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As I have pointed out already, the male sexual organ is depicted quite a lot on Bhutanese buildings as a symbol of fertility, or at least as an invocation of longed-for fertility. It so happens that things come to a head, as it were, in this Lhakhang at Chime. Not content with mere pictures, this holy place has replicas that can be picked up and, well, fondled. Personally, I thought they were enormous - but I was told by one of my grinning fellow travellers that they were actually pretty life-like. Young ladies come to the temple to pray for babies if they are having trouble otherwise. There is one particular statue that was donated to the temple by a local official. The statue is unmistakably male and gives the impression of being very pleased to see visitors. The story is that this official had led such a life of sin and debauchery that before he died, he made a donation of this fine upstanding figurine by way of atonement. More likely, in my opinion, is that he merely donated one of his ribald collection of standing ornaments as a way of ensuring it went to a suitable home.
Through these villages flows a stream, and a particularly fast-flowing one too. We had seen water power being harnessed to drive prayer wheels before, but the speed of this stream meant that they must have had the fastest turning prayer wheel in the kingdom. So fast was it revolving that it was not possible to make out the blur of words that whizzed round. I hope they get a bit more sorted out before they get to heaven, otherwise all that effort may be wasted.
An every-day story of country folk
Last stop of the day was to admire Wangdi Dzong, which we had seen briefly on our way east. Yet another large, imposing, impressive fortress in a commanding position above the river, this reminded us again of the purpose of a dzong. They were built as defensive fortresses, a centre of government and power, a place of worship and Buddhist learning, and a general focal point for the surrounding area. This one qualified on all fronts, complete with 32 boys in residence studying Buddhism and other monkly pursuits. Not quite so in keeping with this peaceful sounding activity were the ten or so very smartly attired young men who were practicing archery inside the main entrance. The targets had been set up with the standard 150-yard separation, but this time the archers were using not the local bamboo bow, but carbon fibre composite bows, complete with telescopic sights. The results were twofold: firstly