Beautiful Bhutan - Part 8 (Concluding Part)

Rinpung Dzong, Paro

We had a deep sleep the previous night as we were extremely tired after the previous day's trek to Tiger's Nest. We woke up refreshed and, surprisingly there was no hint of muscle pain anywhere. Normally, after such a strenuous trek, we have always experienced cramps & pain for 3 to 4 days while the muscles repair themselves. Seems that the hot stone water bath really worked wonders and we felt great without the need for any massages. It was really worth the price paid both in terms of the experience during the bath and the good feeling the next day.

The penultimate day of our stay in Bhutan was relaxed. After a lazy late breakfast, we checked out of our hotel and left the luggage in the cloak room. We then went to visit the Rinpung Dzong. This is a large Buddhist Monastery as well as Fortress located in Paro. The museum we visited couple of days ago, was originally the watch tower to guard this fortress located a couple of hundred meters above. Rinpung Dzong houses the local monastic body as well as the government administrative offices.

The majestic Dzong

Inside the Dzong are 14 shrines – not all can be visited by tourists. We did visit a few and also saw children learning the scriptures very much like the Ved Patasalas of India. After learning the scriptures, most of them become monks while some decide to get married and settle down as householders. The practices are similar to those found in Sanatana Dharma. Some of the children looked at us curiously as we walked around while some others were engrossed in their studies and didn’t get distracted. There were very few visitors at this time of the day.

We were astounded at the beauty of the monastery. To think that this imposing structure were built a few centuries ago and have survived the different kinds of natural disasters, which the Himalayan regions are prone to, is really admirable. The main building in which we did not see any pillars or beams is a stone structure and must be nearly 100 feet high and about 50 feet wide. Some of the smaller structures are made of wood and have lovely carvings adorning them.

Budding Monk

After spending an hour or so here, we came out and then drove back to the shop from where we had made purchases on the day of arrival at Paro. We finished last minute purchases of gift articles here and then came back to our hotel to pick up our luggage before bidding goodbye to Paro & proceeding towards Phutensholing. On the way, we saw a 600 year old iron bridge across the Paro river at Tachog Lhakang. This bridge was washed away and restored traditionally in 2005. The rest of the return journey was uneventful. We stopped at a roadside café for lunch on the way.

Flags behind us..

One thing that we observed all across Bhutan was the flags of different types installed alongside roads, mountain sides etc. The Bhutanese install flags for a variety of reasons like dedicating prayers for their deceased forefathers, to release prayers in the air, to get good fortune, happiness, long life & prosperity, to remove negative karma, welfare of all created beings etc. Flags are of different kinds - those fixed on poles or those hung on strings. Flags are also of different colours - each colour depicting a different purpose. For e.g. white is for purification of negative karma, blue is for health & longevity, red is for fulfillment of wishes and yellow is for overcoming obstacles. Each flag will have some sacred symbols, mantras or inscriptions from their scriptures, the most common being the mantra "Om Mani Padme Hum".I give a couple of pictures of flags to help the reader understand this.

Another example of flags

As we approached Phutensholing, we were stopped at the check point where we had to show our passport & permit to the police personnel. They make sure that we are accompanied by the same guide and that we are returning as per schedule and update their records. It was nearly dusk when we reached Phutensholing. We checked into the same hotel “Ga Me Ga” where we had stayed on Day one. After evening prayers, we had dinner at the restaurant in the hotel. The day ended thus.

White flags for ancestors

The next day, after breakfast we said our goodbyes to our guide and driver. We thanked them profusely for their help during the trip as well as gave them some tips for their services. Parting is always difficult especially when one has spent a few days together and had got to know them intimately as we had exchanged lots of personal information during the journey. We wished them well and then made our way to the immigration at the border check point. This time, we had to go along with our bags which were screened twice (once by Bhutanese & once by Indian authorities). After we came over to the Indian side, we were received by our Indian cab driver. Our phones started working and we were glad to be back.

We drove through smooth roads but in warm weather all the way to Bagdogra airport. About a kilometre before the airport we stopped at a pure veg restaurant for a late lunch. The name of the restaurant is Gour Nitai Mistanna Bhander and they serve all dishes without onion & garlic. We had a sumptuous lunch, and it cost us just Rs. 750/-. The flights were on time, and we landed safely back in Mumbai by evening.

Tachog Lhakang bridge

Thus ended our lovely trip to Beautiful Bhutan. I would recommend Bhutan as a holiday to anyone who is keen to visit hilly terrain. It is beautiful, the weather is fantastic, its people are nice, and the country is very tourist friendly. It is possible to get visit permits issued even from India. It is preferable to go through travel agencies who operate out of Bhutan. Indian travel agents only facilitate the arrangements with some local operator, and this means extra expenses to cover two agencies. If one has contacts, one can also directly engage driver, car & hotel. However, to be on safer side, it is better to go through a good local agency. If anyone wants any guidance or contacts, I will be more than happy to help. Please let me know in your comments..

That’s it from me for now.

Watch this space for yet another lovely trip coming up soon..