I don't think I need to emphasize much on what this post is going to be about (headnote: it's a pretty lengthy one) and I know I have been slacking off a bit from blogging because I had a break between my last post and this trip I'm posting about; then Christmas followed right after that and New Year immediately rang in after that! Before I knew it, college started and it was basically a whirlwind of tight schedules...so, without any further-a-due...
My circle here in college is pretty tight. There's just five of us and one of these 'best friends' of mine is from Thimphu, Bhutan. We all decided that, during these last two years of our five years course, we should all visit each other's hometowns. We planned this trip since summer 2015 and we were all so excited about it. I'm going to keep this post mainly on the perspective of a tourist BUT I will have to add some personal experiences that I had with my friend's family in The Land of the Thunder Dragon: Bhutan.
Let the pictures roll (LOL)
We took a 3rd AC Train from Sealdah, Kolkata to Hasimara. The journey was awful but we survived on pure excitement of our itinerary.
Apa Dorji (Dolma's dad) had his driver (Achu Jigme) pick us up from the station and he gave us a warm welcome. We entered Bhutan from the southern State of Phuentsholing, (which is the border state with India) where we stayed at Ashim
Pemo's apartment for the night. Our first official evening in Bhutan was rather hectic as we had to get our passes from the Immigration Office. We managed to award ourselves with some confectioneries from Kizom's Cafe after that task was done. During our stay at Ashim Pemo's that night, we were introduced to great things such as Bhutan's strong vodka called Raven. Ashim Pemo also told us what we should expect from the trip and a few headnotes of what we might witness (like the penis drawings and souvenirs, the well-fed chubby street dogs, etc.)
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| Raven |
The next day, we drove uphill and upstate to Thimphu. There, Dolma's sister
Omo and their father Apa Dorji greeted us warm-heatedly with home-made lunch. Let me tell you this before anything, BHUTANESE COUSIN IS AMAZING. We cleaned up, and then set out for a very special evening. Dolma and Omo were our tourist guides who took us to our first Dzong,
Tashichho Dzong. Before entering the Dzong, we watched a very beautiful flag hoisting ceremony.
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| Bhutan's National flag (at བཀྲ་ཤིས་ཆོས་རྫོང) |
The Thunder Dragon (Druk) flies diagonally across the flag, dividing the flag into two prestigious colors: yellow and orange.
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| The soldiers carrying the flag |
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| The beautiful flag hoisting ceremony |
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| Omo at the entrance of the Dzong's Courtyard |
The Dzong was beautiful! The murals on the walls were done in the ancient Bhutanese technique of mud painting. The Dzong inside was beautiful no less! Sadly, I can't show you pictures of it since there is a law which do not permit us to take pictures inside. However, out of respect, we still wouldn't have otherwise. From the prayer wheels to the courtyard and the entire ambiance with the sunset, everything was breathtaking. See for yourselves:
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| This is my favorite |
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| Tlin :) |
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| The courtyard from a corner view (notice the prayer wheels at the right corner) |
From my personal experience, the best time to visit the Tashichho Dzong is in the evening. The flag hoisting ceremony and the sunset-lit courtyard will calm you inside.
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| A breath-taking view of the lighted Dzong |
On our second day in Thimphu, we had to wake up early. Why? Because it was Bhutan's National Day and we were going to be in traditional attires called
Kira (the men wear
Go)
. That morning was freezing! It was winter season and the Sun wasn't up yet. We spent hours getting ready and then headed to
Changlimithang Stadium. We were excited as foreigners from democratic countries to see the King. We've seen numerous pictures of him and heard of him and the Queen countless time. Sadly, what we didn't know was that the King was in another state, Paro and we could only hear his speech broadcast by Bhutan Broadcasting Service. (He sounded calm and soothing).
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| Selfie in Changlimithang (we were really early) |
After the program, we met Apa Dorji who was sitting in the Official's pavilion. We then set off to
Buddha Dordenma at Kuenselphodrang. The Bronze Buddha gilded in gold is one of Asia's biggest Buddha statue. The throne itself was huge and inside, hold thousands of mini-Buddhas.
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| Entrance |
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| Sassing with this sassy horse on the Throne of Buddha |
The view from the Dordenma (Point) was amazing. We could see Thimphu valley from there. After exploring all that we could, we headed up to Kuenslphodrang Park with our pizzas from The Season's (they have the best hot chocolate I have ever tasted).
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| If only I could rewind this and keep it on replay |
The day ended with a visit to
Takin Park. Takin is the national animal of Bhutan which is a hybrid of Yak and Goat. Sadly, the park was closed by the time we got there but we drove to the Northern side to get a glimpse of them from outside the fencing.
