Authentic Bhutan 2016- The legend of the Thunder Dragon

Authentic Bhutan 2016- The legend of the Thunder Dragon
Radio Buzz “Adventure 1- Rolling into Bhutan”
Radio Buzz “Adventure 2- Rolling into Bhutan”
About 23 Radio Beeps and Buzzs later “Media 1, 2 and 3- Rolling into Bhutan”

This had been my routine for a whole week prior to writing this piece and even 5 days later I’m unable to get over the lure of Bhutan. In fact each time I reminisce, I’m tempted to quote the lyrics of ‘Country Roads’ by John Denver and replace the American locations with the ones we visited in Bhutan. Such is the lure of the Land of Thunder Dragon.

Now before I regale you with my tale, here is a little background. We were invited by Mahindra Adventure to join them on their first ever international road trip. Dubbed Authentic Bhutan2016, it was a five day adventure that saw us visiting Thimpu, Paro, Punhaka and in them places like the Zhongs, Tiger’s Nest and even a temple of fertility. Our vehicle of choice: the Mahindra XUV500 in the top-of-the-line W10 manual trim.

Day 1 began on a rather sombre note. It was a relatively quiet exit from our hotel but I was filled with excitement and lot of anticipation at the thought of visiting another country. This quickly evaporated when we had to encounter nearly a 100kms of unruly and apathetic rural traffic. But lo and behold, as we crossed the majestic Indo-Bhutan border and went from Jaigaon to Phuentsholing, it took just one view to leave my worries behind.

We ended up spending with a significant amount of waiting for our immigration to clear before finally setting off for Thimpu. By then the sun had begun to unwind for the day and soon our vistas went from lush forests and valleys to unilluminated blacktop and an inky black sky with the stars clearly visible!

We finally drove into Thimpu at around 10pm and it was a sight to behold. In the glow of the street lamps, we could see well organised traffic and traditional looking buildings. Given that all their vehicles come from India and that we have built all their roads, it gave me an impression of what our roads would look like if we all followed the rules and drove/rode in a sane manner.

We rose early the next morning and after a quick breakfast of Puri-aloo (it is quite popular there for some reason), set out to explore Thimpu. If the night view under the street lamps was a trailer, then the sight of Thimpu during the day is a full-length feature film by itself. Built into a valley, the city is a riot of colours under a bright blue sky and greenery all around. While absorbing the sights we discovered that there were hardly any sounds as no one honked, abused or even shouted, making it literally a place worthy of Simon and Garfunkel’s ‘Sound of Silence’. We rounded off the city tour with a visit to the giant Buddha statue overlooking the capital and a quick traditional Bhutanese lunch of pork rice, pork knuckles and Emdatshi which is basically chillies and cheese.

The second leg of our journey took us from Thimpu to Punhaka, one of the smaller cities of the hill nation. The distance was a mere 85km but given that we had to go up and down a lot, it did take us quite a bit more time than anticipated.

The highlight of the drive was the 10,000 foot high Dochula Pass which in addition to giving you a jaw-dropping view of the snow-capped mountains also has the 108 Druk Wangyal Chortens. Our late exit meant we reached Punhaka after the sun had set and this had robbed us of a grand sight of Puna Tsang River flowing past in full strength. That night, the giant expedition family decked up and our eyes and ears were treated to traditional Bhutanese dance and music.

The next day, despite a giant boulder called demonetisation being dropped in our path, we were able to gather finances, continue our journey and managed to visit the Punhaka Zhong. Built in the 16th century, it is literally called the Palace of Happiness and houses many religious artefacts as well as a Court of Justice.  

After the Zhong, we also visited a temple of fertility which let me put it this way would make many Indians uncomfortable thanks to its openly titillating nature. I for one found it amusing more than anything else as it brought into the open, subjects that we would normally hesitate to address due to certain kinds of public taboo attached with the same.

We departed Punhaka on the third day and made our way to the final destination of the trip- Paro. The highest of the three destinations, we spent a significant period on the road and even had the chance to visit the Dochula Pass once again.

During the trip to Punhaka, day turned into night and 12 degrees turned into 6, making for one cold entry into our final halt. Despite this the XUV500’s climate control and leather seats kept us warm and comfortable for the whole journey. 

 Hardly more than a few kilometres in all directions, the city looked quaint, dimly lit yet exuded a certain warmness that could only be seen to be believed. On a happier note, we did finally managed to find a proper ATM and got a chance to withdraw some of the colourful and interesting Bhutanese currency (Ngultrums or NUs).

The next day after visiting the mighty Tiger’s Nest, we wound our way back to Paro on some magical roads. It was a bright and pleasant morning, the scenery was just right and as we moved along, it was like driving through a painting. We lunched in one of the many quaint cafés dotting the main street and at night the entire adventure family raised a toast to a successful journey.

Having to let go is always the hardest and for me it was like ripping off a giant band aid as we wound our way back to India. Invariably, as we got closer to the motherland, the crowds piled on and the unruly traffic that we are quite know for reared its ugly head as soon as our cars crossed the border. However, with so many beautiful memories from this whirlwind trip, it was hard to be mad anymore.

On a concluding note, I would like to say that we have so much to learn from this tiny nation in terms of sustainability, peaceful existence and taking pride in good civic habits. With a concept like Gross Domestic Happiness being used as a guideline, it is not hard to see why everyone is smiling all the time.  No amount of pictures can do real justice to how beautiful it is and ideally should be visited to be believed. Finally, here is one last shout out to the XUV500. It’s car like handling made tackling the many U-bends a breeze while the luxurious interiors kept us warm and comfortable the whole way.

Photos: Jatin Lodaya and Venkat Desirazu