An incredible journey of a lifetime to Bhutan, Kalimpong, Darjeeling and Gangtok!

[anupmathur]

Wow, Chevy_lover, that's one of the bestest Travelogues I have ever read!

In my mind I've been filling in all the winter browns in the vistas with the lush green that they must be becoming in June-July!

[Chevy_lover]

Originally Posted by anupmathur

Wow, Chevy_lover, that's one of the bestest Travelogues I have ever read!

In my mind I've been filling in all the winter browns in the vistas with the lush green that they must be becoming in June-July!

Thank you very much, Anupmathur. I am spending close to four hours a day to make this travelouge good! I am happy to know that you liked it!

Once the rains come in June, the whole of bhutan will be green and the hills will be covered with wild flowers!

Keep reading! Some award winning snaps coming up shortly!

[Chevy_lover]

Originally Posted by rippergeo

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...tml#post826653 (An incredible journey of a lifetime to Bhutan, Kalimpong, Darjeeling and Gangtok!)
the last pic in this post looks like a dream! love it. sun shadow and scenery working together to create a very magical effect.

never even heard of the "taikin" before! this thread is very informative. keep it coming.

Thanks Rippergeo. The weather was perfect for that shot!

By the way, my camera is Olympus SLR IS 500. Hope you liked my other pics too....

[Chevy_lover]

Team,

Are you all enjoying my travelouge? Any suggestions?

[madan80]

yes- keep writing and clicking! lovely stufF!

[csentil]

Excellent write up and fotos. Bhutan looks so alluring. Can we settle down there?? :-)

[Chevy_lover]

Originally Posted by csentil

Excellent write up and fotos. Bhutan looks so alluring. Can we settle down there?? :-)

Thanks Sentil. I too wish if I could settle down there! There are many Indian companies in Bhutan, working with the Government for infrastructure development. The employees of these companies have already settled down in Bhutan.

[Chevy_lover]

Paro, which lies in western Bhutan, comprises of the most stunning valleys in the world.

Paro is a smaller town, when compared to Thimpu. Paro town is very beautiful, with lots of old buildings and shops everywhere.

Paro is awfully cold, colder than Thimpu. Even during daytime, temperatures will not exceed 10 degrees. It becomes freezing cold during night.

We thought that we were well prepared for the harsh winter of Bhutan. We were in for a big surprise later that night!!!

[Chevy_lover]

We checked into a newly opened hotel soon after our arrival. The medium range hotels in Paro cannot be compared to those in Thimpu. They are cheaper than Thimpu, but do not have deluxe facilities.

There are some high end resorts, like Uma Paro, which is extremely costly. The tariff is around 275 - 475 USD. Costlier than Paris and Switzerland!!! Can you imagine???

Our room tariff was just 850 Ngultrum. Our room did not have wood paneling or carpets. So we had to walk around with our woolens on!

It was freezing cold by afternoon. There was a powerful breeze in Paro and that made the wind chill factor very high. We covered ourselves with as much woolens as we could!

We explored the city, covered from head to toe in woolens. We made a pretty attractive sight for the Bhutanese children, who were running around wearing just a Gho! Their Ghos were only as thick as a woolen sweater!!! Their legs were totally exposed to the forces of nature!!!

I cannot imagine myself walking around wearing shorts in sub-zero temperatures!! We were shocked to see their capability to endure extreme weather conditions.

[Chevy_lover]

We went to a small Chinese restaurant and had some tasty noodles and chicken for lunch. Food was very cheap and the quality was not compromised by any means!!!

One thing we noticed about Paro was that, there were hundreds of dogs all over the place. In fact, foreigners are advised to carry earplugs to facilitate a sound sleep!!! Bhutanese love dogs and never harm them.

To tell you the truth, we found a small puppy sleeping so very peacefully under our restaurant’s table!!! The sight was so cute that we took another table and let the little one continue his siesta! The dogs in Bhutan have a naturally thicker fur coat to withstand the frosty weather!

We spent the rest of the evening shopping and walking. There is one petrol pump in Paro, which again belongs to BP. We could buy some amazing imported stuff from Thailand!

We tasted some remarkable food for dinner. We tried the famous Ema Datchi (Rice with Chicken and red hot red-chilies) dish. Bhutanese dishes are very spicy, but we enjoyed them tremendously. Reminded me of the tasty food in Kerala!

Red chilies have a special place in the lives and cuisine of the Bhutanese. Bhutanese dry red chilies on the roof of their homes.