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| Sorry for the quality of this photo |
The next day, we set off to Punakha State to visit the Punakha Dzong and this Dzong by far is my favorite Dzong. On the way we visited the
Dochula Pass: 108 Stupas and since it snowed that morning, the serenity was beyond anything I have ever felt.
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| Dochula Pass |
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| The entrance to the Temple at Dochula (model: Snigdha) |
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| Druk Wangyel Cafe: A gift to the IV King from his second eldest wife |
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| The cafe lobby |
We reached Punakha Dzong after a few more hours of drive. The Punakha Dzong has this calmness inside and it was peaceful, leading it to my favorite Dzong.
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| The entrance |
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| The Bridge |
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| The peaceful Dzong's Courtyard. |
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| Lunch that day: Different Datsi Dishes with traditional red rice |
We drove back to Thimphu the same day and we cleaned up for a night out in town. Omo and Dolma took us to Space 34 where we met their friends. It was a fun night that lead to many private jokes.
The next day was for shopping and cafe hopping along with a very special visit to Dolma's Uncle (Apa Lympho, as we all referred to him). We first went to My Mart's cafe to drink some coffee and buy some confectioneries for Ama Pema (Apa Dorji's elder sister who is also Apa Limpho's wife) for inviting us for lunch. We then drove to our lunch venue and we were greeted warmly by Dolma's little niece Pemasel. She is the cutest four-year-old I have ever befriended. Apa Limpho was a minister during the Fourth King's rule and during that time, the country was still a Monarchy. We had a wonderful time there and my favorite part about this visit was Ama Pema's momos. I had around 20 of them and could barely eat the lunch they prepared. I had a terrible stomachache from that gluttonous indulgence later that day. After we left Apa Limpho's place, we set off into town for some shopping. I got some cool souvenirs for my mom (and yes, it was a carved Thunder Dragon because I am obsessed with it) and some clothing for my sister-in-law and my nephew. That evening, Apa Dorji took all of us out on a dinner treat at Le Meridien. We had a great time and though the day ended for me with terrible visits to the toilet, it was worth it.
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| at Apa Limpho's |
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| with Apa Dorji |
On the last second day of our trip (last for Snigdha) we went to Paro state where we went on a trek to
Taktsang (popularly known as
Tiger's Nest). This was my favorite part of the entire trip. We set off from the base of the mountain and from there it was a challenge!
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| Started from the bottom... |
The trek from the bottom to the half-point took us almost an hour. Which was pretty amazing and we even passed all the other tourists on the trek up. I struggled a bit at the start because my lungs were getting hurt as I couldn't adjust my breath in the high altitude, let alone a cold winter high altitude air. Once I got my breathing right I became a mountain lion, just climbing and climbing.
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| Half point |
It took us over 1 hour (close to two hours) to complete our trek from the bottom to the Monastery on top. The feeling of accomplishment was rewarding ourselves with the entire structure that was resting on the side of the mountain up there! The security was tight. We had to hand in our back-packs including our phones and all other gadgets. Inside, we visited each temple and gave our butter lamp offerings. I accomplished something epic there and it was entering the steep taktsang cave (or three tiger lairs) and inside it was a bit claustrophobic. So, according to the Buddhist belief, in the 8th Century, Guru Padmasambhava came here to mediate for three months, three weeks, three days and three hours. He was said to have arrived on a tiger. The cave was where the tiger was said to have rested.
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| ...Now we're here |
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Rainbow across the waterfall next to the monastery. The bottom
was covered with snow and there were icicles everywhere. |
After the trek, we were exhausted. We booked an Inn nearby and stayed there for the night. It was the last night we had together as Snigdha was leaving the next day. We were the only guests in that Inn so we got special services. The ladies working in that hotel seemed like our age so we got along really well. That night, we treated ourselves to a hot stone mineral bath and it was divine! The day ended emotionally with all of us having a heart-to-heart talk. I love my girls :)
The next day we dropped Snigdha to Paro Airport. We then drove back to Thimphu, had lunch with Apa Dorji over a nice talk from him on what we should expect from life, because hello adulthood and responsibilities. I cherish every single advice you gave us Apa Dorji! After that, we packed and drove down to Phuentsholing where we stayed at Ashim Pemo's on our last night in Bhutan. Miss Universe 2015 was on that night and we hurled and laughed with the results.
The next morning, Aju Jigme drove us to Bagdogra Airport where Me and Tlin flew back to our home countries, India. The entire trip was amazing. Words don't come easy when people asked me later on on how my trip was. It was one trip that I will always look back to and reminisce all the fond memories, not only because Bhutan is a beautiful country, but because of the personal relationships I nurtured there.
Thank you for reading!
