Bewitching Bhutan-The Land Of Happiness and Monasteries

Bhutan- The land where happiness takes precedence. In this beautiful country, people do not talk about GDP, instead, they proudly talk about GNH - Gross National Happiness and this is visible across the country. Bhutan, a small kingdom, situated in the lap of Himalayas is a place everyone should visit once in their lifetime. The one thing that comes to the mind when you mention about Bhutan is Tiger's nest. However,  there is more to Bhutan. The Himalayas, the pristine rivers, the monasteries, the similar-looking buildings across the country, the clean roads, the smooth traffic without the honking of the cars- Yes you heard it right. Honking by the vehicles is prohibited in this country. One more thing which startled me was the absence of signals yet the traffic moved without any hitch. So let me show you glimpses of this beautiful country through my eyes and entice you to visit this beautiful land

Going to Bhutan was never on my bucket list. A casual talk with my friend Vasanti -Yes the green bag lady from my Kailash Yaatra, resulted in me saying yes to Bhutan organised by Mantra Yatra with whom I travelled to Mount Kailash and then I convinced my other friend KBN  to join me in this fun trip with his wife Shanthi. Once I decided that I need a break and that would be through travel to this beautiful land and which was organised by Balaji of Mantra yatra, I didn't bother much about my stay there or the food available there. This is because I trust Mantra yatra so much that I knew we would be comfortably taken care of while we are there in terms of travel and food and of course the experience too. My co-travellers will agree with this.

 Having decided to travel I didn't involve myself much with the group chatting which usually goes on prior to any group travel and of course after that too. On the day we had to leave to Bagdogra, I landed at the airport ahead of time to find that Sujatha was already there to receive the latecomers. Within a short, while our organiser arrived with the promised packed breakfast for each of us, Yes he wanted to serve us some yummy breakfast and not what is available in-flight and that was soft fluffy idli with chutney and some lip-smacking kesari. The check-in and boarding were smooth and all of us were seated comfortably in our allotted seats. With our tummy taken care of, some of us dozed off peacefully and were awakened by the soft landing of our flight in Bagdogra. Bagdogra is a small defence airport and hence comes under the high-security zone. By the time we landed, the other co-travellers from Ahmedabad and Hyderabad were already waiting for us. After exchanging the pleasantries, we boarded the scheduled buses en route to Phuentsholing via Siliguri.

ROAD TRIP FROM BAGDOGRA TO PHEUNTSHOLING- DAY 1

Initially, there was silence as we travelled or everyone was speaking only among themselves and obviously, it was a little boring especially for chatterboxes like Vasanti, Shanthi and Myself. Later realised that Lalitha also fits in the same category. As the bus stopped at a small tea shop en route for a tea break and a bio break, instead of waiting for the tea to be served, Lalitha went across the highway and started clicking the tea gardens. Vasanti and I followed suit and realised that these tea gardens are on the same level as the road and not like the ones in Ooty where you need to climb up the hill. So there was no stopping for the three of us and we went in the tea gardens to capture some good pics and frame the memories.

The ice was broken now and from then on our bus was cheerful with the chit chat and laughter. At around 7.30 pm we reached Pheuntsholing through the iconic Pheuntsholing gate which separates India and Bhutan

Here, we were checked to see if we were suffering from the dreaded coronavirus and then allowed to enter the country. What was very striking was the sudden quiet on the roads and cleanliness on the roads too. Some things need to be learnt from our Himalayan neighbour. They took us to the immigration centre and after verification of our travel documents, we were granted a visa for 7 days. After the passports got stamped, we then went to Hotel Palm. Here I must say that Balaji had arranged it so well, that we were allotted our rooms within minutes and our luggage reached the rooms as well. After freshening up, we all met again for dinner and happily ate the hot dal, roti, chawal and the sweet too. Now it was time to say good night and crash and I did that immediately

PHEUNTSHOLING TO THIMPHU - DAY 2

This morning was a beautiful morning. As usual, the six of us-Vasanti, Ramesh, Shanthi, KBN, Lalitha and myself got ready a little early and went for a walk near the hotel to take a close look at the tree with red flowers which we have been noticing from Siliguri

.

The roads are very clean here. The guide told us of a few important rules to be followed by a traveller in Bhutan. Pedestrians should cross only in the zebra crossing as there are no traffic signals in Bhutan- Yes, I could not believe it too but this country follows the rule of no signal and no honking and we could not encounter any traffic jam either, something which we can learn from our neighbouring country. So we decided to follow the rules lest we are fined. What struck me most is the uniformity of the buildings in this place and later I realised it to be the same across the country. It is the rule in this beautiful country that all the buildings should have the same elevation as it brings in a sense of uniformity. Having walked for a while, we headed back to the hotel for a sumptuous breakfast as we had leave to Thimphu right after that.

