Well, well, well.. here after a really long hiatus ! My last post was about 3 years ago(pre-Covid and pre-second-baby 😉 ). We did go to Maldives in Dec 2022, but nothing much to write about that as all we did there was chill by the beach :D.
During October 2022, we started planning for Europe during May/June 2023, but with the Ukraine war and inflation, we decided to park that plan and go to Bali instead. Bali had been on our bucket list for a long time. We created a WhatsApp group and started planning. But, amidst our buy schedules, we could hardly find time(WFH is a boon and a bane) and by the time we tried to book flights, it was super expensive ! So, one fine Saturday morning, we just decided to book flights to a place that is reasonable, has pleasant weather in May and can be experienced in 8-9 days. Bhutan checked all the 3 boxes. But we could not find any flights to Paro from Bangalore. We checked a couple of packages on a few sites and they all started from Bagdogra. So, we booked flights to Bagdogra. Later, we got to know that flights to Paro can only be booked through the Bhutanese airlines and it’s only available from Delhi and Kolkata. So, The Land of the Thunder Dragons ! We asked the guide at “Simply Bhutan”(coming up ahead) on the association of dragon with Bhutan. He said in the olden days, when there was drought, people in Bhutan prayed for rain. So when they heard thunder, it sounded like a dragon and they were very happy when it rained. They thought the dragon brought them happiness. Hence, Bhutanese always associate thunder with good luck 🙂
We booked our highly customised package through Accessible Adventures.
May 20th ’23 : We(9 adults, 4 kids and 1 infant) reached Bagdogra at around 3:30pm. Our TT was waiting for us and we immediately started to Phuentsholing, which lies on the border of Bhutan. Jaigaon is on the Indian side of Bhutan gate and Phuentsholing on the Bhutan side. On the way, we did not find any decent restaurants and my son who is 1 yr 2 months old generally has dinner at around 7:30pm. Luckily, I had packed flattened rice and home made seri for him as backup for the trip. So we rinsed the flattened rice with water, added some store bought curd and his dinner was ready ! He was happy and so were we ! Little did he/we know, this was going to be his dinner almost everyday 😉 We reached at Phuentsholing around 8pm. Our TT stopped near the border and our guide Sonam was waiting for us. He was dressed in the traditional Bhutanese attire (We later understood that everybody has to wear it when they are out for work) . He took us to the terminal. Paid the 10Rs fee and we literally walked to Bhutan ! 🙂 At the other end of the terminal, we completed the immigration formalities and a Bhutan Coaster bus was waiting for us. It was very comfortable ! Our hotel Lhaki was about a 10mins drive from the terminal. It was a decent hotel with some nice paintings. Dinner was good. We had phulkas, yummy eggplant stir fry and paneer masala. Hit the bed to rest before our journey to Paro the next day.
May 21st ’23 : Had breakfast and started our journey to Paro, our first destination in Bhutan. As we started our journey of 5 hours, we could see the beautiful landscape unfolding before us. The majestic mountains, the fluffy clouds were so beautiful. We took 3-4 breaks along the way, for photo sesh-es (of course ! ;)) and lunch. Nothing much about the day apart from journey. We reached Hotel Olathang in Paro by late evening. It is a gorgeous property nestled amidst pine trees. This hotel was established to accommodate guests during the 4th king’s coronation and the property is really good. There is a courtyard in the centre of the property where they have a campfire every evening. The rooms however, were not so clean. Dinner was not so great.
May 22nd ’23: After a pretty lousy breakfast, we started to Chele La Pass. Haa Valley was also on the agenda for the day but we decided to skip it as we would then reach Paro by night and would not get to spend much time there. The drive to Chele La was very scenic. We reached the top at around 11 am. The view was too good ! We could see snow capped mountains in the distance and fluffy pillow clouds floating by. We spent some good time here taking pictures and when it is a group of 13, well, you can imagine ! 😀 We returned to Paro for lunch and looked for a pure veg restaurant. We were all really tired and dizzy. Travelling in the ghat sections on an empty stomach is definitely not recommended ! 😀 We found a “Mountain Cafe” in the Main Street. We ordered a bunch of stuff – pizza, Hoentey (👎🏻), rotis, Sizzlers and soups.
Post a heavy lunch, we visited the Paro fortress(Rinpung Dzong). Bhutanese architecture is really wow ! All the buildings in Bhutan have to conform to certain norms like the design around windows or doors, the shapes etc. When normal houses are themselves a sight to see, you can imagine how a fort would look like ! Beautiful artwork ! The dzong encompasses the religious and administrative offices. It houses a monastery too.
