Bhutan-o-logue

It was a destination besotted by the pictures flooding my mail box since the time my friend went there for work. We were pursuing it to go and visit this place. Initially bunch of us friends had decided to go, but only two of us could actually realize the trip. We needed a destination where we could go and get a stimulating relief to come back and jump into the mundane life. And did it prove fruitful? Here is an account of our trip to Bhutan- the country of the dragon

The feeling of landing amidst a scenic destination mounted on us at the landing itself where the landing strip was set amongst lovely vessel of green mountains all around. Their sight greeted us first into the land blessed with ultimately colours and shades of natural greens. Two of us reached Bhutan late morning where we found our host friend waiting to receive us. He put around us a Stoll called ‘Kadar’ around our neck, we were informed that it is a traditional way to greet guests . After exchanging greetings and pleasantries we started to move in his car. One thing that kept my breath away was the unexplored nature around. Fresh air and cool temperature made me feel like a heaven. The car drove parallel to the river as the road set along the shallow clean river. I was so enthralled by the natural beauty around that we were unaware when our car drive for almost 45 minutes. Our first destination was a place called Taksang where we were informed that a trek was the first activity that we are going to pursue. We did not climb a lot but with mentionable attempt, we gave up the idea of trekking the whole of Taksang mountain. Thus we missed the opportunity to see the monasteries on top. We then drove to the National Museum which was a beautiful five storied building with all the historical and cultural artifacts displayed. After enjoying a joyride through the historical remains of this museum, we drove along the river only to be tempted to have our feet let loose in it for a while. This prompted a halt along the clean water and we had a ball of a time sitting next to the waters soaking our feet inside the already cool water.

The next day was a mix of a rest day and small outings. We went to see the archery matches. Archery being the national game of Bhutan, we were excited to see those. What interested me more was the attire of these people and the bow and arrow. The culture of a dance during the game too was of interest. It was a dance, which was sluggish and just movement of legs across. Nevertheless, local people performing the same was good enough a view. The other major outing for the day was the one being the Thimphu market where we came across a city level plaza with a watch clock right in the middle. It was a well defined space where two streets terminated into a plaza along side the road. A good relaxing and viewing space for the people and for some local level performances too. A visit to the local market was next on the cards  which took me by surprise for the kind of cleanliness and hygiene these markets follow. I saw a total contrast of the kind of markets I have been to in Indian cities than this one. Here there were defined spaces and slabs allocated to each vendor and there was fixed rate on all vegetables for all vendors. This practice helps create no confusion, chaos and shouting which prevails in most of the Indian markets. The antic objects and artifacts in the ‘Hong kong’ market attracted us and kept us on toes for long for the sheer uniqueness of the objects and its colours. Horror shaped faces, musical instruments, idols of the Buddha and several others kept our eyes busy for the time spent there. It was a treat indeed!

The next day i.e weekend started on a high note – a visit to a place called Dochula. Placed high on the altitude, the experience of the roads and the woods passing by kept the journey interesting. This place has a temple and 108 small sculptures which are worshipped by the locales. We spent sometime inside the temple where huge idols of three Buddhas commanded the space. What made me look in wonder were the impeccable paintings all around. No inch of space around us was left unpainted. We visited the main monastery of the city later and equipped ourselves with some information of the life of the monks who live there.

  

The following day, we were to experience the highlight of the tour. A trip to ‘Cheery River’! We drove in the morning to reach amidst rains to this river. We had carried our food and were cogitating whether we can have food in the lapse of the nature. And we deed! We had one of the most memorable lunches sitting along the cascading river. The sound of the water tumbling down the rocks made it a exceptional background score. We had a horizontal trek along the water which too was an experience in itself.

The next day – the weather made our day quite gloomy ,as it was rainy all throughout, restricting our movement and we were a party to view the rains and the clouds from the pane of the windows. Nevertheless, this didn't dampen our spirit and movies kept our spirits alive. More than appreciable for us was the enthusiasm and energy our hosts i.e my friend  Koshish and his wife Swapna showed in taking us to the places, serving relishing dishes and making our trip worth remembering. The spark of being perfect hosts was evident in their eyes throughout our stay with them which is worth mentioning. Thanks guys!!! 

 All said and done – the experience these landscapes gave, the clean air that kissed our minds, the view of the clouds romancing with the mountains, the marriage of the culture and the people, the spirituality prevalent in the air, the simplicity of the people, the surrounding pure silence, magnificently clean rivers, chirping birds around and being in the lapse of the nature made it a exciting ‘Bhutan-o-logue’