After all of us boarded the bus Balaji came by to say the prayers which he usually does on every trip followed by a sweet. It becomes so addictive and we looked forward to what could it be for the next day. And then the journey towards Thimphu started. As we moved away from Phuentsholing, we felt the temperatures drop and slowly people start to layer up. On public demand, especially from Mr Jayaraman (one of the three advocates in our bus), we stopped near a good hotel. Here, we were offered some hot tea and some snacks and to our relief, the washrooms were very clean. As we came out of the hotel, there was mild snowing and we rushed to our bus. After having that hot tea, and sitting idle in the bus for a while, we could hear our stomach growling and the Dave family from Ahmedabad were quick to understand this. As if from the Akshaya Patra, the snacks started to come out of a bag. The best ones were the kakhara and other savouries. God bless this family for carrying the snacks for all of us. Next was a stop for lunch and bio break. A small place and one display that caught our eye was a pictorial as to how to wash our hands. The corona scare was catching up, I guess. After the hot lunch, Lalitha was the first to go out and start clicking and slowly everyone was out on the roads. With the photo session coming to an end, we boarded our bus to safely travel to Thimphu- The capital city of Bhutan. Here, we went directly to the hotel, checked in, freshened up and again came down to stroll the streets of Thimphu in the chilly weather. What caught my eye was most of the shops stocked bags, luggage and winter wear. Few shops sold their traditional wear. Of course, the souvenir shop with the Bhutan magnets and magnets displaying the royal family were plenty and it was fun with Lalitha saying Pazhamozhi sonna anubhavikkanum- Aaraaya kudhadhu and the likes. Next morning was being looked forward too as it was a sightseeing day at Thimphu.

THIMPHU- DAY 3

Thimphu is the capital and the largest city of Bhutan. It is the most modern city of this country which is spotted with nightclubs, shopping centres, internet cafes, karaoke bars and restaurants. The main attractions of Thimphu would be The National Post office, The clock Tower Square, Monasteries, Farmer's market, Semtokha Dzong and Motithang Takin Preserve.

BUDDHA POINT

The first stop was the Buddha point. Do take your warm clothing as this place is situated on a hill and there is so much open space that you will definitely feel cold without the warm clothing. Since it is a place of worship, we were asked to remove the footwear and cap and our guides Duje and Citim explained to us all the paintings that were in the monastery. Only now did I realise that all the figures looking like Buddha are not Siddhartha. Here in Bhutan,  most monasteries have Guru Padma sambhava who preached Buddhism here. We did learn a lot about Guru Padma sambhava.

Guru Padma sambhava in Tibet is generally referred to as Guru Rinpoche which literally translates into "The Precious One". Guru Padma sambhava (he who came into being in a lotus) is an eighth-century Buddhist master from the Indian subcontinent. Buddha Sakyamuni had professed that a master by the name of Padmasambhava would arrive 8 years after his Mahaparinirvana and preach Buddhism and he did arrive and we can see his teachings being followed in Bhutan to the core. Guru Padmasambhava taught Vajrayana which is tantric in nature while Buddha Sakhya muni taught Hinayana. In many monasteries across Bhutan, we can see the eight emanations depicted of Guru Rinpoche. Since it is, a place of worship, clicking of the paintings are forbidden. Do check it out on the web.

After seeing the intricate depicted paintings of Guru Padma sambhava and Buddha which were interspersed with the pictures of the royal family, we were given a brief introduction of their prayers and rituals by our guide Citim. With the newly gained knowledge about Buddhism in Bhutan, we stepped outside to see and admire the huge buddha statue. It is so huge that we were all looking minuscule in its vicinity. With a lovely view of the city, and of the Royal Palace, we were entitled to a group picture with this monument. After that, the kid in a few of us wanted to take pictures which we could see and re-live for the years to come. Had fun and while writing this I am still laughing out loud.

SIMPLY BHUTAN

Our next stop was to a place called Simply Bhutan. Simply Bhutan is a place where they showcase the essence of Bhutan. Here you can see the live cultural dance. The utensils used for the traditional cooking, their method of storing some vegetables and greens particularly the red chillies so that there is no dearth of these in the harsh winter seasons. Then we were served the authentic Bhutanese food with red rice, boiled vegetables, a cheesy preparation and a very spicy pickle like preparation. The best was the butter tea topped with rice crispies. Later our group members tried their hands at archery with Lalitha as the clever winner and the bonus for this was the 4 Bhutanese boys danced their traditional dance like thanksgiving and as usual, we also joined in for a wonderful Bhutanese experience.

