In Bhutan, Dzongs serve as both a religious and administrative purpose. The religious portion contains a temple and housing for monks while the administrative side is for the local governance of the area.

Having grown up in the States where religion is to be separated from the secular government, even though our money hypocritically says, "In God we trust," it's fairly interesting to see the co-mingling of the two in Bhutan. With prayer wheels in the dzong, monks and other Buddhists would typically spin them as they walk by them, which is supposed to have the same effect as reciting the mantras inscribed inside them.

A young monk walks past a number of prayer wheels.