Into the time-portal: Bhutan-2016
- Nishita Mohta
- Jun 3, 2021
- 9 min read
Every traveler who has had the privilege of visiting Bhutan would agree that the place is MAGICAL. The freshness of the air, the warmth of the people, the colours and the heritage.. the list goes on. In addition to all this, I had timed my 2016 visit to experience the Tshechu festival at Thimphu. So the journey ticked all of the boxes of the picture-perfect Bhutan trip.
At a personal level, there was much more to it which made it extra special for 23-year old me.
It was the very first time that I traveled for 10 whole days on my own! There's so much confidence that comes with completing your first solo trip which is longer than a weekend, and to a whole other country. Never again did I have to question "can I do it?" and neither did my parents (...most Indian girls will know that the struggle is real)
2016 is when I had just graduated and started saving up a little bit thanks to my first job. So it was also my first fully-self-funded journey of this scale. I started developing ways of travelling in an extremely frugal manner and also living a life which allowed me to save bigger travel budgets.
Till date, this is the only journey for which a day-wise record such as this one exists. It's a really simple time-capsule to help me relive the days and to share a glimpse with anyone who is interested. I would really love to create more of these, for my own sake (because I've started forgetting about my experiences over the years).
But many mind blocks come up along the way: some work which is "more important", the need to make the experience sound insightful, the need to format the blog in an extraordinary manner and so on... The usual suspects which block all creative output.
So while I try to manage those blocks and create more such travel-logs, here are my pages from the Bhutan journey. Hope this gets you reminiscing about your own journeys too!
This was written by 2016-Nishita for her Facebook feed, and I'll be honest: 2021-Nishita hasn't edited this one bit. (I was tempted to, but then this blog wouldn't see the light of day anytime soon)
Welcome to the time capsule!
8-9 October 2016
Day 1 and 2: Delhi to Phuentsoling
Ever since I started thinking about the trip, "crossing the border" was always on my mind. I didn't want to fly and land into Bhutan. I wanted to physically cross from one country into another.
What led up to this 'border crossing' was:
1) A 34-hour train journey aboard the North East Express (it's actually a 28-hour journey, but the train supposedly always loses 5-6 hours while moving across the width of Uttar Pradesh). I heard some pretty interesting stuff in all these hours and started sketching out the conversations to pass time. (top-left picture in photo grid)
2) Another 2 hour bus ride from New Alipurduar to Jaigaon, the border town. Hadn't spoken to anyone in 34+ hours on the train and I finally spoke to people on the bus - such relief!! (top-right picture in photo grid)
3) Walk-walk-walk from the bus stand to the border.
And there it was! The gate the seam between two worlds so physically different from one another. The people, however, remained the same. Bhutanese and Indians casually crossed from one side to another for work and shopping.
Bottom left & right images: The gate through which people casually cross between Jaigaon and Phuentsoling (the border towns on the India and Bhutan side). I had to get a picture of this landmark moment - even if I was sweaty and exhausted after the ~40 hour journey.
10 October 2016
Day 3: Immigration woes
Quite possibly the most intense day of this entire trip. A day of extreme physical and mental emotion and of extreme emotional highs and lows.
Imagine standing near the exit of the Delhi Metro coach right before Rajiv Chowk at 6pm. Except that the fellow crowd members are not office goers/students in clean clothes. They are sweaty men (Indian travel agents!) chewing paan and swearing and throwing curses at one another. And you're in this mess for 11 HOURS.
It was horrifying! But we got through. Azmat, Sonul, Meenal, Hind and I became friends on what felt like a battlefield and together, we somehow managed to get our passes. Long story on the 'how' but we just did.
At the end of this day, that giddy feeling of excitement was unparalleled. We got together for dinner - our only meal of the day, gearing up to enter the Land of the Thunder Dragon.
Purchased our local SIM-cards
Made sure our (precious) documents were in place
Walked around the town of Pheuntsoling to soak up the night-time peacefulness
11 October 2016
Day 4: Finally at Thimphu YAY!
