Bhutan - Flying with Royalty

“Good morning Your Royal Highness, Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking, and I would like to welcome you on board Druk Air flight blah, blah…” 

I seldom fly with Royalty, but there I was, flying out of Paro, Bhutan, with the Bhutanese Queen.  Well, one of them anyway.

Bhutan is that small Himalayan country, with a population of only 700,000, squeezed in between two gigantic neighbours, China (Tibet) directly to the north, and India to the west, south and east.  (Nepal lies just 40 miles to the west across the once independent Sikkim, but since 1975 an Indian State.)  Bhutan is totally mountainous, covered by The Himalayan Mountains that just seem to pop up from the flood plain of the Brahmaputra River draining to the south.  All the flat land Bhutan once possessed was lost to its neighbours in conflicts over past centuries.  Today it is said Bhutan’s borders are the place a stone stops when it rolls down a hill.  This is certainly the case on its southern border, although its border with Tibet is defined by mountain peaks, many over 7,000 meters high. 

In 1964, just five years before the United States put Neil Armstrong on the moon, the Bhutanese government decided to build a road to the outside word, a first step to end centuries of isolation.  Even then, it wasn’t until five years after Armstrong’s famous ‘one small step for mankind’ in 1969, that the first tourist made a similar step in Bhutan in 1974.  Previous to the road being built, all traffic in and out of this Himalayan Principality was limited to foot traffic entering through high mountain passes from Tibet. The Chinese takeover of Tibet in 1959 was doubtless a significant motivator for Bhutan to embark on a course of modernization.

Today Bhutan is a country very much celebrating its Buddhist past, maintaining Mahayana Buddhism in its original form, while attempting to step into the future.  This form of Buddhism was brought from Tibet to the area in the 8^th century by a Pakistani monk, Guru Rinpoche, certainly the most important religious figure in the country, regarded as the second Buddha, and images of whom can be seen everywhere. 

Although it may once have been, it is not now a country of ascetic monks.  On the other hand it has not embraced Western style commercialism.  Their present King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, in his cautious steps towards modernization and economic self-reliance, has set Gross National Happiness as the measure for growth rather than our measure of Gross National Product.  Bhutan’s six stated development goals are:

            Self-reliance

            Sustainability

            Efficiency and development of the private sector

            People’s participation and decentralization

            Human-resource development

            Regionally balanced development

Fearing they could easily be swallowed by either of their huge neighbours, most Bhutanese appear to believe that cultural and environmental preservation is the only way to protect their independence.  They willingly seem to accept the Bhutan code of etiquette, driglam namzha, which describes the proper way to dress, eat, speak, behave, and greet others.  That they do so may not be so surprising.  Even from my brief visit, my sense is that the Bhutanese people are immensely proud of their history and culture; moreover, many Bhutanese customs, traditions, and ceremonies have been codified since the mid 1600’s.  Bhutanese religious rulers, even then, apparently realized the importance of developing and maintaining a unique culture to ensure Bhutan’s independence. 

 So, by government decree, most people will be seen wearing traditional dress, and certainly anyone remotely associated with business or tourism would not be seen in western clothes.  In the case of men, it is a long robe, usually plaid, called a gho, which is gathered at the waist to be worn knee length.  Women wear a floor length dress called a kira, striped, patterned, or brocaded.  Many women, particularly those from the villages, wear a lot of beaded and silver jewelry, similar to women from Tibet.

Development has been slow and measured.  The first car arrived in the country in 1962, and there are still only 2,000 kilometers of paved roads.  The first tourists, 200 of them, were admitted into the country in 1974.  Last year about 11,000 arrived.  Television and the Internet were introduced in 1999 (although Internet being dial-up, it could be said that modern boon is still to come). 

In keeping with their commitment to their development goals, plastic bags are banned, and smoking has been all but totally outlawed (in the week I was there I never saw a local smoking, and, in fact, I saw only one tourist with a fag).  There is a national health care system and education is fully publicly funded.  I had a long chat with a young guy working in a hotel who had been sent to the University of New Brunswick for a full four years.

The government intends to develop tourism in the hope that that industry will make a major contribution to the country’s economy.  Although the official language of Bhutan is “Dzongkha”, oddly, for a country so long isolated, most people in the cities speak very good English. Thinley Dorji my guide, who appeared to be in his mid to late thirties, told me that even his father spoke English.  However, tourism will have to conform to the six development goals.  After allowing mountaineering from 1983 to 1994, the country banned the sport after villagers requested it for religious reasons. 

