The International Writers Magazine: Bhutan

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A Passage to Bhutan It is often interesting for passionate travelers to freak out in the unknown terrain. That probably signifies the essence of being adventurous and satisfies the ego of discovering new avenues. Last year we got married. Being adventurous in nature, we decided to go to Bhutan – for our honeymoon.

King of Bhutan

The kingdom of Bhutan is situated between the two major superpowers of the Southeast Asian region – India and China. During our stay in Bhutan we were amused by the uniqueness of its culture. The beautiful landscapes, the lovely weather and interesting people have enough zing to reinvigorate the most world-weary traveler. In the eastern Himalayas, Bhutan is bordered by the Tibetan plateau in the North and the Indian states of Assam and West Bengal in the East, West and South
Travel Essentials
• Passport/visa – carrying passport is a must. However visa is not required for Indian nationals.
• Weather & climate – Bhutan is relatively cold with maximum temperature ranging from 12.3 deg C in January to 22.5 deg C in May and 25 deg C in August respectively. The minimum temperature on the other hand can be as low as -2.6 deg C in January, 13 deg C in May and 15.8 deg C in August. The afore-mentioned temperature is that of Thimpu (capital city of Bhutan). Paro is even more cooler than Thimpu.
Glimpses of the snow capped mountain in the month of May
• Languages – The official language in Bhutan is Dzongkha. However most of the people understand Hindi and English.
• Accommodation – Accommodation is readily available in both Thimpu and Paro. We stayed at Hotel Jumolhari in Thimpu and Hotel Olathang (A unit of Bhutan tourism corporation Ltd) in Paro.
We in front of Hotel Olathang, Paro
• Currency – The Bhutanese currency is known as ‘Ngultrum’ (Nu). Astonishingly it has the same value as that of the Indian Rupee. Indian Rupee is widely accepted, giving a feeling of ‘home away from home’.
• Public telephone – telephone booths are available at regular distances and the ISD call charge to India is Rs 17 per minute.
• Public transport – there is no such organized public transport system. Tourists may hire cabs (mostly Maruti vans). The fare is a bit on the higher side and a little bargaining may be required. We were awestruck to see costly vehicles (mostly of Toyota brand) moving on the streets.
Imported vehicles parked at the Paro Town

• How to reach Bhutan – Druk (meaning Dragon) Air is the only air carrier to fly to Bhutan. It is the national flag carrier of the kingdom of Bhutan. The airport is located in a deep valley at an elevation of 7300 ft above the sea level with surrounding hills as 16,000 ft at Paro. Druk Air operates from Paro, 5 times weekly to Bangkok, thrice to Kolkata, twice weekly to Dhaka and Yangon, and twice to Kathmandu and Delhi. For further information one may log on to www.drukair.com.bt