We returned back to our hotel after a heavy dinner. It was freezing cold and the marble floor of our room made matters worse. We simply could not sleep. It was shockingly cold!!!!

Finally we borrowed four extra blankets and two heaters from the owner. We slept peacefully after the heaters started working!

I have now begun to admire and respect the Eskimos!!!

[Chevy_lover]

Day 7;

We woke up quite late and had a good continental breakfast. We spent the whole day exploring Paro by foot. I had a haircut from a Bhutanese salon. The beautician was a lady and she gave me one of the best haircuts of my life!!! Her teenaged daughter is also a beautician and she gave wifey a very good facial.

We then visited the Ugyen Perli Palace, also known as Paro Dzong. The members of the royal family stay here during their visit to Paro.

Rinpung Dzong (the full name of the Paro Dzong), which means “the fortress of the heap of jewels” is the monastic and administrative centre of South-West Bhutan. It is also called Rinchen Pung Dzong ("fortress on a heap of jewels").

Paro Dzong was built in 1646, but has been destroyed a number of times, either by fire or by earthquakes, but has been rebuilt every time. It is also the place where Paro Teschu festival is held in September.

The architecture and drawings of Paro Dzong is characteristic of Bhutan and it has been copied by other Dzongs throughout Bhutan.

The two photos that I am posting, have won two photography competitions. It can be seen in many websites too! Enjoy!!!

[hvkumar]

Reminds me of my own visit to Thimpu and Paro on the bike. I stayed in what were bar-restaurants which also had 2-3 rooms in tthe rear of the restaurant. Very cheap, cost me Nu (Rs) 50 in 1994! Same thing in Paro -I looked to be the only foreigner in town that day.

I visited the National Museum in Paro which was a 7-storeyed traditional Bhuttan building with dungeons and all that. The Deputy Curator got excited when he got to know that the unusual biker was from Kerala - he had done his curator training in Trichur (Trissur) and talked of how the autorickshaws gyped him there!!! (not the best introduction). Nonetheles, he personally escorted me and showed me around.

Another thing which I did on my arrival at Thimpu was to visit the Post Office and picked up specimens of all the stamps they had, including some of the 3D and unusual shape stamps that Bhutan is well-known for - don't miss this opportuniy, never mind that you are not a philatelist.

[Chevy_lover]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Reminds me of my own visit to Thimpu and Paro on the bike. I stayed in what were bar-restaurants which also had 2-3 rooms in tthe rear of the restaurant. Very cheap, cost me Nu (Rs) 50 in 1994! Same thing in Paro -I looked to be the only foreigner in town that day.

I visited the National Museum in Paro which was a 7-storeyed traditional Bhuttan building with dungeons and all that. The Deputy Curator got excited when he got to know that the unusual biker was from Kerala - he had done his curator training in Trichur (Trissur) and talked of how the autorickshaws gyped him there!!! (not the best introduction). Nonetheles, he personally escorted me and showed me around.

Another thing which I did on my arrival at Thimpu was to visit the Post Office and picked up specimens of all the stamps they had, including some of the 3D and unusual shape stamps that Bhutan is well-known for - don't miss this opportuniy, never mind that you are not a philatelist.

Bravo Kumar Ji! I have never seen a bigger travel enthusiast than you!

I too come from Trivandrum and I studied in Holy Angels, where you also studied!!! And I too love travelling!

Kumar ji, there are very cheap rooms in Paro, near the open air theatre. Cost was just 150 - 250 Ngultrum. Those rooms were just like the ones you mentioned. A bar and restaurant, with three to four rooms upstairs. But it is not fit for a couple. For bachelors, it works perfectly!

I already have some stamps of Bhutan, since childhood. I will definitely get some of the triangle stamps during my next visit!

[rajshenoy]

Great travelogue and great pics..just awesome. as beautiful as bhutan itself i would say

getting tempted to travel too.. thanks for the vast information too.. anyone who wants to travel can just see them and plan

[Chevy_lover]

Originally Posted by rajshenoy

Great travelogue and great pics..just awesome. as beautiful as bhutan itself i would say

getting tempted to travel too.. thanks for the vast information too.. anyone who wants to travel can just see them and plan

Thank you for your comments, Rajshenoy. There is a photo opportunity EVERYWHERE in Bhutan!!! And all the photos will surely turn out to be masterpieces!!!

I am making a conscious effort to explain even the minutest of details also, for the benefit of would-be travelers!

Team, I will be posting some of the most amazing photos EVER captured on film! When you see those photos, you will forget the rest!

The best is yet to come!!!

Keep reading!!!