A Dzong of happiness
Untouched, the vast expanse of Bhutan was a balm to soothen the weary souls of a large bunch of travellers.
Bordered by China in the North and India in the South, Bhutan is one of the most sought-after tourist destinations in the world. And a bunch of travel seekers, and adventure lovers decided to take the dusty roads, quite literally to see Bhutan through its winding roads and tall and stark beauty. The experience of the visit to the storybook like country – the Kingdom of Bhutan was memorable, and so were the intermitten bike rides and car cruises!
We flew into Bagdogra Airport in West Bengal, from Bengaluru, and started out towards Phuntsholing. Phuntsholing is the border town in Bhutan. The drive covers a distance of about 250 km, and it’s beautiful as you pass through the undulating and lush tea estates of West Bengal — refreshingly picturesque!
When we reached Phuntsholing, we stayed the night at a hotel called the Druk Hotel. It is part of one of Bhutan’s old companies — the Druk Corporate Company; that also has their own airline in Bhutan. The next morning, excited and geared for the tourisn, we went on to apply for our permits to travel. We received permits for Thimphu – the capital of the country and another popular tourist city — Paro. Both cities are along the most clear and gushing rivers of the same name and the drive passes through hills and vales, and is amazingly calming, as there is no traffic, and no pollution!
We bundled into a Mahindra XUV and Mahindra Scorpio and were off into the untouched environs. In Thimphu, a few of us hired a few Bullets to ride around; There were 10 of us (Kishan, Panna, Dr Anu, Kala, Sonal, Vijay, Kadur, Dr Farouk, Jeetu and I - Sushil), so we were quite the loud and raring to go lot, and since the boys in the group are bike-crazy, this was the most fun part. Driving is a pleasure as the road discipline is impeccable. We spent three nights in Thimphu and explored the nightlife of the city. There are a few pubs in each of the cities, and it was quite interesting to see the simplistic and almost olden day mode of pub hopping to Bhutanese music on Television screens and the inhabitants in their traditional costumes taking a tipple or two. There were some local Bhutanese bands performing covers of English songs — good music, good food and good drinks. Here, we tried a dish that is unique to Bhutan – they serve it everywhere and it is a country favourite and spicy as hell! It is called Ema Datshi and is a traditional preparation of cheese and chilli. It’s usually eaten with bread or red rice and it was absolutely delicious. It’s was also an excellent option for the few vegetarians in our motley crew. Another personal favourite is the Yak burgers that they serve in many pubs; when in season, they make for a mouth-watering meal! They make local whisky and rum as well and the quality is supposed to be excellent because of the quality of water in the country.
We spent the next few days visiting tourist spots in the city. A must-see here, is the statue at the Buddha Point – the ‘Buddha Dordenma’ – a testament to their simple and warm Buddhit leanings. The statue is enormous and its beauty is quite overwhelming, even for us city slickers! Another place that one should visit is the zoo near the Thimphu Dzong – Dzongs are the administrative units in the cities. The zoo is home to the Takin, the national animal of Bhutan, which is a cross between a wolf and a cow! We also did a few short treks here, where the fit were enthused and the not-so-fit were huffing and puffing!
The next stop was Paro. It’s a very quaint town. Here, the main tourist attraction is the Tiger’s Nest or Thanksang Monastry which is situated on a mountain top, and the climb is quite steep. It took us about two to three hours to complete it; it’s three times harder than our Vaishnodevi or Shabharimaala climb, just to give you an idea! But reaching the top is beatific, in terms of the peace and calm of the Buddhist chants as the face of the monastry looks into a 360 degree angle of beauty. With peace in our hearts, and calmness as our companion, we trekked to the Dzong here, and I finally tried their traditional outfit ‘gho’. Of course, we needed the help of our local tour guide Ratu Dorjee to put it on. Wearing the dress is quite an elaborate process, but it is how the people show their respect to the priests and the King. In a hilarious turn of events, I was sitting in a restaurant, still in the ‘gho’, and a group of about six women assumed I was a local and started talking to me in the local tongue. I understood nothing, obviously, but let it go on for a good 5 to ten minutes. My friends and I had a great laugh; well they were either laughing with me or at me! The Wangchuk Monarchy in Bhutan is integral to the country — worthy of worship, they are adored by the people.
Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get our permit to Punakha – the country’s previous capital and another tourist hotspot, so we approached the city through the Dochula Pass – a journey that was nothing short of wondrous. The pass is on the southern entrance of Thimphu. Standing there, one can feel the clean, crisp air enter your body with every breath. Only a picture could give you an idea of how beautiful it was!
Well, it seems that Disneyland may have some competition from this carbon-negative, calm country — seeing as how it is the Happiest Country in the World!
— as told to Ahalya Narayanan