By Pratap Kumar M S
I woke up the next day morning, drew the curtains of my window and looked out. The weather looked gloomy. The overnight rains had left its mark on the narrow street in front of the hotel. The overcast sky was not a pleasant sight. The gate lights of the hotel were still on although it was close to 6:30 in the morning. We had major plans for the day and the overall scene was not so encouraging.
I freshened up fast and opened the side window and saw a totally different scene. The clouds seemed to have vanished and there was bright sunshine all around. A lonely sun flower waved at me from the banks of the river. We went down and met others and had a nice stroll around, and tried fixing the location for the Group Photograph.
Tour Committee
Our Tour Committee was headed by Sone and apart from myself had Subash, Radhika, ACK & Nagesh as members. We received considerable help from Ramesh as well who was earlier a part of the tour committee, but could not make it to the tour. There was also a separate Doctor’s Committee which had the 3 lady Doctor’s Dr Vijayalakshmi, Dr Pushpa and Dr Sushma in it. JP saw to it that enough quantities of essential medicines were stocked. We also had a separate committee for Cultural Programmes. Fenwick, Renjith and Nagesh were the leaders of the 3 Buses.
Click it up
The Customary group Photo was the first item scheduled for the day. Men wore pink shirts and ladies were dressed in Blue. The fun and the excitement that this event generated saw a foreign traveller joining us in our photo shoot.
Chorten
Our first visit was to the National Memorial Chorten constructed in the memory of the 3rd king of Bhutan. Chorten means Stupa. This beautiful white structure has a golden spire at the top with similar but smaller spires at its entrance. We walked in through a decorated front gate and reached the porch via a beautiful garden. The interiors are decorated with statues and had a shrine dedicated to Druk Gyalpo who was the 3rd king.Traditional Budhists were seen circumambulating this monument reciting prayers. We came out of the place feeling blessed.
Buddha Dordenma
Our bus took a climb up a mountain and soon we were greeted by the sight of a gigantic golden Buddha statue sitting majestically on top of a huge pedestal. He stared down at us with a calm demeanor and a gentle smile. Locals consider this posture as Sakhyamuni, Lord Buddha’s posture at the moment of his enlightenment.
The sun was at its peak and the Golden statue shone spilling its Aura all around. We went closer and saw that the pedestal was a prayer hall with exquisite carvings all around it. At the periphery of the pedestal, we could see various nymph like Goddess holding fluttering flags. Behind them were statues of 2 white elephants.
Inside the prayer hall numerous Buddha statues of different shapes and sizes stare back at you. Our Guides informed us there are around 1,25,000 such Buddha statues.
The other side of the monument gave us a bird’s eye view of Thimpu city. The unrushed pace of life was evident in the view, something we all need to experience at least once.
Simply Bhutan…When life was much simpler
A living Museum and a Major initiative to preserve the culture and traditions of Bhutan, a flash back into the past Bhutanese way of life which lost its essence in the modernization era. That is “Simply Bhutan” for you. The Museum is built with old reused materials like timber, old doors and window frames. Visitors entering the Museum are seated and greeted with a shot of Arra the local Rice drink. Inside was a large hall which had photos, artefacts and paintings that adorned the walls highlighting the cultural richness of Bhutan. We settled down in special ornate chairs and were entertained with a folk dance by young girls while having our lunch.
A stroll around took us to a brilliant collection of traditional cooking ware and other equipments once used by Bhutanese people for their household chores.
Outside among the stalls which housed these traditional items, we saw a talented wood carver quietly working in his workshop. A victim of cerebral Palsy he uses his feet to carve out stunning wooden carvings and paintings. Some of us brought his products as a gesture of goodwill. We also got a chance to try the national game of Bhutan which is “Archery” and a local Dart game known as “Khuru”.
Meeting Takin
The King of Bhutan believed it was cruel to constrain the animals to a cage so when it came to a choice of preserving his national animal Takin he preferred to let it roam free. The animals however could not go much far and preferred to stay near Thimpu. The Motihang Takin preserve became its habitat The reserve covers a huge area of meticulously maintained forest and is home to these strange beasts which resemble a hybrid between goats and cows
The trail from the Gate to the Park has huge Pine trees on the sides and takes you all up to the preserve. This was our first trek in Bhutan. We reached the top without much difficulty. It took us approximately 20 minutes and the climb was steep.
Up the Reserve a huge fence separated us form these animals. Fortunately many Takins were there near the fence and we had a good closeup view. The atmosphere was silent except for the occasional chirping of mountain birds and the Takins looked friendly and tame.
Our Guide however warned us that they get very dangerous once provoked or if somebody enters their territory. The Evening was drawing to a close as we came down tired. We took a group photograph and were back in our bus
What to shop?
Did somebody mention shopping? We were woken up from our lethargy and got charged up to enjoy the unique shopping experience in this country. The Authentic Bhutanese Craft Bazar in Thimpu occupies half a kilometer area in the centre of Thimpu city.Initiated to promote traditional art and craft work passed within generations these shops provide a platform to showcase their creative talents.
The market has around 100 shops aligned in a single row offering many unique products like wooden & slate carvings, bronze statues, clothes with intricate embroidery, bamboo products etc. Many of us collected a thing or two as souvenirs.
At the centre of the market on a circular platform a small crowd had gathered to watch acrobats performing. It was already late when we reached Hotel and we retired for the night after dinner.
Thimpu>>>>>Punaka
The next day morning was bright and sunny. The early birds of our group were out for a walk and me too went for a short walk as to have a final view of Thimpu. The morning sun sprinkled its brilliance onto the nearby stream which sparkled while continuing its indomitable journey.
The roads were neat and clean with very less traffic. Far away our friends could be seen playing football with the local team.