I left my hotel at 6 in the morning & caught the very first bus from Pheuntsholing to Thimphu. I find delight in remembering and sharing such facts: The bus that I took was the Bhutan Post bus, which efficiently carries both post and people. (Big thumbs up!)
Highlights of the bus ride include: Travelling in a Coaster for the first time, chatting with Albie, beautiful landscapes all around it all felt like the reward for persevering through the previous day. The bus-ride was like floating through a dream, with the occasional bumps that you'll encounter on any hilly road.
By mid-day, I was in Thimphu. Here, I was super lucky to be living with a friend from architecture school, and the warm, familiar face after 3 rough days was a blessing for my solo-travelling ass.
The evening was a good time to step out for butter tea and cheese momos (omnomnom) were followed by some shopping (I bought a kira!) and urban explorations in Thimphu city.
We spent time walking down Norzin Lam - the main market road, where all the Tshechu festival stalls has already been set up. The festival would begin the next day.
(Notice how the clouds have started hovering above us - a sign of the days to come)
A visit to the Changlimithang Stadium was my first point of contact with grand-scale Bhutanese architecture. This is where the getting-blown-away and staring-open-mouthed-ness begins.
To have such a backdrop for events ranging from everyday football matches to an address from the King of the nation - WOW.
12 October 2016
Day 5: Vemödalen
Vemödalen is the the frustration of photographing something amazing when thousands of identical photos already exist. That's what I was bordering on the entire day, as I made my way to the festive events for the day. So while watching the Tshechu dances, I quietly tucked away my camera into my bag, after taking a few 'keepsake' shots.
The rain refused to stop, but the dances continued and so did the arrival and movement of the audience. Umbrellas saved the day. :)
The clothes and the grace with which they were carried (by both men and women) remained a source of fascination for me throughout the day.
I almost wanted to do a catalogue of the patterns all around me. Just look how stunning these fabrics are!
On my way back from the festival, I walked around the city some more (God knows how MUCH I can walk) and spotted some more architectural treasures along the way.
The busy traffic junction in the middle of Norzin Lam had turned into a performance space, with locals coming out of the crowd to bring some music onto those busy streets.
13 October 2016
Day 6: Eat, drink, stay warm.
This was a super rainy day which Sonam and I filled up with dress-up sessions, an attempt at the checklist-style sightseeing (which we quickly wrapped up to get back into the warmth), the Yak burger and Red Panda beer.... and finally hours watching YouTube videos - learnt all about Japanese culture that day, and more.
14 October 2016
Day 7: More immigration confusion
After 3 fun days in Thimphu, I was set to travel further into Bhutan - to Wangdi & Punakha. And to get there, I needed another immigration pass. But the offices were closed, yikes (as the King of Thailand had passed away). This was a Friday, and the weekend would mean no office work again. OOPS.
However, the officers had decided to work overtime as there were just so many travelers at that time. I was one of those lucky ones who managed to pass through. Off to Wangdi! :) :) :)
Further immigration woes included the bus-driver not stopping at the Wandgi checkpost, where I needed to get my permit stamped. I did remind the conductor about this but somehow they zoomed past the small checkpost anyway.
So after all this hassle to get the permit, I had still entered Wangdi illegally. (oops)
The most confusing question I was faced with was "you're not Bhutanese?". My fellow passengers (all locals) had seen no reason either about why the bus should stop at a checkpost.
UMM WHAT? I was amused by this question for the longest time ever, until I was told by some people that those of Nepalese origin can look like me. (or I look like them).
Oh well...
Not having my permit stamped meant that I couldn't enter any of the major tourist spots where officers would be keeping a check. But I still had the landscape and smaller delights to explore.
15 October 2016
Day 8: My day in Punakha
I got in touch with a taxi-owning-friend-of-friend, with whom I explored Punakha. Forest and paddy fields cutting across one another will be the definitive image of Punakha in my head. Along one of these hills is where I tied my prayer flag from Himachal.
Other highlights of the day included super yummm food and time spent by the Mo Chhu river collecting pebbles.
We visited Galeem's house as well and the architect in me was thrilled!!
