The most ornate hotel lobby I’ve seen

Late in the evening we reached a hotel outside the town of Trashigang, overlooking the Drangme Chhu (Manas river). I got off the bus and gaped. It wasn’t a hotel lobby, it was pastry! I knew I had to photograph the entrance doors in the morning. That’s the photo you see above.

The lobby was even more breathtaking. We are used to high atriums. It’s become a standard design element to let light into the interior of a high-rise building, especially into a lobby. But this atrium was encrusted with ornamented and painted wood. It seemd to have every mythical beast: tak (tiger), seng (snow lion), chung (garuda), and specially druk (dragon). Takins and ravens also lurked in corners. Only the migoi (yeti) seemed to be as elusive here as elsewhere.

One last hurdle remained. We had to take our luggage up three floors by stairs, since there was no lift. “It’s not a problem,” The Family said, “There’s a lot to examine on the way up.” True to her words she stopped to take many photos. We hadn’t seen kitsch like this in a long while. “Hmm, I missed the centerpiece in the lobby,” she said when she examined the photos later. I hadn’t. You can see the golden piece in the featured photo; I think it represents a phallus.