Entrance Gate to Bhutan, The Land of the Thunder Dragon

Most people fly in and out of Bhutan, and in fact, tourists are required, at a minimum, to fly one way, either in or out. There are now three roads leading out to the border of Bhutan, but for tourists there is only one road available, the one built in 1964 and, which goes through the small city of Phuentsholing. I elected to enter by that land crossing.  Another hair-raising share jeep ride had taken me from Darjeeling to the Tensing Norgay Bus Terminal in Siliguri where I hopped on a bus to the border city of Jaigaon, and where I checked into the Hotel Kasturi for the night.  Early in the morning I passed through the elaborate and decorative gateway at the border and entered Bhutan, The Land of the Thunder Dragon.

In the space of one step, I crossed from the unimaginable squalor of the Indian City of Jaigaon into the quiet, order, and relative neatness that characterizes Bhutan.  For sure, it is not Shangri-La, but the contrast between these two third world countries is staggering, particularly as they have equivalent annual per capita incomes of about $700US. 

Housing in Jaigaon, India

Old Farm House, Bhutan

Traveling in Bhutan is unlike any I have done before.  One can only enter by using a government-approved travel agent as visas can only be obtained through them.  The cost of travel is fixed by the government, $200US per day in low season, $240US per day in high season.  The cost covers all transportation, accommodation, and food.  An itinerary is established before you arrive, and changes are not permitted once you are there.   Regardless of how many people book together, those that do so become a ‘group’.  Having booked alone, I was a ‘group’, a group of one to be sure, but a group nonetheless.  Each group is assigned a driver and a guide. 

I made contact with my travel agent by going to the official Bhutan website where all approved agents are listed.  Not surprisingly, I ended up dealing with All Bhutan Connection (ABC), pretty much the first one on the list.  Thinley had all my travel documents in hand, met me at the border in Phuentsholing. A very short walk from the border and I was settled in at the Druk Hotel for the night.  In the morning I set off with Thinley, his cousin Karma who was along for the day’s ride, and Krishna, my driver with his 1991 diesel powered Toyota Corolla. 

Karma, Thinley & Krishna

With two people to attend to my every wish (other than a change in itinerary) there was not a door to be opened or closed, or a chair to be held that either Thinley or Krishna were not there to do it for me, despite all my protests.  It was only when I started opening and closing the doors for them that they finally got the hint.

Our first day’s drive took us from Phuentsholing to the capital, Thimphu, a distance of only 172 kilometers with a climb of over 2,000 meters, but which required a full six hours of steady driving to cover.  It also involved stops at two police checkpoints where my travel documents were checked.  This was a procedure that happened at least twice every day, every time we entered a new sector.

Highway Hanging on a Cliff

As soon as we left Phuentsholing, the road started to climb and twist, much of it just hanging on the side of sheer cliffs, a pattern that was not to change for all the miles we drove the next week. Oddly, Bhutanese promotional material boasts that there is an average of 10 turns per kilometer on their roads.  I could not disagree.  All highways are simply a series of linked curves, twists, and hairpin turns.  The roadway is much better than the one to Darjeeling, but the paved portion is generally only a generous one lane, but inadequate two lanes, in width.  Consequently every meeting with another vehicle requires at least one of them to pull off to the shoulder.  As on the road to Darjeeling, the government here has also painted warning signs on the rock faces.

            Speed Thrills But Kills

            Don’t Gossip Let Him Drive

            Control Your Nerves On Curves

            Speed Is A Knife That Cuts Life

The steep hillsides are regularly dotted with farmhouses, which from a distance appear very much like chalets in Switzerland, a comparison that is often made.

In all of Bhutan there is less than ten miles of four-lane highway.  But they are certainly working on upgrading.  A constant sight along the highways was of small groups of women, sitting beside large piles of boulders, arduously pounding the boulders into small stones for the roadbed.

Breaking Stones for Roadwork

Not long after leaving Phuentsholing, we saw electrical power cables running in every direction, evidence of the other main industry in Bhutan, electric power generation.  Electricity is the country's major export (to India), but unlike elsewhere in the world, the power is developed through 'run of the river’ technology, an approach which does not involve the invasive consequences of dams.

On arrival in Thimphu, I was checked into the quite new and perfectly comfortable Hotel Riverview, which sits across the Wang Chhu (Wang River) from the city and affords great views.  There are no ‘five star’ hotels in Bhutan, but all my accommodation was really quite nice, some new, some traditional, but always comfortable. 