Galeem happens to be the Bhutanese counterpart of Juliet/Majnu in the respective tragic love stories and her house in Punakha has been maintained, with some visible attempts at restoration.
Photo below:
Left: Yours truly photographing the traditional ladder carved into a single log of wood
Right: The photograph
The Punakha Dzong (fortified monastery) is located at the confluence of the Mo Chhu and Pho Chhu rivers, mentioned previously in this post.
There are a gazillion beautiful photographs of the building all over the internet (and on Bhutan currency notes). Here is my favourite view of it, from across the river.
(The photo below: This is not the main Dzong, it is an ancilliary building to the Dzong)
The Lady Lama Monastery (the official name to which I still don't know) has stunning interiors to the main monastery building. You'll have to visit the place to see for yourself - no photography allowed. All the intricacy and colours of the Thangka style of painting come to life in three-dimension here.
16 October 2016
Day 9: On the road again from Wangdi > Thimphu > Paro
The day was spent on the road and I don't regret it one bit. The drive from Thimphu to Paro was definitely my favourite amongst all the road-journeys so far in this trip. The joy came from a combination of the front-seat I grabbed in the shared taxi, the wind in my hair, the music in the car, good weather, the landscapes and a mind free from immigration issues!
I made a quick stop-over at the Kyichu Lakhang (checkout the gorgeous photos below) where I also met a couple of locals my age. To mark the death anniversary of their great grand father, these youngsters were distributing chai and egg-rice to everyone coming to visit the temple.
I was then ready to retire in my room at the Lodge. Despite all the exhaustion from the day's journey, I ended up spending a lot of time in the common area (photo below). The low-seating and warm, wooden interiors made it a really cozy space to spend time in. Sleep came to me only after watching the whole of 'Rustam' on TV with Karma.
17 October 2016
Day 10 - Taktsang-time, and the rest of Paro.
The Taktsang trek was definitely a highlight of the trip for me and the fact that I was travelling solo wasn't really a deterrent.
Sure you save some energy by not talking, but doing the trek alone is extremely difficult for the reason that you can not help but keep thinking about how tired you are. The Westerners with full trekking gear who kept crossing me every now and then were no motivation either.
Thankfully I met Pema, Kelsang and little Tenzin somewhere after the mid-way point. They happened to be the only other Indians who had started the trek that early in the morning. Kelsang is a mountaineering instructor. So this was basically a walk in the mall for him. Pema's constant chatter gave me all the energy to complete the trek. They were sweet enough to include me in all their rituals once we were up at the monastery and being with them also gave me the courage to go down those scary ladders into the actual Tiger's Nest that very few climb down into.
After completing the Taktsang trek, I decided to make the best of the remaining part of the day (and the taxi that I'd paid for) and visit the Drugyel Dzong and the Paro Dzong.
The Drugyel Dzong was going through the process of restoration and the heritage-enthusiast in me was super eager to see what it would look like once completed.
Found a picnic spot right outside the Dzong, and the weather was in my favour! It was a really short picnic-for-one.
Onto the Paro Dzong... the grand entry-way to which really blew me away. It was the kind of moment which probably makes people write paeans about the beauty of architecture and the act of entry. But I won't. (Phew!!)
18,19, 20 October 2016
Day 11,12,13 - Journey Back Home
After Paro, it was time to start the journey back home. I went back to Pheuntsholing, the border town. This time, I had time to explore the town on foot a little bit, eat my last meal in Bhutan and also spend some hours sketching architectural elements that I spotted outside the monastery.
The delay of the train back to Delhi (North-East "Superfast" again) was painful this time as well. I had my hopes up high when the train ran before time till reached Uttar Pradesh (the state right next to Delhi) and then spent 18 hours covering the last 12 hour distance.
But well, finally I was home.
Photos below (top to bottom):
View outside my taxi window on the drive from Paro to Pheuntsholing
Outside the monastery in Pheuntsholing
Exiting Bhutan by crossing the border gate between Pheutsholing and Jaigaon (West Bengal)
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