Phallus

Flying Phallus
Wooden Phallus
Laminated Phallus

Last Sunday, i had many encounters with inanimate phalluses (phallusi?) and would love to share with you, gentle readers. I went to the Divine Madman's Temple in Punakha, located about a 45 minute walk off the road through terraced farmland and rice paddies. In a very small village along the way, many homes were adorned with giant paintings of the Flying Phallus, the symbol of the Divine Madman who apparently had a rather unorthodox practice of -ahem- spreading his spiritual teachings. The Temple is now a pilgrimage site for barren couples. Although I was with 3 other people (who already have had children), we were all bonked in the head with a wooden phallus by the caretaker monk when we entered. My fertility and blessings were even further compounded when i rolled the magic number (11) on the first try with 3 handcarved dice made of bone. The monk and my guide were quite pleased with this auspicious sign! Alas, this surge in my fertility does me little good living like a nun high in the Himalayas. Later in the car, laughing about how we could all start a porno internet site with our photos from the day, the Bhutanese driver suddenly handed me a laminated card of - what else - a photo of a wooden phallus he keeps in his pocket for a reason I don't know nor wish to speculate. Paul, the Canadian volunteer doctor, remarked from the back seat "He's bragging to you, Laura" which set the tone for the rest of the car trip. Hysteria and ribald George W Bush jokes.