Bhutan - 1993

We visited Bhutan when not many people visited this Himalayan kingdom. There were a lot of restrictions for the citizens of most countries here and even though Indians were welcome, not many ventured to this neighboring country. Not much was known about Bhutan and at that time in 1993, I never did much research before visiting another country. Just as well, otherwise we may have missed out visiting this beautiful kingdom.

I did write most of this a few years ago. Now I am publishing this in my blog as suddenly many people are asking me about Bhutan and I know a few who have travelled there for holiday or honeymoon. 

My good friend Rohit decided to get married in 1993 while he was unemployed. He said he wanted to focus on one thing at a time. Then after marriage he decided to take up an assignment in Bhutan This he said would combine well with his honeymoon. Trying to kill two birds with one stone was his forte. Then he did something better and invited Devicka and me for his honeymoon. The story does not end here. We actually accepted his offer.

We decided to give him a week of honeymoon before we arrived in Bhutan. So this meant that Rohit left a week before us. At Indira Gandhi International Airport his baggage was X Rayed as is the case with all passengers. The security people found some big metal objects in the bag. So the conversation went like this.

‘What is that?’

‘Weights.’

‘Weights?’

‘Yes weights.’

‘Why?’

‘Health.’

‘health?’

‘Yes- body building, health.’

So, my friend Rohit Sarawat arrived in Bhutan on his honeymoon with his new wife and kilos and kilos of metallic weights.  

The flight to Bhutan via Kathmandu on Druk Air is the most fabulous flight one can take. It skirts the mountains, goes past the 3^rd highest mountain range of Kanchanjunga and then suddenly from nowhere appears the glorious Mt. Everest gleaming in the sunshine. The British pilot announced the sighting of Mt Everest with a great deal of style. The passengers including us greeted Mt Everest with a big applause . It was indeed a sight to behold. It stood there, snow laden, very tall and very handsome.

Mt Everest swimming in the clouds

Rohit had asked me to get some scotch from IGIA. I picked up a few bottles but the guy on counter refused to sell me scotch as I was just going to Bhutan and Bhutan actually did not count as a foreign country for the Indian Government. I had to ask some foreigner to buy a bottle of Johnny Walker for me and then I had to smuggle it to the Aircraft. I planned to buy a few more from ‘Paro International Airport’ duty free shop.

‘Paro International Airport’ was indeed a big shock for us. It looked like anything but an airport. It looked more like a small cottage. A very pretty cottage surrounded by lush green mountains. Forget the DFS, it was difficult finding a toilet there. We had to lug our own luggage from the tractor trolley. Once outside we tried finding a taxi. Taxi? No scene. There was nothing resembling the taxi there. Just two small buses from hotels to pick up their guests. So crowded were they that there was no chance of hiking a lift. I contacted the Airport manager who was very helpful. He suggested that I hike a few kilometers to the main road and try and find a taxi. His phone was not working and as our flight was the one and only flight for the day, at 12 Noon, he locked up ‘Paro International Airport’, the only Airport of Bhutan, and walked away into the mountains leaving Devicka and me sitting on the steps of the airport, with two suitcases, wondering what to do.

Paro International Airport is the only airport at Bhutan. I have recently read that pilots have voted this as the most dangerous airport for landing. Luckily, we didn't know about this fact at that time.

Rohit’s boss was kind enough to lend him his land rover when he heard that his friends were coming and rushed him to the airport being fully aware of the ground situation at the airport. So, this time we got saved from a long long hike.

Paro is beautiful. Paro seemed untouched at that time in 1993. There were few tourists, very few cars, hardly any hotels, rows and rows of different shades of mountains and fresh air. The sound of Paro Chuu (Paro River) was the only sound heard for miles. 

Paro River adds to the beauty of the place

In Bhutan men wear gowns and often carry women like names. The houses are built as per national policy with their unique architecture. Our hotel, Olanthang, was built just as all buildings in Bhutan are built. Most workers in the hotel were women. Rohit’s wife Monisha informed us that  on their arrival they were greeted with great deal of enthusiasm and affection till the point one of the women porters tried lifting the ‘weights’ laden bag !

Most interesting place in Paro is Paro Dzong – fortress-monastery overlooking the beautiful valley. There are more dzongs sprayed out around kingdom. They were built in 17th century to defend the country, but until today they are also centers of religious and secular power. Tourist are usually allowed to visit only the courtyards of the dzongs. On the slope of mountain above Paro Dzong (long access by narrow but paved road) is the old watchtower called Ta Dzong which is now home to the museum.

Religion dominates the life in this Buddhist country.

Some 10 km from Paro by road you will see in the distance famous Taktsang (Tiger’s Nest) Hermitage on the face of a sheer 1000m cliff. It is the place where Bhutan’s history begins. People of Bhutan believe that Guru Rinpoche – father of Bhutanese Buddhism landed here on the back of tigress. It is possible to climb the mountain. You can cross valley by car to the other edge and then use the pony or just walk uphill. Devicka and Monisha just refused to climb up to Tatsang, much to my relief. Rohit the trekker was most disappointed.

Perched on a high cliff is Taktsang or the Tiger's Nest.

