Away from Civilization - Bhutan

---

12TH SEPTEMBER: ARRIVING IN BANGKOK

Arrived in Bangkok for a night of transit as Druk Air only departs from Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Aiport at 6.50am in the morning.
We arrived at the airport on time and passing through immigration was a breeze. There was a shuttle bus which operates 24hrs and it took us directly to the Novotel Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel which was only a 3 min drive away. Hotel was less than 2 yrs old, had a glass frontage and a very contemporary and open Lobby which made it very welcoming. The fittings of the rooms and corridors were less impressive than the lobby. Very tacky and cheaply made. Staff was hospitable.

13TH SEPTEMBER: FROM BANGKOK TO PARO

The alarm went off at 4.30am. I always feel queasy and ill whenever I had to wake up at such an ungodly hour. The main international airport which we were dropped off was very modern and is on par with most big international airports. I have to say that the facilities and services this airport provides are amazing. There are tons of shops from one end to the other. Some of the lounges were great and most importantly they had a competitively priced massage parlor where I could hang out and receive foot reflexology treatment.
Considering that we were there at 5.30am, the airport was surprisingly busy; or perhaps immigration was slow and inefficient resulting in a long queue even though there were at least 8-10 counters operating. The Sky lounge (affiliated to Druk Air) offered limited refreshments. We had to take a bus to the airplane. Druk Air was not as tiny a domestic plane as I imagined it. We flew business class which had 2 seats in each aisle. The seats were wide for the size of the aircraft but the leg room and angle of recline was worse than SIA 10 years ago. Food was mediocre but hey, what was I expecting. The flight from Bhutan is about 4hrs door to door but we had to make a quick stop at Dharka (Bangladesh) to pick up passengers. Dharka seems pretty densely populated with overcrowding buildings - a far cry from the Oasis we were about to visit.
Things I learnt from the Bhutan Travel Magazine and Newspaper
• Paro has its own mushrooms grown locally which is popular amongst locals and exported into countries like Japan. This include the Matsutake or Sangay Shamu mushroom and the Chanterelle mushroom.
• Currency is the Ngultrum which is equivalent in value to the Indian Rupee. Both including the USD are accepted in Bhutan. Also interesting to note is that India is the only country which does not need a visa to enter Bhutan. The exchange rate is 45.5 to the USD (ie: USD x 45.5)
• The main national language is the Dhongkha although there are many different dialects and English is spoken throughout Bhutan. Apparently the modern young and rich have a preference to snub the national language in favour of English as the Dhongka is considered “unhip” and difficult to learn.
• The Bhutan Newspaper was really cute. They do not report much on major current affairs but mainly on domestic news which is really not a lot. Their lost and found and classified ads is something I have never seen before as people actually advertise for small items misplaced and job positions shortlisted were all published in the newspaper - even for menial jobs like cleaning positions.
• Bhutan measures its success and economy not by GDP but by the GHI - Gross Happiness Index and is said to be the happiest country in the world because of its lack of dependence on material items and power. The people live in harmony and strongly abide by the Buddhist way of living.
• Bhutan is also a very blessed place because of its legendary Guru Rimpoche who had spread its blessings through Bhutan and its monasteries. He was the Rimpoche who supposedly flew to the Tiger’s Nest and is a reincarnation of Buddha. Guru Rimpoche who left and was never seen again is believed by the Bhutanese people to be still alive.

Arriving at Paro Airport
A very small rustic airport with little facilities and traditional Bhutanese architecture. I later noticed that Bhutanese buildings tend to look similar and resemble temples or a religious fort. Such an example would be a Dzong - part administrative part religious buildings. The view when we were flying in is beyond picturesque - an untouched undeveloped haven filled with greenery. A river (Pachhu River) runs through the valley of Paro and apparently runs from Mount Jhomolhari (2nd highest peak in Bhutan, bordering Tibet and Paro. Its elevation is about 7300m).
The immigration queue was quite a wait as the processing speed per person was unusually slow.
Our guide and driver were fantastic and spoke fluent English. We honestly couldn’t ask for better. They were intelligent, witty and had a great sense of humour. I would highly recommend them. They are both from Uma Paro - Tschring Yangki (only female guide) and JamYang.