Butter Vendor, Thimpu Market

Archery, the National Sport

Recognizing a Bullseye

The next day I pretty much got the grand tour of Thimphu, the weekend market, the folk heritage museum, the archery range, and Motithang Mini Zoo.  Archery is the national sport in Bhutan, and a grand passion.  We watched teams of archers, 145 meters apart trying to hit a bullseye no larger than nine inches in diameter.  When a hit was scored, which was a lot more often than you would think, the opponents would perform a little dance and song to acknowledge the feat.  The Mini Zoo is in fact not a zoo.  Although established as one, the king soon decided that caging animals was inconsistent with both religious and environmental principles, so the animals were released.  Now only the takin, the national animal that looks like a cow with a goat’s head, hangs around.  It is generally thought they are just not bright enough to leave.

A Takin

Thimphu didn’t really exist until it became the capital in 1962 and it is quite small, having only a population of 70,000.   It is now the seat of government and principal home for the royal family.  In 1907 Bhutan’s chiefs and lamas elected Ugyen Wangchuck, then the country’s Penlop or religious leader, as hereditary ruler for the country.  The current King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, the fourth in the line of succession, his four wives, and twelve children all live in Thimphu.  Unlike monarchy elsewhere, Bhutan’s royals can be regularly seen.  On more than one occasion, we were passed by Royals in their cars, easily identified by their license plates that read simply ‘BHUTAN’.  At one temple we visited, the Queen Mother was sitting by the entrance counting her money.  I repeat, the Queen Mother. Although the King has four wives, there is the only one Queen Mother. In 1988 King Wangchuck, married all four sisters of one family.  Anyway, I don’t know what the money was for, or how much it was, but there she was, the only Queen Mom, casually rifling through a wad of bills.  And I did fly out of Paro back to India with a Queen on the scheduled flight.  Oh, maybe I already mentioned that.

Thinley told me polygamy is not regularly practiced in Bhutan, the King had chosen to marry the four sisters to unite two important historical families, his and the family of the brides.  Progressive King Wangchuck has directed that a new constitution be drafted, one which will transfer his powers to an elected body.  The terms of the document are just now being determined.  Ironically, an early proposition is that polygamy not be allowed, for anyone. 

Actually, according to Thinley, the marriage ceremony in Bhutan is not particularly important, nor is it essential.  Many parents apparently find they have a new son or daughter-in-law when the happy couple announces they are now living together.  Another interesting thing is that all inheritances are in favour of daughters.  Thinley told me, a bit ruefully I thought, that like all men, he had to start out in life with nothing.

A few years ago the first traffic control light in the country was installed at the main intersection in Thimphu, but it was taken out shortly after following complaints that it was ugly and impersonal.  The light was replaced by a policeman who directs traffic during the day.  After his shift, drivers are left to sort themselves out.  So of course, the Bhutanese boast of having the only world capital without traffic lights.

Traffic Control in Thimpu

My weeks tour of Bhutan was enough time to see the highlights of the country, and apart from its Buddhist character, the most striking feature of Bhutan is the architectural landscape made up of houses, chortens, temples, monasteries, and fortresses (dzongs). 

In all Bhutanese architecture there is a high degree of conformity with traditional designs.  Farmhouses, old and new, are always three floors, the bottom floor houses the animals, the second floor is where the family lives, and the top floor under the roof is open for storage.  They usually are decorated on the front, particularly beside the doorway, with paintings of powerful symbols, the chief one being graphic phallic symbols.

Common Adornment on Houses

I know I said in my letter on Thailand that all stoopas are solid.  Of course, to prove me wrong, chortens, as stoopas are called here, often can be entered.  There are thousands of them around the countryside, big and small. Most have prayer wheels around the perimeter, others just large prayer wheels at the front.  I followed Thinley around many chortens and temples, always clockwise, happily spinning the wheels behind him. 

Memorial Chorten and Prayer Wheels, Thimpu

Trashi Chhoe Dzong, Thimpu

The most dramatic structures are the dzongs, a combination monastery and civic administration facility housed within a fortress.  There is a new Dzong in Thimphu, Trashi Chhoe Dzong, built in the 1960’s but it too is built in the traditional style.  My itinerary was set for me, like I expect most itineraries are, to visit the most impressive of the ancient ones. 