The trip to the capital ‘Thimpu’ must have been 2 hours by car through picturesque valley. Thimpu is set along Thimpu Chuu (Thimpu River).  We followed the river and entered what was defined as the only capital in the world without traffic lights. Instead, at the intersections were the dancing traffic policemen. Remember Rashtrapati Bhavan traffic intersection during the seventies? I understand that a few years later some traffic lights were installed in Thimpu but had to be brought down as people protested this ‘monstrosity.’

On the way to Thimpu we crossed the cavalcade of the king of Bhutan. There were 5 limousines – the first one with the king and after that each limousine had one of his wives. The taxi driver informed us that first the king married his queen and later married all her sisters. For security reasons they all traveled separately.

We had a long list of foreign goodies to buy from Thimpu. Many of our friends and relatives had given us these lists as we were after all going to a ‘foreign’ country. When there was no much good stuff coming from Nepal, there would be no reason why Bhutan wouldn’t have all this foreign stuff ? We got a rude shock as  all we saw in the shops was Colgate , Nescafe, Brooke bond  and our very own Nirodh.  There was one shop called Bhutan handicrafts emporium and we visited it each day of our stay and bought whatever handicrafts we could carry back. After all we had to buy something. Devicka wanted to take a container full of furniture back to Delhi but I did convince her that our aircraft would not be able to take this load.

We were lucky that Thimphu was flooded by UN and WHO officials so we could get our grilled chicken and steaks. There were a lot of pastry shops too so food was not a problem. Otherwise the people of Bhutan ate a lot Pork and most of it was not good looking. We did suffer a few stomach bugs. 

Among Thimphu's sights are the Memorial Chorten (dedicated to the king's late father, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck) and the Tashicho Dzong, a 350-year-old structure built by Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal and refurbished in 1961 to house government departments and ministries. The National Assembly and king's throne room are there. As the nation's largest monastery, it is the summer quarters of 2,000 monks. Our visit to Dzong was eventful and memorable as we were not supposed to enter it and watch the sacred ceremony. The security guard, for reasons unknown, smuggled us in and not only gave us an extensive tour of the place but also allowed us to watch the sacred ceremony which involved fire and weapons. This was the highlight of our trip. Suspecting the guards ulterior motive of earning money on the side, Rohit at the point of departure offered him some money. The guard was most offended.

We then realized that we were in that part of the world which was yet to be touched by commercialization and greed.

A religious ritual being performed at the Dzong

The evenings in Thinpu were generally relaxed. There was no television and no cinemas. All we could do was sit around their field and watch the locals play soccer passionately. We went into some lanes and bylanes  and yet again saw the most exquisite furniture being carved. The temptation to take it back to Delhi remained.

Druk Air

Bhutan has its own Airline called the Druk Air. The aircraft we traveled in was a small sweet little thing which must be accommodating 30 passengers. It went low over the mountains and many a times went between them, so obviously it had good maneuverability and needed a very skilled pilot.

Bhutan did not encourage tourists. They did not want to be corrupted by the western influences. The visa norms etc. were strict and only through tour operators a foreigner could travel to Bhutan. The Indians were exempted from this regulation and did not require a visa.

On the day we were to return, we arrived at the Airport to find the airport shut. It was actually locked with a huge Godrej lock. Our taxi driver was in a hurry so he dropped us and whizzed off without waiting for us to decide course of action.

So, once again Devicka and I were sitting on the steps of Paro International Airport with not a soul in sight and only mountains to keep us company.

Finally I decided to take a walk and found a security guard on the airfield. I asked him where the plane was. He pointed towards a hangar. Once in the hangar I saw activity. Our little plane was lying dismantled and 2 Indian army men were trying to repair it. They were repairing it like I often have seen mechanics repairing the scooter on the roadside of Delhi. Also present was a personnel from Druk Air. He had no clue when the aircraft would be repaired and when the flight would leave. We did have a question and answer session. Here are excerpts :

Q : When will the flight leave ?

A : When the aircraft is repaired.

Q: By when will it be repaired ?

A: Normally it takes a day or two.

Q : How many aircrafts does Druk Air have ?

A : Two.

Q : Where is the 2^nd aircraft ?

A : Oh- we have given it on lease.

Q : LEASE ?????

A : Yes Lease. We get good money.

Q: So entire Druk air works with one aircraft  even though it is the owner of 2 aircrafts?

A : (Proudly) Yes Sir.

Q : It goes to Kathmandu and Delhi - right ?

A : No Sir, it also goes to Calcutta and Bangkok !

No wonder our poor aircraft had packed up.

The weather was cloudy so leaving Devicka behind, I climbed the mountains, crossed the rivers & lakes, went through Villages, cut across the fields, crossed many mini dzongs and after a 50 minute brisk walk reached the civilization to find the taxi to fetch Devicka from the airport. Throughout I cursed the Druk Air and Bhuatanese incompetence for this ordeal. Today if you ask me, I would call it the most beautiful and picturesque walk of my life. I can still smell those flowers and the smell of lush green mountains.

The flight did take off 48 hours later. We had seriously started looking for the second option but that meant going to Thimpu, then to Phutshilong, then to Bagdogra, then to Calcutta and from there to Delhi. Flying to Delhi directly was a better option and if that meant extending the holiday by 2 days – no problem. We just prayed that Indian Army had done a good job of repairing the aircraft.

That thought also disappeared as we flew over Kanchanjunga and were greeted by the lofty Mt Everest, standing tall and bright in that autumn of 1993.

Punakha Dzong at Punakha Valley