Journey to mystical Bhutan

From: travelpod

Journey to mystical Bhutan, a stunning Himalayan kingdom lost in time and steeped in Buddhist traditions.

Nestled between China’s Tibet and India, Bhutan is an exotic kingdom steeped in Tantric Buddhism yet at the same time embracing, albeit ever so carefully, the trappings of modern technology. The place is a living ancient civilization, as if one has stepped back into the rich medieval age – with beautifully decorated chalet houses dotting the rolling green hills, colourful monasteries and prayer flags adorning the mountain sky line, friendly people in bright traditional costumes mixed with the crimson-robed monks – a culture that is reminiscent of Tibet yet so uniquely its own. At the same time, English is widely spoken and one can have ‘bizarre’ sightings of computers in the administrative quarters of the dzongs, the massive white fortress-like monasteries-cum-administration dominating each precinct.

Druk Yul, as the country is known to its inhabitants, has a sense of peace and orderliness under the protective tutelage of the current monarch, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, an enlightened leader by all accounts. He has continued the modernization programme started by his father while steadfastly maintaining the policy of environmental conservation and the preservation of Bhutanese culture and tradition. In fact, the coronation of the King on 2nd June 1974 marked the first time that Bhutan opened to the world, with the international press being allowed into the country.

Today Bhutan is open to tourists with a budget strictly not of the shoestring variety, and provided the trips are kept within defined restrictions. This system of imposing high prices for the privilege of a glimpse into the protected land acts as a ‘natural’ cap on the number of visitors, the result of a deliberate policy to avoid the destructive effects of opening to all and sundry which was the experience of its illustrious neighbour, Nepal. The seemingly overzealous isolationist measure certainly hurt our pockets, but having visited both countries, I could understand the rationale and even support it, unless a better way can be found to allow genuine and responsible visitors without importing the undesirable influences of unfettered tourism. In any case, the journey was for us, worth every cent we expended. And more…

Especially when we went at a most tumultuous of times for any sort of travel. The Iraq war had started. Then the first cases of the dreaded ailment, otherwise known as SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), emerged, that was to continue to have a devastating effect on our social lives long after we returned to Singapore. Finally, we read about an earthquake in Bhutan measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale just a couple of days before we set off. Suffice to say, it felt almost like a miracle when we took off from Bangkok on the small Druk Air flight, the national carrier of Bhutan. This was only one of two ways for foreigners to enter the country, the other being by a road route via India.

It was one quaint flight. The last three rows of seats also acted as cargo hold with overflowing luggage, no doubt due to the country’s nationals trying to make the most of their rare ‘shopping trips’ to Bangkok. As we were to learn later, foreign amenities were hard to come by in Bhutan and most were from India or Thailand. In fact, we found ourselves also part of the postman network, carrying a baby pram and an assortment of other items that were meant for delivery to various people in Bhutan, including the Queen herself! But that is another story. Long before we sat foot on Paro airport, we had already been treated to the hospitality of the country by our wonderful tour operator, Mr Sangay Tshering, and his Singaporean wife, Sara, of Yeti Tours & Treks. Such was the intimacy of arranging a trip to Bhutan where everything was done by hand on a personal basis, right up to the checking-in of luggage at Bangkok airport by Druk Air’s staff instead of a ground handling agent.

So with a huge dose of anticipation, we cruised down Paro valley with an airport elevation of 2235m. Stepping off the plane, we had our first encounter with the elaborate Bhutan architecture. The airport terminal looked like a temple! Thus began our magical tour of the land stilled in time…