THE ROYAL KINGDOM OF BHUTAN

 

We head off bright and early to tackle Indian Immigration & Customs. At the police stop they check we have visas for Bhutan then we find Immigration which is not at the border. It takes 3 guys to stamp us out and we cross to Customs. Apparently, the official doesn’t arrive until 11am, but they finally relent and stamp our carnet out. Phew! We cross under a gorgeous archway into Bhutan and see our guide, Tshering waiting for us.  It doesn’t take too long to get our passports stamped into Bhutan and then it’s off to the Police as there is no Customs here. Rincon from Happiness Kingdom Travels has arranged for our visas and entry. She had rung to check our vehicle could come into Bhutan and was assured it was OK, but when the Police check their government rules it says no caravans allowed, John tries to convince them it isn’t a caravan but to no avail. So, a whole day follows of trying to smooth things out so that we can enter. No motorhomes have entered Bhutan for years and will not be allowed in the near future so we were very lucky. This is a one off. Don’t even think of trying to bring your Overland vehicle here. Finally, at 6pm we have the official paperwork and paid the daily fees for GR2. 

It's way too late to drive to Trashigang (the first town on our itinerary – and we must stop in town for our guide to get a hotel) so we stay in the Police yard at Samdrup Jongkhar. Already we are one day behind in our schedule, and we now have only six days left to cross the country. An extension would be very difficult not to mention very expensive. It costs a staggering US$100 each per day per person for the pleasure of being here, plus compulsory guide, visa costs, vehicle costs per day etc. If you are thinking of coming, do it soon. The cost is due to increase to US$200 per day. In the evening we explore the pretty town and enjoy some rather yummy peach wine with our dinner.

In the morning we are off with Tshering in the back. He says it is more comfortable than a bus which is a relief. He chats to us on the two-way. It is an incredibly steep winding road straight up into the mountains. We drive a mere 180km to Trashigang, but it takes 6 hours on a good tarseal road. We fall in love with this lovely town. All the buildings are highly decorated, and the town is centered on a prayer wheel. We join the locals for lunch (they are enjoying a beer or two) and we walk over to the gorgeous old Trashigang Dzong/Fort/Temple that was built in 1667. These buildings are multiuse with sections for government, for monks and for temples. But we mustn’t tarry, we need to reach Mongar tonight. So, miles of winding roads up and down valleys with countless hairpins. We pull into town as it is getting dark, drop Tshering off at his hotel and head back to a carpark where there are a few trucks. There we get in the back, pull up all the blinds and essentially pretend we are not there. Officially we are not allowed to sleep in our truck.

We wake to a cold misty morning, collect Tsering and drive through the pretty town and back into the mountains. We are heading to the Thrumshing La Pass at 3750m. There are waterfalls and hundreds of rhododendrons in full bloom. I now know that there are 50 different varieties here in Bhutan. As we get higher it gets colder, the road gets windier, and we see signs of snow. More and more snow. And then it is snowing and so thick on the ground we can hardly see where cars have been. And of course, the narrow road is hugging the side of the cliff. We reach the pass and the snow is icey so John puts GR2 into 4x4 and we start our descent. Phew, through the worst we can enjoy the gorgeous snow on the trees’ (well I can). Much later we head through pine forest, and we finally have blue sky as we roll into Jakar in the Bumthang Valley. 

First up we visit the gorgeous Jakar Dzong, another monastery fortress. Then the even more stunning Jampey Lhakhang Temple. We can only see a small section inside, but the outside is amazing. Then on to the Red Panda Brewery for John to try some of their famous beer. It’s getting late so we drop Tsering in town and head to the truck parking in the back street. Later we wander back to town to try their famous buckwheat noodles followed by buckwheat pancakes. The locals eat these with a cheese sauce chock full of chillies. Instead, we have honey & cream – delicious

Another early start. It is not as though we have many miles to drive, rather that it is so slow. Overall, the road is pretty good and the traffic well behaved. Such a contrast to the crazy driving in India. A few kms down the road we stop at a craft village to catch a glimpse of the weaving process and look at the goods. John is tempted to buy one of the phallus’ but I think they are a tad tacky. We continue through miles of farmland dotted with tiny villages. Most of the fields are bare, ready waiting for warmer weather to be resown with crops. Our next stop is at the small village of Trongsa where we stop to look at yet another amazing old Dzong. They always are in the most spectacular settings, and I love the little covered bridges that cross the river to them. These are all free to enter, but only with a local guide.