Interesting facts learnt from guide
• Paro is about 2200m above Sea level. Tiger’s Nest Monastery is about 3120 above sea level. And the Neyphug Monastery we later visited is about 3000+m above sea level.
• Potato is 1 of their main crops and is exported out of Bhutan. We were also told to try their local red rice.
• Apparently Bhutan is not as conservative as I thought it to be. Young adults tend to smoke and drink and even wear revealing clothes to discos or parties.
• Men wore Gho (traditional costume) and women - Tego (top); Kira (skirt).
• A lot of teachers from India teach English here, so the Bhutanese people spoke English with a slight tinge of the Indian accent.

Uma Paro
• Boutique small hotel, tastefully done. Traditional yet cosy and classy. Only had 20 rooms and 7 villas. Only complaint was that the standard deluxe rooms were tiny. They had a spa, indoor heated swimming pool, hot stone bath and grounds for archery and darts.
• Traditional heating system - the Bhukari is like an Asian traditional heating system which is similar in concept to the western type fireplace.
• The dining room resembles a ski lodge in Switzerland or like a glass restaurant perched off a cliff/hill. It is a circular enclosure glassed up with views of the surrounding hills.

Neyphug Monastery
We drove to the secluded Neyphug monastery to get prayers done. Monasteries are supposedly located in isolated hilly areas where access was limited and road were narrow and bumpy - definitely far away from civilization. We encountered a few cows grazing during our drive up.
After a long bumpy ride, we arrived at the rural temple in the middle of nowhere. The air was fresh and the monastery perched on a hill. What is more impressive was at a distance, at the peak of the hill (move than 3000+m above sea level) where there were no roads was the retreat where Rimpochay Neyphug went to pray. He had to trek there for hours on foot.
The air up where was very cool even though it was sunny and most of the living conditions were run down and underdeveloped. There were quite a few children monks and about 52 monks living there. We were given some holy water which had peacock feathers placed in it to absorb any poison if there were traces of it.
We entered the prayer room of the monastery where we were not allowed to take pictures and had to bow 3 times to the alter and the picture of the current Rimpoche head teacher. There were carving displays of the different manifestation of Guru Rimpoche. Yangki explained the most significant one was the Garuda bird manifestation used to lure the evil witch master out of the cave. The long myth is another story in itself. We saw Guru Rimpoche’s shoe which was kept in a box and Pema (the monk) used the box to touch our head as a form of blessing.
In another part of the room we were told we were lucky to witness the viewing of very sacred relics normally kept in another part of the temple where entry to women were refused because we were considered dirty (menstrual cycle once a month). We saw daggers used to subdue evil spirits, carvings and most importantly a small statue carving done by Guru RImpoche himself. Again, the box with its statue content was lowered to our heads as a form of blessing.
The temple had a chamber where they kept the sacred manuscript of 109 transcript books each consisting of 500 pages ++ and they were all made from the same 1 tree. To get good luck, we had to carry the heavy bulk of 1 transcript and walk around the order. It was so heavy, I had 3 people assisting me as it slipped off my shoulder. However, my tiny guide had no problems with it which puts me to shame. Pema stunned me by telling us that all 109 books were written in gold.
We then headed over to the student’s headquarters where children monks learnt English and memorized prayer mantras. Everyone was very accommodating and friendly.
We also saw the covered bath of the monks. It was just some aluminum fencing covering a hot water area. The monks told us they only bathe once a week. Lol...

Back to Uma
Lunch was great. Bhutanese salad was spicy in a good way.
Tried the braised Yak for dinner which was tasty but meat was tough. They tend to use a lot of goat cheese, lentils and mushroom in their food.
We tried their national sport archery which looks simple but is actually tough; and a different form of darts game where darts were thrown onto a small ground target instead of a wall target.
One complaint I had was that all the 20 rooms had no air conditioning. Only the villas had them installed. Thank goodness it was breezy at night though I can imagine it must get pretty stuffy in the summer.

14th SEPTEMBER: HIKING AND DZONGS

Tried the Bhutanese Red Rice Porridge for breakfast. Texture is different to the standard Chinese porridge and felt a mix between oatmeal and rice porridge.

Hiking
After breakfast, we proceeded to our hiking trail which starts just behind the Uma property. Starting trail had no proper treks and we had to barge our way through overgrown grass and tall prickly plants. After about 10mins, we reached a fence with a ladder which marked the end of the Uma Property Boundary. Once we climbed over, we were at the start of the wilderness and beginning our new trail up the hill. This trail had a path but was very narrow and rocks covered the uneven ground. We were walking very close to the edge of the cliff, hence the narrowness and unevenness of the path made it tedious. The hike wasn’t too difficult - we trekked to the now abandoned fortress and later down towards the National Museum of Bhutan. It took about 1.5hrs and thanks to my terrible hiking boots, my feet were sore by the end of this hike.
The view from above was pretty. We had glimpses of the Bhutan Museum and the Bhutan Palace as well as the airport and Paro Chhu.