After spending some time here, we proceeded to a Bhutanese house to have traditional hot stone bath. Put my infant son to sleep in a room in the house. Thanks to the host and our guide Sonam who offered to take care of the baby when we woke up ! 🙂
Bathtubs are filled with water and few medicinal herbs and at the other end of the bathtub that extends outside the room, hot stones are dumped. When you want the water to be hotter, you ask for hot stone and when you would like it colder, you ask for water. When hot stones are dumped, you can actually hear the fizz and see the steam moving toward you. It was a very relaxing experience and felt totally rejuvenated by the end of it 🙂 Was also a little hilarious to hear some asking for hot stones and others shouting for water 🙂 After the bath, we were offered butter tea and rice crisps which was really good. Back to the hotel, we crashed to recharge for the next day – hiking to Tiger’s nest.
May 23rd ’23 : Hike to Tiger’s nest was one of the major things we were looking forward to in Bhutan. When me and my husband were discussing about how we would manage with our one year old, we thought we will carry him in turns and our cousins were always helping us anyway ! So, I wasn’t much worried. There was also an option for riding a horse. So, I thought, we can take a horse if we find it difficult. But our guide Sonam informed us that the horse only goes halfway and it’s a 10km trek which is not really easy. Also, in the higher altitude, we would get tired easily and it would be difficult to carry the baby. So, the previous night, I googled “How to use a bedspread as a baby carrier” and was all set to use it, but luckily, my cousin checked with the hotel staff and one of them kindly lent his personal baby carrier ❤
At the trekking point, Sonam suggested to hire a helper who would carry the baby and hike with us. I thought that was a good idea. My son is generally very friendly and gels easily with strangers too, so thought it should be ok. We negotiated the price with the helper and he changed to Gho (traditional Bhutanese dress for men) 🙂 But as soon as he wrapped my son in their traditional carrier and placed him on his back, he started wailing ! It was his nap time too and maybe he was cranky due to that but no amount go cajoling helped ! My husband then carried him and he was all smiles ! My husband wanted to stay ahead of us and keep me out of sight, so that my son does not ask for me 😀 So, he started hiking pretty fast. The hike was neither too easy nor too difficult. But it really did make me wonder how they constructed the monastery there ! It’s on a very steep, smooth mountain. The weather was immensely kind to us. It wasn’t too sunny, so the hike was very pleasant. We took a couple of breaks here and there. There are a couple of view points once we reach the mountain opposite to the monastery. From here, it’s about 700 stairs to the monastery, which is the most difficult part of the hike 😀 The stairs are very very steep ! I was suggesting to the guide that a zipline from the other side would be good and he loved the idea ! 😀
We started the hike at around 8:45am and reached the nest by about 11:30am. I was so happy that even the 5 yr old kids(daughter and nephew) could hike and even reached the top ahead of us ! 😀 After seeing the monastery, we started to head back and we heard the thunders ! If it rained, it would be very difficult to trek back with kids and the baby ! So, we started immediately. Our guide said the locals believe that if silence is not maintained inside the monastery, weather gods are angered and it might rain. I do not know if this is true or if it was our guide’s way of subtly nudging us ;P On the way back, we stopped at the cafe which is about mid-way during the trek, tried to force down some really bad fried rice down our throats, failed and resumed the descent. About 4 of us were behind the others and we noticed that it was not the route we took when we trekked upwards. This was much more challenging. Rain was also showing signs of starting with few drops here and there which worried us further. If it did rain, we would definitely be Jacks and Jills (come tumbling down 😉 😀 ). Thankfully, the weather gods took mercy upon us and we reached the starting point safely ! Phew !
It was a truly memorable experience. One of the must do’s in Bhutan definitely!
After the hike, we returned to Paro, roamed through the main streets, had dinner at Mountain Cafe and headed back to the hotel.
24th May’23 : Today we bid goodbye to Paro and started our journey to Punakha. Indian tourists are only allowed to stay in 3 star+ hotels in Bhutan but we really wanted to experience the countryside life in a Bhutan home and had insisted upon staying in a homestay. When the agent sent us the pics of the Chimi Lhakhang homestay , we were thrilled !
On the way, Sonam asked us what we would like for dinner once we reach the homestay. Generally, I love to try the local cuisine whenever we travel. But, going by our experience in Bhutan so far, I was really hesitant to try the local food. The smell of the soybean oil, the milk, cheese, the sticky rice and the spices were not suiting my palate. So, I had asked for one Indian curry and roti as a backup. When we reached the homestay, we received a very warm welcome. The host was very friendly. We were served popcorn, rice crisps and butter tea.
After the tea, we went for a stroll in the area. Most shops were closed as it was past 6pm. But it was fun to walk amidst the paddy fields.
While casually talking about dinner, the host said she would make red rice and some side dishes. So, I was ok to skip the Indian dishes. And boy, we were in for a treat !