NATIONAL POST OFFICE

The National Post office. It houses the museum as well and what catches the eye at the museum is the statue of the postman.

The post office is so modernized that you give them a picture in digital media and they will within minutes roll out a strip of stamps with that picture which you can actually use for posting in that country. Well, some of us were so impressed with that and we did stamp our pictures taken in this beautiful land, bought some postcards there, stuck these stamps and posted it to our own address. If you have children accompanying you, then this will be a must-see place for you.

 By now the sun had set. It was quite cold and our bladders full too and all we could think was to rush to our rooms and we just did that. Later in the evening had a sumptuous dinner in the hotel and peacefully went to sleep. Well, well that was the beginning. As the night deepened, the dogs on the road started to show their power of territory and the barking and howling just ripped my peaceful sleep. Yes, there are way too many dogs in Bhutan and I heard that the king has asked the citizens to adopt them. Hope the barking reduces next time we go.

THIMPHU TO PUNAKHA-DAY 4

This was the fourth day of our trip and most of us were looking forward to this trip, the reason being we would be travelling to Punakha which was the earlier capital of Bhutan. However, this was not what enticed us. It was the stop in between which was very inviting. Yes, our first stop would be at Dochu-La pass. So we were all getting ready with our winter wear since Dochu-La is situated at 10,130 ft and that means it is going to be quite cold especially for people who are from sea level. That morning we finished our breakfast soon and went and saw to it that we had good seats in the bus( we were bored sitting in the last seat for 3 days now). More than our seats we were very happy that the Dave family also were seated comfortably. That means our snacks for this day would be taken care of (hehe-Evil laugh). Well, jokes apart. God bless this family. So, after an hour's drive, we reached the Pass.

DOCHULA PASS

Here we were told that we can see 360 degrees panoramic view of the Himalayas but as luck would have it, it turned out that all the peaks were covered with clouds and it was quite foggy. But then, Dochula pass is also famous for the 108 mini stupas or Chortens which were built in the memory of the 108 soldiers who were killed in the 2003 war against the Indian rebels who had built 30 camps on the Bhutanese land and which would be used for raiding Assam. The battle called "Operations All Clear" was led by the Fourth King of Bhutan Druk Gyalpo Jigme Singye Wangchuck and was successful. After the victory of this battle, the Queen Mother Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck commissioned this structure and is a beautiful landmark. But again we hurriedly finished going around the stupas because something else was more inviting, the little snow from the recent snowfall.
Lalitha was, as usual, the leader to lead the way into the snow and we followed. The young Nasa couple(Nagaraj and Shanthi) were missing only to be discovered later taking pictures with the snow and the mountains. Rest of the others went into the lone restaurant to have a hot cup of tea and for the bio break. Having clicked pics and enjoyed the snow for a while, we boarded the bus much to the relief of Balaji.

Now we had to reach Punakha and all through the journey, we realised that there were tiny little stupas kept in any crevice available on the side of the mountains or near any temple. Later our guide explained that these mini stupas were kept in the memory of the departed. Since we were fortunate to be in Bhutan during the festival, we rushed to Punakha dzong.

PUNAKHA DZONG

Punakha Dzong is the most beautiful dzong in Bhutan. This was built at the confluence of two major rivers namely The Pho Chhu and Mo Chhu. It was the second dzong built in this country and served as the capital and the seat of government till the 1950s. Now it the winter residence of the official monk body. Access to this dzong is across Bazam bridge. This dzong is well known for its structural beauty. And in addition to this is known for housing the preserved remains of Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, the unified of Bhutan as well as the sacred relic known as Ranjung Karsapani.

THE PUNAKHA TSHECHU FESTIVAL

The Punakha Tshechu takes place in the month of February or March and we were lucky to be at Punakha for that festival. This is a colourful procession that reenacts an episode of the war which was waged against Tibet in the seventeenth century, The religious dances performed during this festival are marked by the use of masks which represents animals, fearsome deities, skulls etc. This is the most colourful procession that I have ever witnessed and we all enjoyed the time we spent standing clueless in the crowd, Suddenly the jam-packed crowd buzzed and we could see the war being enacted. Lovely ever moment of this show. Later we went inside the dzong to see the beautiful architecture which was explained in depth by our guides.