Things I learnt from the guide
• Aman Thimphu was burnt down from a fire started by the bhukari
• A Dzong can be paralleled to a fortress. It is a government administrative building as well as a residence and prayer temple of the monks. Left side of the building is used for administrative work while right side is used by the monks.

Ta Dzong - The National Museum of Bhutan
The Museum housed a collection of artifacts, relics, carvings and statues. It also had an extensive stamp collection. 1 interesting factoid that intrigued me was the 4 different faces of Buddhism - rather the interpretation of the religion from 4 different leaders.
1. Nyingma Buddhsim - Started by the teachings of Guru Rimpoche
2. Gelug (Yellow Sect) - originated by the Tibetan’s interpretation of Buddhism. Practised by Dalai Lama
3. Drukpa Kagyu - New school of Tibetan Buddhism
4. Dwagpo Kagyu - More thai Buddhism influence
We also learnt about the history of the wars and battles between Tibet and Bhutan which started because of a discord between 2 kings - 1 of which was the original ruler of Tibet (nicknamed “whitebeard”) who fled and eventually unified the whole of Bhutan.
We saw the exhibit body of a dead crocodile ghair fish which I never knew existed in Bhutan.

Rinpung Dzong
Our next stop was the Rinpung Dzong. Rinpung Dzong is a large Drukpa Kagyu Buddhist Monastery and fortress in Paro district. Security was pretty strict in relation to what can be worn inside. I was wearing a v-neck shirt which hardly exposed anything, and I would only be permitted in if my shirt had a collar - which It did. This does not apply to round collared shirt. Trousers and pants had to be worn, skirts, shorts and even Capri pants were not permitted.
Left hand side was administrative buildings while buildings on the left were the monastery lived in by more than 200 monks. The architecture was stunning and encompassed meticulous carvings and a wide array of colours. Women are not allowed in certain premises of the buildings as dictated by signs displayed on the wall. We are considered dirty. I learnt from Yangki that some monks are allowed to get married, consummate a relationship and start a family. Not all are vowed to celibacy.
We later walked down to the Nyamai Zam Bridge (traditional covered bridge) which leads arcoss Paro Chhu and into Paro Town.
We had lunch in Paro Town in probably a tourist trap restaurant. Food was buffet style and very average. The Bhutanese really love their chillis I must say. I saw a couple more houses drying chillis on their roof.

Kyichu Temple
After lunch, it started to drizzle and we proceeded to 1 of Bhutan’s oldest temple - Kyichu Temple. We were only allowed to circle the exterior of the temple as the Queen Mother happened to be there the same time as us performing some religious rites and hence we were not allowed inside the temple. I learnt from my guide that the King of Bhutan was a very down to earth man who participated actively in the local community lifestyle and frequently visited the homes of local farmers and villagers. Unlike other monarchs, they would even shake your hand and chat to you if you bump into them. The new King had only succeeded the throne a couple of years ago and the King had only recently granted the power to Parliament, unlike historical times where power and decision making was solely in the hands of the monarch.
It is interesting to note that the King’s father had 4 wives - 4 sisters! And the current king is the oldest son of his 2nd wife. All education is sponsored by the government who uses revenue from the export of hydro-electric power to India and Tax of the Bhutanese people to support Children’s education.
At the monastery and Temple, there was a series of prayer bells you could spin to make prayers.

Drukgyel Dzong
Next, we proceed to Drukgyel Dzong, a fortress that has been destroyed by fire. Because it was raining, we had the whole fortress to ourselves which was quite a spectacular sight. It is used now as a romantic haunt for couples or picnic ground for families.
On the drive down hill, we passed a boarding school which has ended for the semester. All students had to walk down the steep hill which was practically a 3hr walk. I learnt from Yangki that boarding schools house around 700 students who slept in little apartments containing 5-6 bunk beds. Poorer schools did not even provide beds and students had to bring their own mattresses to sleep on the floor.

Chele La Pass
As the rain got heavier, we drove 2 hours to Chele La Pass, the highest point anyone is able to visit in Paro at the peak of 3900+m above sea level. It was quite a drive as the road was windy and altitude sickness was getting to me. When we finally reached the peak, I barely lasted 5 minutes out of the vehicle as it was blasting cold.
The guide pointed to us a trek we could take from the highest point to an even higher point which was the sky burial ground. Families of newborns who die will take the bodies of these newborns and bury them there. Hence there was the presence of many prayer flags hung along the trek. Also, one was able to trek to the Kila Nunnery.

