Welcome to the Kingdom of Heaven

They said it was the land of Eternal peace and we were immediately attracted. In this world of chaos and anarchy, terrorism and the rat race, these words sounded like an orchestra to our ears. ‘Eternal Peace”, was it a myth? was it a reality? or were we mere mortals tugging at invisible hope.

On this earth, they call it Bhutan and so we stood, all ready and packed, mandatory duties like tickets, leave applications, green chili sauce and foreign exchange completed, off we went.

There are few ways to get to Bhutan, by air via the sole Airline Druk Air, which can connect you from India, Nepal and Thailand. Being exclusive, the tickets are premium priced compared to fares for similar distances. The alternate route, which suits Indian nationals, is via road from West Bengal.

Choosing that track, we spent a week exploring the hills of Sikkim and the wildlife park at Gorumara (another day, another story) and were soon whizzing down the National Highway towards Bhutan. The border town of Phutsueling greets you as you cross the border of Siliguri District in West Bengal and, Lo and behold, you are in Bhutan. No tourist is allowed to enter and tour the country without arrangements being made by Bhutanese travel agent and without having a guide with you for the duration of the visit. Our guide Dorji picked us up in West Bengal in their Toyota and accompanied us the entire week showing us the sights.






The first thing you notice as you cross the border is the cleanliness, there is absolutely no rubbish or litter on the streets and this is indeed a welcome sight for those coming from across the border. But we hadn’t seen nothing yet. Read on and share our dream.

Phutsueling was just the foothills and soon we were off, a 6 hours drive to Thimphu, the capital city. In less than 10 minutes, we had left the town and to the music of Lobo, we sailed off into the mountains. Most of Bhutan is in the mountains so if you have a weak constitution, best read on but don’t pack your bags yet. The road was smooth and well maintained and the journey was very relaxing. Wide mountain ranges welcomed us as we went winding up the sides and lush green Birch and Popular trees waved as we passed. The air was cool, clean and rejuvenating. Soon last nights Chablis stopped singing and it was Lobo all the way.
Dorji, our guide, then sprang it upon us. ‘Bhutan is a no smoking country’ – What? Falling off our seats. Yes he stated, it’s punishable with a 3 months prison stay, which further deflated, our waning spirits. Hah! But the silver lining – Tourists do get some slack and are able to indulge within the confines of the hotel but not out in public. Having made our peace, we tuned back to Lobo and were on our way. Tentatively, an hour later one asked the other Big One – Dorji”, I hope we get non-vegetarian food here” – with bated breath, one waited for the response and he said sure its all available except in the first month and the third month of the Bhutanese calendar. You could cut the silence with a knife before I asked the 64 Million Dollar question. And this month is? – Aarh! The third month!






I was already out of the car before that sentence died, sprinting my way back as fast as possible to the Indian border when he yelled out and said ‘But that doesn’t hold good for tourists, you can get it at your hotel’ – Screech!! We were back in business; every seasoned traveler knows that a happy stomach is half the holiday.

And so we sailed off round the mountains, appreciating the nature and in a few hours the mountain roads suddenly widened and we found ourselves on a 4 laned freshly bitumened highway. Thimphu is coming, said our guide and we sat up to see what was ahead. The town soon appeared, Wow! How quaint, how enchanting and definitely how very clean. A stream of gurgling blue water flowed through the town, buildings - each one an artists dream with intricate wall décor, archways and colours. And the fresh clean air, all indeed peaceful, and heavenly. At one glance, except for the cows missing, we could have been in Switzerland. Our hotel was on a hill overlooking the river and the town and the room was indeed welcoming in its comfort and log finish décor. A sharp nip was flowing in the air and our room heaters were put to good use. We sat on the balcony, savoring a good hot meal and watching the lights of Thimphu winking at us in welcome of what lay ahead.

Bhutan is indeed a country nestled up in the mountains and dotted with Monasteries, Dzongs and Stupas. We soon learned that Monasteries were places of worship which housed a few monks while Dzongs were small fortresses, also places of worship but housing anything between 50 to 300 monks. Stupas, on the other hand, were small stone structures in which religious books and statues were kept



and were intended to emit religious thoughts and peace across the land. Such was the ambience as we drove through the hills dotted with Stupas, each majestic and emitting an aura of peace and serenity.

But the youth remains the youth and off we went pub hopping, enjoying the music, dancing and that night we watched the Football World Cup match over a cool pint and game of snooker. The party continued till the wee hours of the morning and man these Bhutanese youngsters however docile and peaceful during the day can indeed hold their own when it came to partying.

Up bright and early, we caught the morning fresh air and were soon off to Punakha, the country’s old capital, which housed the Punakha Dzong that is the biggest Dzong, built in 1637 and the home of the Chief Monk and his entourage of monks. It was a nice mountain drive and we passed Druk Wangyel Chortenthe where the 3rd Queen has recently built 108 stupas for the peace and prosperity of the people.
The Punakha Dzong usually closed to, was open to tourists in the summer months and we were happy to have the opportunity to





venture inside and get a glimpse of a monk’s life. The prayer room housed gold plated 30-foot high statues of the Lord Buddha as well as some of the revered monks whom the Bhutanese follow.


Much pomp and glory and plush furnishings are common to all prayer rooms in Bhutan’s Monasteries and Dzongs and is reflective of the focus and attention the people put on prayers and their gods. Punakha was also home to the Chimi Lhakhang, which took us a good hours walk from the road. Lama Drukpa Kunley who they call the Mad Monk built this. Intended as a place of worship promising fertility to all who come there, this is one of the country’s well sought after destinations. The Mad Monk is also fabled to be the one who created the ‘Takin’ which is Bhutan’s national animal and not found anywhere else in the world. The head of a goat and the body of a cow. As the story goes, he was very hungry one day and reached a village and asked for food. Thus the villagers gave him a goat and a cow, both of which he devoured. Then he put the skeleton head of the goat on the skeleton





body of the cow, lo and behold! ‘Takin’ was created. We visited the ‘Takin’ Preservation and were amazed at the likeness. One of its kind.


The Mad Monk did not leave us so easily; Dorji our guide took us to see the Tiger’s Nest or Taksang Monastery, Built on the mountain rock face, 900 metres above the valley. We started early as it was a 3-hour hike up the mountainside and reached this exquisite and architectural wonder so high in the sky. Our guide said that the Mad Monk had come over the mountain ranges on a flying tiger to subdue the demons who used to live here and then built this monastery as a result of his victory. Miles in the sky, far from the maddening crowd, housing a group of religious monks, numerous prayer and meditation rooms, we were truly in another world. Watching the young Monk perform some ceremonies whilst we stood by, the world of reality hit us when suddenly from within the Monks robe, a mobile phone began to ring and that too a famous Indian film song had been set as the ring tone. Sheepishly, he dug it out and quickly took a side exit and disappeared into the corridors. Reality indeed!
We visited several other monasteries, an old museum, sat by the blue river water, hiked into tracks in the forest and ate and drank our fill to make it a leisurely relaxed vacation and on the last evening, watched an Archery contest, being their National Sport to round off our experiences. The land was indeed that of Eternal Peace, the people so warm and friendly and everything is so clean and fresh that you could loose yourself for a few years here.

For those who would like to visit, the best season is September to March; the currency used is the Bhutanese Ngultrum, often denoted as BTN, equal in value to the Indian Rupee (through a 1:1 peg), but Indian currency is freely interchangeable.

- Travelss of Gautam Nath, Executive Vice President, TNS India