Now that our stomachs were growling, we went straight to a restaurant to have our lunch for the day. With our tummy saying om Shanthi, some of the men wanted to visit the temple of fertility, while most of the women opted to go to the Wolakha nunnery. A beautiful place of worship which houses many nuns. We saw nuns at the ripe age 80 plus to young girls. Each of us could go inside the temple while the nuns prayed and rituals being conducted. Feeling satisfied we headed back to pick up the rest of the guys from the fertility temple and headed back to the hotel to spend rest of the evening in peace as we would travel to Paro the next day.

PUNAKHA TO PARO-DAY 5
As was the routine, we started early after breakfast to Paro. Halted for a while at Dochula pass. While others were basically refreshments in the cafeteria, we 6 went straight to the 108 stupa memorial to see in detail as we missed doing it on our onward journey since it was the snow which was more interesting to us , and  we four, the Kailash yaatris in this trip clicked this precious photograph

PARO

On reaching Paro, our first stop was at a scenic spot on the banks of Paro Chhu. The banks were strewn with small pebbles. The river is clean and beautiful and the water was quite cold. But standing in the cold water with the breeze caressing our face was a wonderful experience. Did not want to leave that spot, but then we had to bid bye to the beautiful spot. Memories were framed in our camera and we left to the next destination.

KYICHU LHAKHANG TEMPLE

The next place of visit was the famous Kyichu Lhakhang temple in the northern part of Paro. This temple is believed to have been built in 659 AD by the King Songsten Gampo in Tibet to pin down the left foot of the supine ogress which was playing havoc in the establishments of Buddhism in the Himalayas. This temple is said to be one of the main 12 temples of the 108 temples that were built across Tibet and its borders. Kyichu Lhakhang being a historical monument along with a spectacular landscape is one of the must-see places for visitors of Paro. One more thing that a traveller will not miss is the two orange trees in the temple. This tree is supposed to bear fruit all through the year. What caught our eye and finally our camera is the tall cypress tree in the courtyard on the left side of this temple. The cypress tree is the national tree of Bhutan.

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF BHUTAN

Our next stop was at the National Museum of Bhutan. This was built in 1649 as the watchtower to protect the undefended dzong. Later in 1978, it was renovated and since then, it houses the museum.
The circular conch shaped structure is built on the banks of river Paro

We were exhausted and rushed off to the hotel for a nice evening tea and snacks after the check-in. Now, we had some free time and the six of us decided to go shopping for essential things. Yes, we had forgotten to bring our woollen gloves and the shopping area was next to our hotel. As usual, we shopped for gloves as well as the fleece which was very economical and good too. Later in the evening, Balaji had organised a cultural Bhutanese dance show for our group along the banks of river pa. But since the night temperatures, were dipping, it was decided that the dance would be held in the indoors of a hotel much to the relief of everyone. The dance show with the masks depicting the culture of Bhutan was rejuvenating. Followed by dinner and sound sleep as the next day was very important to some of us who were to Hike to Tiger's nest the following morning.

TIGER'S NEST- DAY 6

The next morning few of us, Lalitha, Vasanti, Nagraj, Shanthi, Arulmozhi, Muralidharan, Sujatha, Bhamathi, Rajamani, Bhaskar, Jagadish, Vasudhaand the youngest of the lot Shreshta and myself packed our breakfast and started to the revered tiger's nest in our vehicle. We chose to eat the packed bread sandwich in the bus itself before embarking on the hike. I reserved the banana for the return journey though. We were dropped at the start point and there we picked up the walking sticks which were rented at Rs 50 each.
Taksang Monastery is famously called as Tiger's Nest Monastery and is situated on the cliffside. This is a sacred Buddhist monastery constructed in 1692 around the cave where Guru Rinpoche first meditated.
The legend says that Guru Rinpoche was carried on the back of the tigress from Tibet to this place. Hence the name Tiger's Nest. This monastery has the temple and the accommodations for the monks here.
The hike to this monastery will roughly take 4-5 hrs if done comfortably. The hike is all the way up till the cafeteria which is half to the total distance. The elevation does take a toll but if you are hiking with like-minded people, then it is a joy to go on hikes like this. We three, Lalitha Vasanti and I hiked at our pace, stopping in between for water and enjoying the view which each turn on the mountain was showing to us. After huffing and puffing for a while, we reached cafeteria where we stopped for some light refreshments.