15TH SEPTEMBER: FROM PARO TO THIMPHU

We had a very scenic drive from Paro to Thimphu. By today, I am used to seeing cows graze freely along the road and sometimes even napping in the middle of the road without a care for the traffic. Buddhism believes that every animal has a soul and hence animals here are not slaughtered for food, but instead, meat is imported from abroad. Lucky cows!
We passed through the valley which Paro Chhu flows through and it was a very pretty soothing sigh. We stopped at the intersection where Paro Chhu and Thimphu Chhu meet. We also witnessed and stood on Bhutan’s only iron chain bridge which is made from chains from temples all across Bhutan.
Once we entered the highway which links Paro to Thimphu, the ride was finally a smooth one. As explained by our guide, this particular highway is probably the nicest stretch of road in Bhutan. The journey is approximately 1 hr by car.

Thimphu
Upon entering Thimphu, I noticed the marked difference between the 2 cities. While Paro is a protected haven relatively untouched with vast greenery and little buildings; Thimphu seemed cluttered with developments, higher rise buildings and congested streets. For the first time, we experienced traffic jam in Bhutan. I can see why Thimphu is the main city. While the valley presents a pretty backdrop, the lush wilderness of nature is lost; and this was exacerbated by the pollution and smog which filled the air. Yangki told us a funny story - when traffic lights were first introduced in Thimphu, there were numerous accidents as people could not understand the system. It was taken out within 2 weeks and replaced by a traffic police standing in the middle of the road giving hand directions to motorist. The buildings' architecture in Thimphu were more modern than Paro and hence an essence of its cultural identity had been lost. The streets were filled with restaurants and shops and people were slightly more modern in their dressing although majority of the people still wore their national costume. In fact I came across a few fashion stores selling skimpy dresses. There were also nightclubs with ads - Wed is Ladies Night! The more I observe the ethnic people, the more beautiful and exotic I think they are, especially the women. They seem so natural, had refined features and good skin.

Textile Museum & Takin Nature Reserve
Our first stop was the textile Museum where we were screened a video of how weaving was done. Seems like foreign science to me. En-route to the Takin reserve, our guide pointed out the current residences of the King which is shockingly small for a member of royalty. I was told he lives with his soldiers in this small compound. This King has to be one of the most down to earth royalty I have ever heard of.
We arrived at the Takin Reserve which wasn’t very big. In the enclosure was a mixture of Takin, Deer and Antelopes. Takin is the national animal of Bhutan.


National Memorial Chorten
Our next stop is the Goengsa Chorten which is a stupa for the 3rd king. Again we saw prayer bells and surround the huge prayer bells are many elderly people who spend the day at the Stupa praying and simply hanging out at the place of holiness.

National Institute Zorig Chusum - School of Painting
After a very disappointing lunch, we headed to the School of Painting which houses students and taught them a variety of art, from Painting, Embroidery, Sculpting, Wood Carving and Weaving. Female and Male students lived in separate dorms where there are 20beds in a single room. The art was pretty intricate and the classrooms were divided into first year - final year. A student’s finished product could go for sale in the showroom and 90% of the proceeds go to them.

Folk Heritage Museum
The highlight of Thimphu for me was probably the Folk Heritage Museum which basically displays an old Bhutanese residence depicting the way the traditional Bhutanese used to live. On average, about 12-15 people across 3 generations could be crammed and living together under the same roof. The house is not very big and consists of 3 floors. 1st floor is where the animals live. 2nd floor is storage room and 3rd floor is a combined living and dining room. The family would all cram and sleep on the 3rd floor. There is also an alter on the 3rd floor as well as a guest corner and a guest toilet only used by very important guest. The rest of the family had to do their business outside. We also saw a traditional hot stone bath nestled in the garden compound. Hot stones would be heated up and then placed into the bath for the people to take a bath. Another interesting thing I learnt is that upon marriage, the boy would come and live with the girl’s family and not the other way round.
We then moved on to do a bit of window shopping on Thimphu city centre but nothing caught my eye and I was not impressed by the city at all. To me, Paro was more charming.

Como Shambhala
Back at Uma Paro, I decided to go for a foot reflexology at the spa and that was probably the best thing I experienced all day. The reflex started out with a foot scrub and I then proceeded to lie down on the spa bed and had a very relaxing foot massage.