Then follows yet another mountain pass – Pele La at 3420m. There is snow sparkling on the trees making it stunning. Much later we turn off the main road and follow a long valley and river to the town of Punakha. We drop Tshering off and he tells us to camp on the riverbank. In hindsight, it is probably a mistake as everyone can see us. But first we head along the Pho Chuu River and find the Bazam/suspension bridge and cannot resist walking over it. It is amazing how many tourists we meet at the bridge. They have all been at the Punakha tsechu. We are going tomorrow. We settle in beside the river – a seriously gorgeous spot but Tshering is concerned because a photo of us here has been posted on social media. Fortunately, we are not sprung, but decide to move first thing, but GR2’s electrics decide to play up. John and an auto electrician sort it out while Tshering and I go to the tsechu. The bonus here is that I get a magical few hours watching the amazing spectacle sitting on the ground with hundreds of locals while John doesn’t (he would have got bored after 30mins). Finally, Tshering drags me away, shows me the rest of the stunning Dzong – and it is the most gorgeous yet. Even the temple is stunning (no photos inside). It is here that the Kings are crowned. We head out to GR2 and again hit the road, this time to the big smoke – Thimpu. We cross the Dochu La pass at 3140m and stop for spectacular mountain views including some of the Himalayas. Much later we head into Thimpu and because of traffic rules we get to wind around town. Thimpu is in a long valley and chock full of high-rise apartments. It may sound ugly, but it’s not because most are highly decorated in Bhutanese style. We head straight to Happiness Kingdom to meet Rincon and her team. They are gorgeous and have worked so hard to sort out our trip and they gave us a generous discount for our lost day. We pop GR2 into the carpark she has organized for us and head downtown to explore. I particularly enjoy the row of stalls in the craft market. Dinner with Rincon rounds out our day.

A very early start today as we have the huge hike to Tigers Nest. We head to the lovely town of Paro which boasts of having the only International Airport in Bhutan. Because of this it is full of tourist shops and hotels. But we drive straight past these and head up the hills to the carpark. I am very nervous! All we have read about the hike is about how hard it is. And we are at over 3000m. We decide to take horses halfway up. I haven’t been on a horse for a long time and it’s not all that comfortable jolting up the stairs and over tree routes, but it sure beats walking. At the halfway point we get off and it is still a long long way to go. It’s a lot of huffing and puffing but I make it to the cafeteria, and we stop for tea. Then slog up to both viewpoints. Just magical. We can look straight across at the stunning Tigers Nest/Taktshang Monastery. To get there it is another 700 steps down followed by another 700 up. Then it must be repeated. I decide to enjoy the view while John does the climb. A good move as the downhill journey takes ages. Phew we can tick that one off the list.

Back in town Tshering takes us to a hot stone bath. Yet another new  experience. The stones are heated over the fire and dropped into tubs of water just outside the bath house. We have an hour in our wooden tubs (we only manage 40 mins), but it is relaxing after the hike. Then we taste the local brew and John tries his hand at archery which is a favorite pastime here. We head into town to explore the shops before heading to Tshering’s apartment, where we can camp. A great spot with lovely views of the Dzong.

It is our last day in Bhutan, but we still have 135km to drive to get to the border. We leave early, only stopping at the Dzong for a quick look. There are many more trucks on the road as we near the border and some large sections of very thick mist. We wind our way down the mountains until we reach the flat plains of India. There are 2 military checkpoints where they check all our paperwork. Then at the border they stamp our passports out. All very civilized. Time for a final lunch with Tshering. Goodbye Bhutan. You have been amazing. We love the mountains, the peace, the friendly people and the amazing architecture. A small Kingdom of only 775,000 people and interestingly  approx 30,000 live in Perth Australia.

Anyway, time to return to India. We head through Bhutan’s gorgeous archway into absolute chaos. Oh my goodness, can we go back! The military look at us, completely stunned. There is no immigration or customs at the border, just shops, snarled traffic, people, beggars, dirt and mud. Finally, they send us to immigration with an officer. He sits in front while I go in the back. Traffic chaos follows! Glad I can’t see it. Immigration is closed so we wait for a guy to arrive and unlock the doors. Eventually we are stamped in. Now for our carnet. Yet another circus. It is getting late as we head out of town so we simply go to the river we camped in a mere few weeks ago.

It is nice to not rush this morning. We do washing, pay bills, do photos etc before finally heading off. We have decided to drive to yet another riverbed we previously camped at between tea plantations. We stop and relax. The plan tomorrow is to head to the city of Siliguri to get groceries, new batteries for GR2, fill up with diesel and if it’s not too late head to the border. We arrive at  the supermarket by 9.30, but its closed and signs are up that it is a holiday. Locals confirm that it is the Holi/Festival of Color today. Oh no! Everything is closed. Plan 2: We will head straight to the border which is simple enough as the roads are relatively quiet. We stop to use up our rupees at a petrol station and fill up with water. We are all ready but chaos awaits us at Panitanki. There are no signs and many of the locals are covered in coloured powder and having a jolly good time. The aim seems to be to get as much powder onto your friend’s heads and faces. After much tooing and froing we find Immigration. Unfortunately, we are followed by a highly coloured and very drunk local who keeps yelling at us in Hindi. But at least our passports are now stamped out of India. Then to Customs with our annoying local yelling at us. Inside customs we wait. Eventually our 2 customs guys turn up covered in powder and we are stamped out. But we still haven’t finished. The Military need to write more into their book. Finally, we are on the bridge that goes to Nepal. I seriously hope they will let us in. The visa paperwork I have is not complete so fingers crossed.  Goodbye India. It has been an amazing ride.