What to see in Bhutan
Thimpu
Thimpu has been the capital city of Bhutan since 1955. It is the home to about 50,000 people and many important government and religious institutions.
We were touched by the hospitality of the people out there at Thimpu. We hired a cab to visit the Bhutan broadcasting service (BBS) tower, which is the only source of broadcasting any news out of Bhutan. On the way to the BBS tower is the Takin reserve (Takin is a sheep like animal and is the national animal of Bhutan).
Other than getting the spectacular view of the Thimpu valley one can also get the glimpse of the Queens’ palace (the present king, His Majesty, Wangchuk has four Queens each having of her own in a secluded location) and the crown prince’s palace hidden deep amidst the blue pine forest.
From the BBS tower we moved down to the Tashichhodzong, on the banks of the wang chu river. It is Bhutan’s administrative and religious centre. It houses the throne room of His Majesty, the king of Bhutan, government ministries, the nation’s largest monastery and headquarter of His Holiness, the Je Khenpo (the chief abbot) and the central monk body. Tourists need permission to enter the premises.
Changangkha Lakhang (monastery) is an interesting place to see. As per the norms of the monastery tourists are not allowed inside the main prayer hall. But to our pleasant surprise a very old member of the monastery invited us to visit the prayer hall. We were enthralled to see the huge metal idols of Lord Buddha. A monk chanting mantras and the fragrance of the incense stick mesmerized us.
Dochola is around 20 km uphill from the city of Thimpu and is a beautiful tourist spot having 108 stupas built by the eldest Queen. Foreign tourists are required to take a special permission from the immigration centre to visit the place. Though we never knew this the officer at the checkpost was kind enough to allow us enter the place by holding our passports.
On the way back we stopped in a roadside shop to have some refreshments. We saw a very innovative cooking oven placed in the middle of the room which was simultaneously being used as a room heater. The small shop is a living place of its owner and is decorated with many modern amenities.
We at the roadside refreshment center
Paro
From Dochola we moved down to Paro, around 54 km away from Thimpu. Paro is a very thinly populated small town situated amidst the beautiful snow capped mountains, the blue pine forest and the river Paro. Bridge linking two valleys of Paro Paro town
What to buy
There are a lot of colorful textile and handicraft items being displayed from the road side shops. On approaching the sales person we were surprised to know its extremely high price. A small cloth wall hanging was priced at Rs 250 and above. Most of the products (be it cosmetic or food item) are imported from India. Countries like Thailand, China, Nepal, Korea and Bangladesh are catching up the market as well.
Sports
Archery is the national game of Bhutan. It is often visible in every nook and corner of the village grounds. We tried our hands and to our delight could throw only a few meters. Our delight completely vanished when we watched the archers throw the arrows hundreds of meters away aiming at the bull’s eye.
Sayandeep trying his hands with the bow and arrows.
The Bhutanese archers are seen in the background
Education
Education is free for all Bhutanese nationals. The cost is borne by His Majesty. On an average each year 300 – 400 graduates pass out of the institutes. The bright students securing a certain percentage of marks are sent by His Majesty to countries like Australia, USA and India for higher studies, with the precondition of serving His Majesty’s office after completion of the studies.
We stopped near a primary school and was touched by the creative and innovative way of teaching the students. We spoke to the teachers and found that the school is running with just three classes, P1, P2 and standard1, around 88 students and 8 teachers.
Occupation
Almost 70% of the population strives on farming.
Attire
The national dress of Bhutanese males is gho and that for females is kira. It is mandatory for all Bhutanese nationals to wear them to enter any place of religious and government importance.
Bhutanese school children wearing 'gho'
Religion
The tantric form of Mahayana Buddhism is the state religion.
Prayer Flags Prayer Wheels
Cuisines
Staple diet is red rice, buckwheat, pork, beef, chicken, yak meat, etc. Some interesting dishes are jasha maru (chicken in gravy), kewa datshi (potato with cheese), suja (tea with cheese and salt). The taste of suja is totally different from Indian tea. Liquors of various brands are plentily available. Drinking in public is ‘a common feature among the Bhutanese mass be it men or women.
Flora and Fauna
National flower of Bhutan is blue poppy. National tree is cypress. National bird is raven and national animal is takin. Other than this Etho metho (rhododendron) flowers and blue pine trees are seen in plenty on the road side.
Some interesting observations
• Different number plates are fixed for His Majesty’s vehicles and other drivers on the road have to stop their vehicles and bow to honor the passing vehicle.
• Condoms available at the reception counter of a hotel at Paro. Flesh trade is a very common practice in Bhutan. Deals are quite openly made adding to the pleasure of the tourists seeking sex tourism.
• Cold rivalry between the people in Paro and Thimpu.
• Excessive high price and a bit cold behavior of people at Paro contrary to the warmth at Thimpu.
• No private practices are allowed for professionals like doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc. Each one of them has to serve the His Majesty’s office.
• Every 5 years each government officials are transferred to a new office in a new position.
• Kuensel is the only English newspaper and is Bhutan’s national newspaper (www.kuenselonline.com).

 
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