SEPTEMBER 16: TAKTSANG WALK TIGER’S NEST

Finally, the highlight of Paro!! Please please wear comfortable shoes and do not make the idiotic mistake I did by wearing tight fitting hiking shoes as the hike down will kill your toes. I was already apprehensive about today as my boots were ill fitting and the weather was rainy. My injured ankle may not support me if the grounds are too slippery. Nonetheless, we made our way to the foot of the tiger’s nest in half and hour’s drive, with a picnic basket and at 8am in the morning! It is always a good idea to leave very early in the morning in case the weather gets worse or if you take too long on the hike, it may get dark before you reach the bottom. Yangki mentioned that the hike should take around 4hrs to the top and back down and that is including photo time and rest time. We took in total 6hrs - yes, we were really slow. I could not get used to the altitude as we ascended and had to stop frequently to catch my breath. Plus, I started having headaches and dizziness midway through the walk. I would recommend to take the pony uphill unless you are very fit and are sure you will not have altitude sickness as there are many steep parts to the hike which made it tiring and breathless. In high altitude, this situation is exacerbated.
The local Bhutanese are really sturdy, some of them might have passed me 2 or 3 times uphill and downhill as the villagers had to lug sacks of potatoes up and down the steep trail to transport them to the café. The only mode of transport uphill was by foot or the pony. Downhill is however only possible by foot as the ponies get out of control downhill.
The café marked the half way point of the walk and the view from there was great! It was truly spectacular to see the Tiger’s Nest perched on a cliff. This simply defies logic or gravity.
Legend has it that Guru RImpoche manifested himself into a terrifying form and flew on a Tiger’s back to Taktsang. It was in this cave he meditated for 4 months and introduced Buddhism to Bhutan. Subsequently a lot of his disciples were to set up monasteries up there for meditation. In 1998, there was a fire at Taktsang supposedly from the prayer candles and the Tiger’s Nest Monastery had to be rebuilt again.
The pony takes you all the way uphill but not beyond a certain point as the path starts descending steeply and then it ascends again to take you to the monastery. In total, the descent and ascending stairs to the Tiger’s Nest is about 1400 steps. It is quite a walk.
I have to say that the treacherous walk is all worth the effort once you are at the top. The view is simple breathtaking. No words or photo can do justice to what I have witnessed. I passed a pretty waterfall along the way, and thanks to the rainy and cloudy weather, it made the scenery even more mystical and mysterious. It seemed like I was walking through some enchanted woods. The view from the top is so surreal, it hypnotizes you. I didn’t want to leave, I just wanted to stand there, enjoy the breeze and savour the moment. Plus the thought of the journey down was not something I was looking forward to.
Just as I expected, the route down was just as tough as the walk up. You have to be very careful in wet weather, so remember to bring good shoes - tried and tested. I am really impressed by the monks who mediate in the monasteries as they have to make the journeys up and down on a regular basis.
When I finally made it down, my feet were hurting beyond words because of my tight boots. We had our picnic in the car which I had no mood to eat because it was 3pm and I was exhausted.

Random Things I learnt from guide
• A lot of Bhutanese students further their education in India and also to learn English. Hence, this explains the Indian influence in their language. However therehas been a national intervention to improve education internally as there have been many complaints about local students attending sub-par Indian or Bangladeshi University, only to return with no skills or knowledge. Some students spend 18yrs studying only to graduate without being able to construct a simple English sentence.
• Top medical students or students in Bhutan get sponsorship to further their studies abroad in countries like Australia or even the US.

---

Photos

Chelela Pass
Sky Burial prayer flags

Uma Lunch
Sangay shamu mushroom pasta

Hot bath
Where the monks take a bath

Rice Cooker for the 52 monks
USD$5000 each!!!???
Crazy!

Uma Paro
Courtyard. Can dine here too

Comments

[Maria&Thomas]

Bhutan
Hi from Germany, we are planing a travel to Bhutan during the Paro festival next year. Could you recommend an travel agency for Bhutan? Which was your travel agency for this travel? Kindly thanks in advance for any information! Maria & Thomas

[harlow]

Hi, I actually booked everything through the hotel UMA Paro. Not the cheapest option but very convenient as they arranged the Druk Air Flights, the Visas, ALL the tours (customised to however you want), accomodation and full board meals. I have to say though that the guide we used was excellent. Her name is Yangki and is you do decide to book through Uma Paro, you should request for her.