Everything was so yummy ! Especially ema datshi ! Staying in this homestay completely changed our perception about Bhutanese food and its people. We had never met such friendly people until then. Suffice to say, it was the first time our stomachs and our hearts were full in Bhutan ! ❤
25th May ’23: We woke up to heavy rain ! Rafting was on the agenda for the day. There are 2 rivers in Punakha for rafting : Mo Chhu (Female) and Po Chhu (Male). Mo Chhu is gentler, while Po Chhu is more aggressive and hence, more fun for rafting. But since kids are not allowed to raft in Po Chhu, we opted for Mo Chhu. As it was raining, we were a bit unsure. But luckily, by the time we had breakfast (yummy buckwheat pancakes and potato curry), the rain had subsided. After bidding goodbye to our wonderful host, we proceeded to the starting point for rafting. The starting point was about a half an hour away from our homestay. My son stayed with two of my cousins who could not raft due to medical reasons and the rest of us rented 2 boats. The river was very gentle and hence, it felt more like boating than rafting. But it was very scenic and fun for the kids ! We were all tempted to raft in the male river too but we were short of time if we wanted to see Punakha Dzong too. So, we split up and while some went to raft in Po Chhu, few of us went to see Punakha Dzong. It definitely was one of the best fortresses in Bhutan !
Standing majestically between the Mo Chhu and Po Chhu rivers, it is the second largest dzong in Bhutan. The dzong is bordered by numerous Jacaranda trees blooming with flowers.
As you enter the dzong, there is a large courtyard surrounded by many offices. The building to see here is the monastery. It is undoubtedly one of the best monasteries in Bhutan. It is so so colourful ! The intricate paintings on the walls depicting Buddha’s life journey, the colourful tapestry hung from the ceiling(symbolising Buddha’s earring, his garments etc), the woodwork are all so mesmerising. Topping it all, is the statue of the Buddha. It is so divine ! You can immediately feel a sense of calm within you.
Had lunch on the way and proceeded to Phobjikha valley. This was the most awaited destination for me in Bhutan ! It is a beautiful valley at an altitude of 3000m. The journey to Phobjikha gave us a glance into what lay ahead. The scenery was just beautiful ! We even got to see yaks grazing 🙂 We reached Phobjikha at around 7:30pm and we could literally see the clouds on the road !(vehicle’s headlight). Quite an unforgettable sight ! As soon as we reached our hotel Dewachen, rain gods descended upon us. It rained all night!
26th May ’23 : It was still raining in the morning ! We girls had planned to wear saree for a photoshoot in Phobjikha ! But we dropped the plan 😦 The view from the hotel was just breathtaking ! We decided to take a walk even in the rain. So, the gods bestowed mercy upon us looking at our determination ! 😀 It was a quaint, scenic village. The vast valley, horses and cows grazing and the mountains as the backdrop – literally looked like a postcard.
Sadly, we had to bid adieu to Phobjikha and start to Thimphu. Upon reaching Thimphu, we went for a stroll in the main market. Thimphu looked much like any other Indian city. After reaching the hotel, we hit the bed.
27th May’23 : Our last day of sightseeing in Bhutan ! Started early to “Simply Bhutan”. This is like a cultural centre which gives some insight into traditional Bhutanese life with displays and performances. We spent about a couple of hours here looking at the displays and taking part in the performances. From here, we went straight to Buddha Point. One can see the huge Buddha statue sitting peacefully atop the hill from a mile away. But personally, the Buddha statue at Punakha Dzong won my heart compared to this one. It started raining as soon as we reached there. Hence, we did not spend much time here and started our journey to Phuentsholing. Since this was our last day in Bhutan, we went shopping and bought a few souvenirs.
28th May’23 : Started our long journey back to Bagdogra at 4:30am. Bhutan has zero tolerance towards littering. So, it was really disheartening to see the stark contrast once we cross the terminal to the Indian side. While the Bhutanese side is spick and span, there is literally a pile of garbage as soon as you enter the Indian side ! 😦
Reached Bangalore with some wonderful memories of Bhutan !
Few tips for planning :
1. If you are planning to Bhutan from Bangalore: Flights to Paro are available only on the Bhutanese airlines. You wont find it on any other travel websites. Flights to Paro are expensive but it saves the travel time from Bagdogra to Phuentsholing (almost 5 hrs).
2. As with most hilly places, journey is more beautiful than the destination! So, enjoy the journey.
3. Indian currency works everywhere. But be sure to carry enough cash. Some activities are pretty expensive (Eg: Rafting costs 10k per boat)
4. Dress code : Advisable to wear full sleeves and ankle length wear to monasteries/fortresses.
5. DO NOT LITTER ! – Though this applies not just to Bhutan, but everywhere !
6. Highly recommend Phobjikha ! Would be good to stay for a couple of days in leisure.
swathijois 
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