School, Jungshi Handmade Paper Factory. We visited a number of these and have gotten a good feel for life in Bhutan, both long ago and now.

Our last stop is the Dochula Resort up and over the Dochula Pass, a meager 3,100 m (10,000 ft) in elevation.

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Archery and Peppers

Posted on October 3, 2011 by murray

It was early to rise this morning we were trying to pick up L&R at the airport in Paro at 10:15, and it is a 5 hour drive away. We hit the ground running at 4:30. As we left the hotel at 5:00, there were actually people on the street waiting for buses and shared taxis. We climbed up through a teak forest; unfortunately it was too dark to see it. Then we climbed and then we climbed and then we climbed some more. At about 10,000 feet we finally leveled out for a while then started down towards Paro, which sits at about 7,500 ft.

The horns in Bhutan do speak the same language as in India, but as with the people here, the horns are very polite and discreet. Our driver will touch the horn twice when passing another vehicle rather than giving a good loud blare.

We arrived at the airport on time and collected L&R, fresh off their flight from Edmonton, through Vancouver, Hong Kong and Bangkok. We travelled half way around the world to meet up with someone from our own city.

Archery is a big thing in Bhutan and we stumbled upon a tournament as we drove into Paro. Three teams compete in 15 rounds.  The archers shoot two arrows each 150 meters (1 ½ football fields) at a wooden board with a target about 30 cm in diameter.  The bows were very high tech made of metal with hinges and pulleys – they’re worth 1,000 Euros or more. When an archer hits the target, a short celebratory dance and song ensues.  Something like giving thanks to the “arrow god”. These guys are pretty accurate as 6 out of 18 attempted shots landed on the target – not forgetting that they are shooting 150 meters.

Chili peppers are a dietary staple here.  The Bhutanese eat peppers as vegetables, rather than use them as a spice.  Consequently, peppers are grown in abundance.  Once picked, the peppers are dried on the roofs on houses, or hanging on the outside of windows.

Chili peppers drying on the roof

Today, we saw more tourists in the couple of hours we were in Paro than we saw the whole time we were in the hills of West Bengal.  Paro is the main entry and exit point for all who visit Bhutan and October is peak tourist season. It is little wonder that we would run into this many foreigners.  As we head east, the number of tourists will decrease as most stay in the western part of Bhutan.

Early to rise today, means early to bed…..Goodnight All.

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Off to Bhutan

Posted on October 3, 2011 by debbie

Sitting on the edge of a cliff, we ate our breakfast overlooking a beautiful valley. The Teesta River, which is fed from the Himalayans, runs through the bottom of the valley.  The hills rise up on all sides and some, like Kanchenjunga and its neighbours, are privileged to be crowned with the snowy peaks.  How can we leave this view and being served breakfast each morning?

But, alas, we are off to Phuentsholing, Bhutan today.  Our taxi driver, the one with the big smile, arrived and we are off.  The trip was uneventful and sometimes even fast. There is a National Road leading to Assam, which is quite well maintained and we managed a cool 90 kph on sections.

After getting our exit stamps from the Indian side and entering Bhutan, we found ourselves in the lap of luxury again.  The Hotel Druk, where we are spending the night, is pretty much a 5 star hotel in my books.  Air conditioning, well appointed, bathroom goodies, all the niceties. I said to Mur “I could get used to this luxury thing!”

When crossing from India to Bhutan, it was like crossing from night into day.  Less traffic, less noise, less people, less congestion.  The line was right at the border and it was definitely noticeable, we have never crossed a border and noticed such a dramatic difference.

Met Tashi, our guide for the next 14 days. Well spoken, very gentile but enthusiastic.

We wandered around Phuentsholing, which, by the way does not see many tourists; we figured. Saw a sign advertising a soccer game between India’s Kalimpong Football Club and Bhutan’s Phuentsholing Football Club.  We realized the game was on, so walked over to the soccer pitch.  It was half time and the score was 3 to 2 for India.  We watched some of the second half – the teams were evenly matched and there was a lot of back and forth. We have done pretty good – 3 soccer games in 3 days.

Dinner, laundry, showers and to bed as we rise early tomorrow for our drive to Paro.

Stage two of the journey , Bhutan, begins.

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Talking Horns

Posted on October 1, 2011 by debbie

BEEP, BEEP……..BEEP………..BEEP. Look out I’m coming around the corner, Heads up, I’m behind you, I’m going to pass, Thanks a lot for letting me know, Hey Raju. The car horns here are constantly in use, to those of us from places where the horn is rarely used it sounds totally random when you first arrive. The longer you are here and the more times you ride in a vehicle the more you can see that it is all part of the ballet of driving. Sure there are those drivers that do not use any discretion and are blowing the horn just because it is there, but for those folks that use it properly it is an instrument to be played as if they were playing the oboe in a symphony orchestra. Every beep has a meaning and is meant to be beeped only at prescribed times and for a prescribed duration. The sound can be just a beautiful as it can be annoying, and it works.

Hopped in a shared cab today.  There was already a lady and her son (about 8 years old) in the cab. Mur sat by himself on the “middle” wooden bench and I shared the “back” seat with the lady and her son. The driver stopped to pick up two young ladies (20ish).  They took a look at Mur on the middle seat and the only 2 empty seats which were beside him and baulked.  Honest, he doesn’t bite. The Mom quickly told her son to sit next to Mur and the two ladies crammed into the back seat making 4 on the back seat and 2 on the middle seat.  The women all wiggled around until we fit – this is a “Happy Bus” size vehicle (spelled TINY!). It is India and that boy/girl thing does mean something.

"Happy Bus" size Shared Taxis

We went to Dr. John Graham’s home and school today.  Dr. Graham was a missionary from Scotland and he built an orphanage and school in 1900 to educate tea estate workers’ children. We walked around the grounds and looked at his house, the school and the church.  It is a large campus and currently has about 1,400 students, most of which stay in dorms on campus. The buildings are a little worse for wear, to our standard. We noticed a number of plaques from alumni classes that indicate that funds for repairs to buildings are being donated.

Dr. Graham's house

One of the buildings on the campus

We walked back to Kalimpong to the Haat Bazaar, which was extremely crowded due to the festival in town this weekend and this being the day the local farmers came to town to sell their wares. Spices, shoes, tablecloths, vegetables, fish, rice, kitchen utensils, fruit, tools, anything you want or need. As opposed to markets elsewhere in the world we have visited, this market actually catered to the local inhabitants not the tourists.

We had a lovely and very tasty supper at the Windsongs followed by a long chat with Subhadra, the owner. The vegetables were organic and grown in the nursery attached to the property. Subhadra even arranged the meal around my dairy intolerance. As we have said, this is heaven.

I have said this before but here it is; the people make the place. The number of nice, polite, happy, people we have met so far in India is huge. With a population as big as India’s, there should be a lot of opportunity for people to be mad at the world, but it does not seem to be the case. We have been made most welcome, which makes our experience top notch. The big city is our next destination in this country and we’ll have to see if the Indians can maintain their hospitality. I don’t think they will disappoint us.

We are heading to Phuentsholing, on the Bhutan border tomorrow (Sunday). We meet up with our tour guide on Monday and drive to Paro.  We are not sure what the internet connection will be like in Bhutan, but we will try to post every day.  See you in Bhutan.

I wonder if the horns in Bhutan talk the same language as the ones in India.

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