Beautiful Bhutan - Part 3

Delicious green banana

On the second day of our trip, we finished our morning ablutions and had breakfast at the restaurant attached to the hotel. Breakfast was quite delicious and the chef took great care to serve us special freshly prepared Satvik (no onion or garlic) vegetarian dish (Poha). One noticeable thing was the bananas that were kept in the buffet – there had green skin and looked unripe for we are used to artificially ripened yellow skins in India. The bananas in Bhutan were organic and tasted delicious. The rest of the breakfast was standard – toast, butter, jam, tea / coffee etc.

With our car outside hotel

After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and came down to the lobby where we met our guide. A young guy called Pema (which means Lotus). In Bhutan, the rule is no tourist can go around unless accompanied by a licenced guide. This rule is to ensure that visitors know and follow the rules and don’t get into any trouble or mischief which sometimes can happen with youngsters. Having a guide is also useful to get clarifications on just about anything – be it places of interest, history, culture etc. Guides need to get a local licence to operate as a guide. As many qualified guides have migrated for better opportunities, there are shortages during peak season and hence very expensive to hire one. For us the cost was about Rs. 1500 per day for the guide but it can go up to Rs. 5000 per day during peak season.

Bhutan is 30 minutes ahead of India time. So, we had to adjust our watches. We got a lovely Creta vehicle with a driver named Tashi (which means Good Fortune). As roads in Bhutan are excellent, one may be tempted to drive in own car from India. However, the permit cost for a car is Rs. 4500 per day making it very difficult to consider. Local cars are of very good quality as are the drivers. Hence it makes economic sense to hire a car in Bhutan rather than drive down from India. If one is very keen and stays in Bengal or nearby states, one can plan to bring own car and park it in Jaigaon (the border town).  

We first went to the immigration office. As per Bhutanese rules, one does not need a Visa / permit to visit the border town. For going inside Bhutan, one needs to take a permit costing Rs. 1200/- per day per person. The process of getting the permit prepared took almost an hour due to the crowd. After this, we proceeded in our vehicle inside Bhutan.

At Dharma Kaya Stupas

Within a short time, we left the town and were going uphill. The weather kept improving with cool breeze blowing. The scenery was also lovely with lush green forests in the mountainous terrain. We soon reached the first check point where polite policemen checked our permit & passports and made a record in their register about our entry into Bhutan. After that, we proceeded directly towards the capital city of Thimphu which was about 150 kms away.

Dharma Kaya Stupas 

Along the way, we stopped at a lovely site with multiple Stupas. These are the eight Dharma Kaya Stupas each of which represents the important events in the life and works of Buddha Shakyamuni. They represent the Buddha’s body, speech & mind. This was near the town of Gedu – well known for its educational institutes where youth from all over Bhutan come and stay to complete various courses. We took some pictures near the Stupas and proceeded further. After some time, we stopped for lunch at a restaurant which had a lovely view of a dam. All restaurants in Bhutan provide free food to the guides & drivers – irrespective of whether the tourists eat there or not. They take good care of their people, and it is something very nice to observe.

Our room at Hotel Ariya

We reached Thimphu by evening. It is a fairly large city with a population of about 1.5 Lakh people. It is at an elevation of 2400 meters above sea level which made it cool and very pleasant. The temperature hovered around 13-14 Celsius. Our hotel was called Ariya and it was excellent. The rooms were very spacious and well furnished. After, resting for some time and finishing our evening prayers etc., we went out for some shopping. It was around 7 p.m. when we left the hotel but it was quite dark at that time with a hint of rain. The wind chill factor made it very cold. Most of the shops were closed but we found a good shop where we purchased some stuff and got a very good price too. Bhutanese currency is Ngultrum which has the same value as the Indian rupee. All shops in Bhutan accept Indian currency. Hence, there is no need to carry USD. However, cards are not accepted in most places.

After that, we came back to the hotel and had dinner. Here too, we were served special freshly made Satvik food which was very nice. The preparations were all Indian type as most of the tourists who come here are Indians and the cooks, hotel staff etc. all know our culture, habits and language. After dinner we wen to our room, checked our messages / mails etc. and then hit the snooze button to end Day 2 of our trip.