Bhutan festival question
 

We'll be in Bhutan for the Trongsa Tshechu (festival) so help from anyone who has been to any 3 day festival in Bhutan will be much appreciated.
Local tour operators I'm in contact with give widely different recommendations on how many days to spend at the festival. One says the dances are repetitive over the 3 day festival and the most interesting time to attend is the last morning. Another says hang out for all three days.
I enjoy photography so I probably could be entertained for an unlimited amount of time where there's local people around. On the other hand, hubby usually has had enough of any one thing after a few hours.
I don't want to short-change a festival experience and at the same time don't want to be stuck in Trongsa for 3 days if the festivities can be experienced in one afternoon and one morning or two days?
I await your experiences. Thanks

I would have been happy to spend two or three days, but some of the people in my tour group had had enough after one morning. Depends on how fascinated you are by the costumes, and the audience! Absolutely a photographer's delight.

Do you recall if the activities varied from day to day?

I only got to spend one day at the festival in Thimpu, and another at a festival in the country. My understanding is that all the dances are different, but probably not that different to the uninitiated. There are folk dances interspersed with the Buddhist "story" dances. But how often are you going to go to Bhutan?

Hi Robbietravels, I've been to several festivals in Bhutan over the years and can suggest that the last 1 to 1.5 days of each festival tend to be the best. This allows you plenty of time to take pictures, see dances and enjoy some excellent Buddhist culture.

Hope this helps,
Andy Crisconi
One World Trekking

Your answers make sense to me. I think I'll plan on the afternoon of the second day and all of the third day.
Any others care to ring in?

I think your timing is probably good.
Personally - and I love taking photos - I felt that the festival displays were not so interesting. It was more fascinating watching the locals dressed in their best clothes coming to watch the proceedings. Or going to the local fair and seeing the log-chopping competition!
Plenty to photograph either way. If you do want to take good pics of the festival, advise good zoom lens!