INTERESTING THIMPHU -BHUTAN JOURNEY

BLOG POST 5
After a restful sleep I got up at 5 am ,put on my shoes and went out for a walk ,I marked my way around and planned my route so that I could come back safely to our hotel
The morning sun had not yet said hello to Thimphu and the hills were still to wake up from their slumber. As I walked along, I met few sleepy dogs which wagged their tails lazily maybe wondering who is this lady up so early . I came across a few Bhutanese obviously going for their morning duties

As time elapsed, the sun rose and painted the tops of the hills around with a red lip stick ,the snow on their tips looked as if there was ice cream sticking to their red lips.
The air was cold and invigorating and as the road was full of ups and downs it was quite challenging to walk .I met a middle aged Indian man taking a morning walk, he was from Calcutta and had come for a tour like us
Slowly the school kids started arriving at the bus stops and were picked up by the small buses, most of them were wearing uniforms and looked fresh and healthy, rosy cheeks ,dimple chins and eyes were bright ,indeed it was a pleasure to see them

At first, schools in Bhutan were few and rudimentary, and could only offer primary education But now the government provides free education to all students till Grade 10 and scholarships to students who meet the requirements for higher and professional studies .

We were told that students who want to study further are even sponsored and sent abroad  but surprisingly most of them come back ,settle and serve their country
A few stalls selling fresh tea sprung up and I cursed myself for not getting any money with me, for the fragrance of the ginger tea was alluring ,I went back to the hotel as we had a full schedule that day
After a hearty breakfast we started on our tour in Thimphu and our first stop was at Memorial Chorten

 As we had gone on an individual trip, time was no constraint but our guide said one hour would be more than enough to see the memorial , apparently Memorial Chorten at night when it is all lit up, is an ethereal sight.

We found the memorial bustling with devotees ,some were perambulating around the shrine, prayer beads in hand, mumbling prayers, some we could see genuflecting on the special planks set up for the very purpose. I got reminded of our own prayers and pradakshinas around the temples selfishly depending on the no of wishes God had granted and also the rolling on the ground known as porlu dandalu specially done in Tirumala after a holy bath

At Rs. 300/-, the entry ticket for a tourist is little high but worth it. The timings for non- Buddhists are 9 am-5 pm and so we should be there well before 4 pm to see the inside of the shrine.
As we entered we saw a lot of hustle and bustle and lot of older Bhutanese , some of them religiously turning the big red prayer wheels

We came to know that we were fortunate to arrive on a day when a health camp was being conducted for senior citizens.

We could see young doctors very earnestly examining the patients and didn’t have the heart to disturb them

 Basic health facilities are provided free of any charge to all citizens in Bhutan. There are no private practitioners operating any clinics anywhere in Thimphu or Bhutan.
 Every citizen is treated free of any charge including foreign tourists needing medical care. The health care center established in Thimphu is the National Referral Hospital which looked like our district hospitals. We were told serious cases are taken to India or Bangkok in special helicopters
Traditional Medicine  is also in vogue and the "Institute of Traditional Medicine" has been set up in Thimphu to promote this widely practiced herbal medical cure in rural areas of Bhutan.
Chorten memorial is made in the memory of the third king Jigme Dorji Wangchuk. of Bhutan and is located in the heart of Thimphu. At the center we could see the main building which was a large Tibetan-style Stupa, one of the most visible religious structures in Thimphu and the focus of the daily worship for many Bhutanese. It was built in 1974.

 The whitewashed Stupa has a sun-catching golden finial, is decorated with richly painted annexes facing the cardinal directions, and features elaborate mandalas, statues and a shrine dedicated to the popular king who wanted to erect a monument for world peace and prosperity
There are a few smaller stupas along the periphery where the Buddhist monks chanted and prayed.
All around we could see lot of Bhutanese people praying, some were turning the large red prayer wheels and some lighting the butter lamps which are seen everywhere in Bhutan

No photography was allowed inside and there were CCTV cameras watching to make sure one doesn’t click snaps
 The ground floor of the Chorten was consecrated to the teachings of Vajrakilaya. It had four shrines, each with different pictures of the king; with the eastern shrine housing a Buddha image. From the ground floor, a staircase lead to two more floors and each floor had four shrines.
 A centrally placed large wooden carving covered all three levels, behind the shrines, a large number of wooden carvings depicted wrathful looking protective deities definitely not for the faint hearted I thought. The roof of chorten we could access from the second level and a walkway for beautiful Thimphu views and a protective railing covered the terrace on the third floor.