Our guides with the help of Hotel personnel saw to it that the baggage was loaded properly and we started our journey towards Punaka. Before we left Thimpu one more important landmark remained to be seen which was the “Drochula Pass “a war memorial”. Our guides informed us that from this place one gets a distant view of the Himalayas on a clear day. The flat roads took a climb with hairpin bends-a typical mountain drive. The scene was however beautiful with some apple orchards on one side and forests of blue pine on the other. As we ascended the weather became colder and we were forced to wear our pull overs.
Dochula Mountain Pass
Dochula pass connects Thimpu to Punaka. A memorial made to honour 108 Bhutanese soldiers who died in a clash with foreign militants in 2003.108 Stupas were made by the Queen to their memory. These stupas are called as Druk Wangyal Chortens in the local language.
We came out of our buses to a spectacular view of this magnetic setting. The memorial is built in 3 layers. Watching from below the Stupas seemed to grow from the ground like giant white mushrooms wearing conical Bhutanese hats with golden spikes. Lush green lawns encircled the stupas. We went all the way to the apex. At an altitudeof about 10,000 feet the view was ethereal.
The surrounding Cypress trees were struggling to reveal themselves from a thick veil of fierce mist swirling around them. The stunning stupas looked up at us with great pride. A green park across the road with innumerable trees and plants welcomed us. We ambled between these sleeping brave-hearts for a while before coming down. The mist and light drizzle made us miss the Himalayan view.
A trekand a small climb took us to the opposite green park with tall trees. We took many photos in this area. Renjith met his lookalike and their meeting amused all of us.
We had initially planned for a stay of about half an hour but the serene ambience of Dochula, pulled us in and we left the place after almost 1.5 hours.
Royal Botanical Park
Situated close to Dochula Pass this park is an ex-situ plant conservation area which houses more than 500 species of plants, this is the first Botanical Garden in Bhutan. However contrary to our expectations, we found the place relatively dull and little to offer from a sight seeing point of view. May be due to off season the flowers were relatively few.
A light drizzle marred our experience of this place. A small pond in the middle & lawns became the spot for many clicks.
We had a quick brunch here and continued on with our journey to Punakha.
The journey to Punakha saw us getting exposed to some gorgeous picture post card sceneries and we often stopped to get a closer view of the scenes.
Bhutanese Lunch
Khuruthang is a small town about 5km before Punaka .Lingher hotel was situated along the banks of River Puna Tsang Chu which flows through this town .We had our first experience of a typical Bhutanese menu here. Rice with Chilies and Cheese curry, spicy chicken stew, momos and many other dishes served with the local butter tea Suja. The food was less spicy than the traditional spicy food for which Bhutan is famous for.
Palace of Great Happiness-Punaka Dzong
Experts are of the opinionthat this is the most beautiful palace in Bhutan. The palace is located at the confluence of two Major rivers Pho Chhu (Male) and Mo Chhu (Female) which converge in this valley. We had to cross this through a swinging wooden bridge to reach the palace. We stopped at the Gate to admire the scenic beauty surrounding the Dzog. The blue river and the endless mountain vistas interspersed in blue and green took our breath away. Cameras came alive and endless photos were taken.
We climbed several steps including a foldable wooden staircase and entered the Palace Courtyard. The vast courtyard gave us an idea of this Huge Palace. A giant Bodhi tree stood at one end along with a big, whitewashed stupa and a huge watch tower stood at the other end. Looking around one gets a feel of the palace’s marvelous architecture with its intricately carved windows, gilded doors and colour façade. While traversing through the palace we entered the third passage that led onto to the courtyard. The third courtyard’s view was fabulous. The entire courtyard is flanked by many temples in rich colours of brown red and blue.
We got inside one of the temples which was open to the public The interiors were more attractive. Carvings depicting ancient Buddhist culture adorned the temple pillars. The cross beams had intricate patterns engraved in dark hues which were in contrast to the brighter yellow pillars. Multicolored lanterns hung from the ceiling creating a divine atmosphere all around. Three magnificent idols, two of future and present Buddha and one of Zhabdrung Rinpoche the spiritual Guru of Bhutan occupied the centre stage and made their presence felt.
Our Guides explained to us the importance of this temple. After an hour we left the palace for our next destination.
Action – Adventure
Time to add some thrill and spirit of adventure to the whole trip. Those who sat in a rubber raft that day with their companions and fought against the primal force of water will never forget that experience.
As we reached the banks of the Mo Chhu river, we formed different groups and armed with protective helmets, life jackets and paddles got ready for a rejuvenating rafting experience. After a briefing about how to row and how to handle the rough patches, one by one our rafts started cruising down the gushing waters of the river.
The river was infused with rapids, some with reasonably steep gradients. At times our raft turned a complete circle before plunging in to one of these steep gradients and we came out of it totally wet and showered. The roller coaster ride lasted for about 30 minutes and by the time we reached the other side the sun had almost set. We sipped hot tea and were ready to continue our journey.
A for Antakshari
Kichu hotel at Punaka was spacious and nested in the bowl of nature. We checked in and after dinner assembled for the last event of the day-Campfire. Our Thiruvathirakali group had already begun their practice in a nearby side portico and we waited patiently for them to finish.
We got seated in a circle and in the middle a campfire was lit. Most of us participated in the Antakshari that followed using Malayalam Film songs. As the Campfire flames blazed the Antakshari reached its peak eventually stopping as the flames died. It was good fun all around.
As I was retiring to bed a call came from Fazal saying “Let us start a little late tomorrow This place looks beautiful and we would like to look around a bit”. What is so magical about this place that compels us to stay here more ? I wondered as I slept.
To be continued … Stay tuned for Part 3
Nostalgia EE 84 