Having refreshed Lalitha, Vasanti, Mr Muralidharan, Nagraj, Rajamani, Shhreshta and myself started for the next part of the hike. It was not that difficult until we came to the spot where the Tiger's nest iconic photographs are clicked. This is a beautiful view and once you see this, you forget that you have climbed a difficult hike. Next comes the steps where there are 700 steps down and 250 steps up to reach the entrance of the monastery.

It is not that difficult as much as we thought it would be. In between, I saw a small waterfall with frozen ice but decided against standing there as I wanted to reach the monastery fast. As I reached the monastery I saw that Shreshta was already there, followed by Vasanti and Lalitha and then the men with our guide came in.

Here all our bags, camera and footwear were kept in the locker and we went inside the temple. Here is what changed most of us. Till now it was just a hike, but once inside the temple, there was silence and as the guide explained to us, each one had an experience, While, Lalitha was in tears, I felt a sudden stillness, just not around but inside as well. I am sure we might not be able to explain the experience but it does change one in some ways.
It was becoming very cold and we decided to hike down as it looked as though it would rain. Vasanti climbed down quickly, while Lalitha and I descended at our pace. While we were descending, it started snowing lightly and we were so engrossed in our conversation that we didn't realise that we had already reached almost the cafeteria. There Shanthi was so happy to see us and after some tea, we all hiked back to the base near the car park. Here a surprise was awaiting us, Balaji, Ramesh and Bhargavi were waiting for us and to come back safely. They took us to a restaurant to feed us some snacks since we had skipped lunch.

As soon as we reached the hotel, six of us again went for shopping. This time it was for the face mask. COVID fear was overtaking everyone and I needed a mask desperately. But then to my dismay, all the stores had displayed "NO MASKS, NO SANITIZER BOARD". But later on, while we were shopping for the Taksang t-shirts, Shanthi hunted for the mask. Thanks to her I had my face covered safely for the rest of my travel. Then after a light dinner, it was a good night sleep with a sense of achievement that Bhutan trip was completed successfully.

CHELELA PASS
While we were hiking Tiger's nest, the rest of the group went ahead and had fun at Chelela pass which was covered in snow. Here are some fun moments captured by our organizer.

PARO TO PHUENTSHOLING- DAY 7

Next morning we left to Pheuntsholing, and all along the way, each one was thinking back about the last six days. My mind was so engrossed about the hike and the stillness at the monastery. Some things are better left unexplained. Since everyone was exhausted by now, there was silence again. On this bus journey, we were in for another surprise. It was that we had a lovely singer amongst us and none of us even knew. Sudha Dave who is a professional singer treated us to some old Hindi tunes. She has such a soulful voice and we all enjoyed the melodies till we reached our hotel. On the other bus, Kaka and Kachi also had been singing bhakti songs and entertaining the others. They are one couple whom I instantly adored. We can see the love for one another in their eyes. Though they are aged, it did not deter them from trying anything that the others tried. They were the ones who danced so well too. God bless this couple always. Reached Puentsholing by late evening, checked into the hotel, had dinner and went to bed early. The next morning we had to leave to Bagdogra.

PHEUNTSHOLING TO BAGDOGRA-DAY 8

Having packed our bags and sent it across to the reception for loading on to our vehicles, we went in for our breakfast. There was a mixed emotion that everyone was going through. One of going back home to our loved ones with so much of memories from this beautiful land and some of leaving behind these memories and people associated with this. But we had to move on and life goes on. With these thoughts, we boarded the bus, a silent journey for most times until we reached Bagdogra. Here we first stopped for lunch and Vasanti was kind enough to treat us with ice cream to end this trip on a sweet note and we then proceeded to the airport. Now that we reached the airport it was time to say goodbye to one and all. It is nearly a month and the memories are still vivid. Hoping to travel with my friends soon.

As it is customary on this blog, there is a nickname for some lucky ones who travelled on this trip

Balaji- The patient Organizer
MRS AND MR DAVEY- The youngest energetic lovable couple
Anusha-Thokku Tai- Tokku supplier for the trip
Sudha-Nightingale of Mantra Yaatra
Daksha Dave, Shakuntala and family- Family with Akshaya Patra
Lalitha-Non stop entertainer
 Thanks to each one of you who made this trip memorable.
This blogpost would do no justice without my expressing gratitude to Mr Balaji for the trip and continuous support through the trip.
If you want to be a part of such fun trips then do message Balaji @9840188430 or mail mantrayatra@gmail.com for information about further trips

Keep travelling. Be Safe

Picture credits: Mr Rajamani, Ms Lalitha and Mr. Balaji.