 The second floor is dedicated to teachings of the Drubka Lineage of the Kagyu school to depict eight varieties of evil spirits and the top floor is dedicated to the teachings of Lama Gongdü
This Chorten is unlike other Chortens as it does not enshrine the mortal remains of the late King. Only the King's photo in a ceremonial dress adorns a hall in the ground floor. The feature that is distinct here is the outward flaring of the rounded part to give the shape of a vase, rather than a dome shape. In 2008, it underwent extensive renovation
As we were slowly going back to the entrance we noticed crowds gathered in a spot with cameras and lights ,our guide who was approached by a mike wielding person talked to him for a whole and came to me and asked me if I was game for an Television interview ,I said why not ? much to my husband’s amusement

Slowly the process of filming took place, the questions were which country I came from and why did I come to Bhutan ,I was about to answer the questions when the mike pinned to my collar was rudely shaken and fell to the ground as a blind devotee stepped on the wire.

The mike was picked up and again the process started, when suddenly a child ran across pulling the wire along with him, so there ended my  Bhutan T.V interview ,by then my hubby was fairly in fits of laughter watching the whole scene ,so I bid a dignified farewell to the channel people and walked haughtily to our car
 Films made in Bhutan are very few. Quality of films produced is still in a stage of improvement. National Film awards are presented in functions held in Thimphu to encourage Bhutanese film making.
The only cinema hall in Thimphu, the Luger Cinema Hall, screens Bhutanese and Hindi movies and occasionally English/foreign-language movies are also screened here.

QUEASY ARRIVAL AT THIMPHU –BHUTAN JOURNEY

BLOG POST 4
We reached Thimphu, which is Bhutan’s capital and occupies a valley in the country’s western interior. In addition to being the government seat, the city is well known for its famous Buddhist sites.
By now we started getting a queasy feeling and could make out that this was car sickness or motion sickness due to Bhutan's winding roads with constant hair pin bends, one is strongly advised to take along anti motion sickness medicine based on their doctor’s prescription

Other than in Thimpu and Paro, one never has a stretch of straight road for more than a few seconds which sounds incredible but is very true ,one also should brace up for decreased metabolism ,slow digestion and have fewer and smaller meals
We were travelling with some essentials like rain jacket and umbrella, hats for sun, sunglasses, Sunscreen lotion, insect repellent, anti-itch cream for bug bites, Flashlight, batteries and camera .
If one has a specific item - like artificial sweetener, pickle , sweets etc we can bring them along from home, however there are plenty of  shops stocking sweets, chips and cookies ,specially in main cities

We can even take small gifts like stationary items ,small trinkets ,coins etc to gift the kids,we found that the Bhutanese were very friendly but shy
My overall impression about Bhutan was that the country was like a very good  and sweet child , innocent ,not yet exposed to the  many vices rampant in the world. The Bhutanese  love ,adore and worship their king and his family. Having the good fortune of being brought up in such pristine ,unpolluted conditions they are like fresh exotic flowers exuding fragrance all around

Just like credit and debit cards, no foreign SIM card works once we enter Bhutan. There is no provision to set up international roaming facilities.
So our first stop was to get a SIM card . There are two GSM network providers in Bhutan. First is the government-owned B-mobile (Bhutan Telecom) and second is private Tashi Cell. SIM card of both companies can be purchased quite easily.

Our guide took us to the Thimphu  Bhutan Telecom office and my husband took a SIM card ,he just needed his passport photo page scan and 200 Ngultrum (Nu). He got the SIM card purchased and activated in hardly 15 minutes. The vendor handled all necessities of activation process. While the process was going on, I had a quick look at the streets , various cars parked and vegetable market nearby. I found pasted on the wall the map of Thimphu

 Rice and cheese are the staple food of the Bhutanese. If one would like to try out the local cuisine the “Ema Datshi” is what would be optimal choice as it is the national food of Bhutan.
For the less adventurous, we can try to find familiar cuisines in Bhutan. There are multiple Indian restaurants throughout which we tried and got good Indian food ,there were buffet options too
If we are used to eat curds or yoghurt with every meal we are in for a shock in Bhutan as they are  hard to get in restaurants,  they don’t stock it nor do we get it in many of the shops so it is better that we inform in the hotel restaurants one day prior to our need
While visiting monasteries and places of religious interest it is always advisable to wear clothes that fully cover the body. Most places require everyone to wear full sleeved tops to cover the hands completely, using a scarf or jacket over the dress would also serve in most places.
Once we are in Bhutan we invariably start behaving with decorum ,lower our voices ,be friendly with all ,the influence of the locals is so much that we start relaxing ,not push things and not be in a hurry to get things done,no wonder many people want to retire and spend their retired life there
We then went to our hotel, the Ramada valley Thimphu  .

 We were greeted at the reception by two young girls traditionally dressed and given a welcome drink.

Luckily our room had a river view though the river flowing by was a mere brook.

 From our room through large windows we could see the views of hills capped by clouds ,roof tops and curving roads.

The room was adorned with local decorations

 and had a heater too, our room had a flat TV and wifi ,though we didn't seem to get many channels

There were 41 rooms,some suites ,altogether the hotel had a good ambiance

I particularly liked the arrangement made with simple metal cups to collect rain water

There was a fitness center, sauna, spa and massage facilities,Though we didn’t use them,every trip we take we religiously intend to use all these facilities but very rarely find time or energy! There was  a bar ,a meeting room ,private dining room and an outdoor river side restaurant
The hotel restaurant served local Bhutanese , Indian and continental dishes

We ordered a cup of tea after our dinner and savoured it sitting in the biting cold weather outside,it was a good experience

ON OUR WAY FROM PARO TO THIMPHU –BHUTAN JOURNEY

BLOG POST 3
From airport we sped on our way to Thimpu ,the distance of about 50 km from Paro airport to Thimpu takes around 1hour excluding the stops. We drove south following the Pa Chhu River heading to the river confluence at Chuzom.

Coming from a city where even viewing a clear blue sky is a rarity ,it was a feast to our eyes to see sky blue sky with white clouds playing’ chasing’ and ‘catch me if you can’  games , the heavier, older and more mature clouds were trying to gather their naughty young ones under their sari pallus so they do not  get blown away in the flurry of their game.

 The river Pa Chhu  or Paro Chhu is a river of western Bhutan. It is a tributary of the Wong Chhu  and flows through the Paro Valley, site of one of Bhutan's main towns, Paro, and many important monasteries. As we went on, it accompanied us placidly

Our guide however informed us that it could certainly become ferocious at times , we could see green mountains on both sides with houses perched precariously .

As we traveled I was quizzing our guide on the culture and various other aspects of Bhutan . Luckily for us he spoke fluent English and a spatter of Hindi too to our surprise , he told us he had studied for 2 years in Delhi University.

 In Bhutanese families, inheritance generally passes  matrilineally  through the female rather than the male line. Daughters inherit their parents' house. A man is expected to make his own way in the world and often moves to his wife's home after marriage.

Love marriages are becoming more common in urban areas, but the tradition of arranged marriages among mutually known families is still prevalent in the rural areas. Although uncommon, polygamy is accepted, maybe to keep property in the family unit rather than dispersing to others,but the husband does need permission from the first wife

 The economy of the country is based on agriculture and forestry.The main livelihood for more than 60% of the population, agriculture consists largely of farming and animal husbandry. Rugged mountains make the building of roads and other infrastructure difficult and expensive, practically there are no railroads in Bhutan

Hydro power exports to India have boosted Bhutan's overall growth,all Bhutanese love India and value the friendship existing between the two countries and everywhere we went we could see people avidly watching our Hindi Saas Bahu serials ,Sharukh Khan ,Priyanka Chopra and Juhi Chawla are loved by all
Our guide told us we had come in the right season which was May ,as Autumn is from October to November when it's generally sunny with some snow at higher elevations. Late November to early March is dry with pre-monsoon showers starting in May.
The best time to visit Bhutan is during the spring months of March to May when the valleys come alive with flowers in bloom which we found true as we found flowers welcoming us with gay abandon throughout our stay

Along the way to Chunzom, we first passed villages like Bondey, Shaba and at Isuna, the road crossed bridge to the other side of river.
 About 18 KM southeast of Paro, our car stopped to the side and our guide asked us to step down .
We were a little apprehensive about leaving our bags with our passports in the car but the guide assured us that as long as we were in their country we were safe and our silent but smiling driver affirmed his statement vehemently
We had to walk down a mud road along a steep slope to see the Tamchog Lhakhang, a private temple owned by the descendents of famous Tibetan bridge-builder Thangtong Gyalpo.

Here I do have to tell my readers that our trip to Bhutan involved a lot of walking and climbing ,one needs sturdy shoes and a walking mind set because the Bhutanese walk everywhere and are as nimble as goats when climbing. Almost all the monasteries require climbing innumerable number of steep steps and require fair amount of patience to walk miles and miles
we sat for sometime on some logs there gazing  at the splendid views around us ,we could see some chilli fields being prepared for farming

We saw the Tachogang  Lhakhang Bridge, an iron-chain hanging bridge that crosses the Paro River and leads to the small  hilltop temple.

As history goes, the original bridge was erected in the 1400 s by the infamous “madman of Bhutan,” Thangthong Gyalpo  but was destroyed in 1969 by severe floods and  was rebuilt in 2005 using strands of chains from the old bridge.
 Thangtong Gyalpo(1385-1464) is very significant in Bhutan,he was a saint, blacksmith, architect, physician and an engineer. He built numerous iron suspension bridges and temples across Bhutan and Tibet which are still under use ,it is said that he used to nail the bridges with his bare hands. He was also the founder of Tibetan opera called ‘Ache Lhamo’. He traveled to Bhutan in 1433 from Tibet.

The legend of Thangtong Gyalpo says that the money needed to build his iron bridges was raised from his opera performances, such was his passion!
 The bridge was festooned with multi-colored Buddhist prayer flags and was supposed to move and sway dangerously when walked upon. Alas now no one was permitted to use it and was barred much to my utter disappointment , I got reminded of “ the road not taken “poem by Robert Frost ! The bridge was also shown in the movie Little Buddha by Bernardo Bertolucci
The ends of the bridge had white stucco structures that may have served as mini-forts to protect the bridge from invaders.

There was another bridge next to this iron bridge which was now being used by all. As we stepped on it, though it was not swaying dangerously, it was quite thrilling to watch the rapid flow of river waters under the bridge

Tachogang Lhakhang temple was built by Tangtong Gyelpo in the fifteenth century. While the Tibetan master was meditating here, he had a vision of a spiritual horse emanation of Avalokiteshvara and decided to build a temple as well as an iron suspension bridge at this location .Tachogang means ‘temple of the hill of the excellent horse’. The temple is privately run by the descendents of Thangtong Gyalpo now.
After we went across the bridge we entered the temple and climbed onto the top floor through a creaky wooden staircase ,there we could see statues of Lord Buddha, Guru  Padmasambhava and the walking stick of Tangtong Gyelpo  preserved .

We had a great view of the bridge, the rushing river, and the rows of prayer flags fluttering furiously in the wind.

Prayer flags are  dominantly seen across every river, bridge, mountain road or open space in Bhutan. Fresh colorful strings represent all five elements the air, wind, water, fire,wood  for luck and for prayers
 People hang the prayers where there are strong winds, an image of the wind horse in the center representing the power of the wind to carry the prayers fast and wide. They consult astrologers for the best place, and hang tall flags in front of their houses representing  their own element, or a local protector

Everywhere near Monasteries and temples in Bhutan we find prayer wheels which have to be rotated clockwise and these have a lot of religious significance in Budhism  

I found many tiny stupa shaped clay vessels called tsatsas  near the temple and all around it ,tucked under the rocks and everywhere ,I happened to see them all over Bhutan near monasteries and temples. They contain the ashes of loved ones and are placed by their relatives at holy places to liberate their souls

Chhuzom (Confluence) is the juncture of Thimphu river (Wang Chu) and Paro river . Chuzom is also a major road junction, with southwest road leading to Haa (79km), south road to Phuntsholing (141km) and northeast to Thimphu (30km).
There we stopped for a while ,I liked the board displayed there

.Everywhere in Bhutan we could see many dogs which apparently are revered as God’s messengers and they appeared tame
I  also found many improvised dustbins which cost mere pittance

From Chuzom, the road followed Wangchu River upstream as we passed through villages and suburbs to the capital, Thimphu. There were extensive rice paddies, apple orchards and several old houses.