From Thimphu we traveled east over the Dochu La (Dochu Pass).  At the 3140 meter high summit, there was an array of 108 small chortens and hundreds of strings of prayer flags, a sight that I was to see many more times in the coming days.  Springtime was just beginning when I was in Bhutan, cherry trees were in blossom in the cities, and the forested mountainsides had beautiful, massive rhododendron and magnolia trees fully in bloom, sprinkled amongst the fir, pine and hemlock.

In mid morning we stopped at a teahouse.  As I was to learn, at all our stops we were expected, everything was pre-ordered, a table waiting, set for two (sometimes three if driver Krishna was joining us), and often with a little card reading “ABC” (All Bhutan Connection).  One would not probably come to Bhutan solely for its cuisine.  My meals were all enjoyable enough but there was not a lot of variety.  I did very much enjoy momos, a dumpling filled with cheese or meats, and a dish of chili peppers with cheese.  Unlike peppers I have been served anywhere else, these hot peppers were not in the dish to spice it up, they were the dish. 

Buddhists are loath to kill animals.  But they are not vegetarians.  This apparent dilemma is easily solved by having the small Hindu population of the country carry out the slaughter, and the Buddhists happily eat the kill.  One meat dish often on the menu, and one I was anxious to try, was pork with radishes.  I thought that sounded pretty interesting.  It turns out the pork is pork fat, pork fat with the hide, and often pork fat with the hide and hair.  I took a pass.

Wangdue Phodrang Dzong

Three hours driving time and 75 kilometers from Thimphu, we arrived in Wangdi, site of the very impressive Wangdue Phodrang Dzong, built in 1637.  The dzong is draped on a ridge, high above the Punak River with commanding views all around.  Dzong walls are constructed of stone or rammed earth and are typically inward-sloping, a design featured known as ‘battered walls’, which makes the fortress appear even larger than it is, particularly when viewed from below.  The interior is largely constructed of wood, which combined with the many open cooking fires and butter lamps, has caused fires in most of the ancient dzongs. 

Access into a dzong is almost always through one massive door which leads to a rather narrow passageway that makes two right-angle turns before entering the main courtyard, a feature no doubt intended to slow invaders trying to enter.  Always the left wing is the monastic side with temples and monk’s quarters; the right wing is reserved for the civic administration. 

We visited many temples on my tour, and at Wangdue Phodrang, as at all the subsequent ones, Thinley would place a one meter by three meter scarf, called a kabney, over his left shoulder, ensuring that it draped just so.  The colour of the kabney denotes rank, and ordinary citizens like Thinley wore one of unbleached white silk.  At every temple Thinley would prostrate himself full length three times in front of the primary altar and usually leave an offering of money.

Monk in Wangdue Phodrang

The road to the dzong wriggles through the small town of Wangdi, a line of small shops alongside the roadway and very much typical of other small towns.  I was also to learn it is the hometown of both Thinley and Krishna, they both grew up here.  Many if not most shops, regardless of how small, declare themselves “General Store”.  Inside these tiny shops one might find some canned goods, toys, soap, shoes, yak cheese, dried fish, aspirins and apple brandy.  Slightly larger stores might display a sign “General Store Cum Bar”, highlighting the broader range of their services.

From Wangdi we traveled some 20 kilometers to the town of Punakha where we visited Punakha Dzong, another ancient fortress, built in 1637, and until the 1950’s the seat of government.  This dzong, like all others, is strategically located, in this case at the confluence of the Mo and Pho Rivers and it is only reachable by a cable suspension footbridge.

The next morning after spending the night at the Meri Puensum Hotel in a lovely and comfortable cottage hanging on the side of the mountain, and with great views of the valley and dzong, we headed further east over Pela Pass.  Just before the very summit we made a detour into the Phobjikha Valley.  Eight kilometers of mostly gravel road took us through small herds of yak and on to one of the very few winter nesting areas for the endangered black neck crane.  Some 360 of these very large birds had wintered in the valley but most had already left for their flight back to Tibet where they summer.  We had been told there was only one pair left, but it was on the itinerary, so of course we went anyway; even though we didn’t think there was much chance we would see the birds.  Luck was with us and we had good views of four of them, and they are quite majestic.  It is entirely probable that those four would have left later that very day.

Black Neck Cranes

Our destination for the day was further east to Trongsa, pretty much right in the center of the country.  As we crested the Pele summit we were treated to rain, hail, sleet, and finally snow, weather that seemed very appropriate given the 3,420 meters elevation. 

Trongsa Dzong, Ancestral Royal Palace

Trongsa Dzong, the ancestral home of the royal family, is the most impressive of all fortresses in Bhutan.  Almost 15 kilometers before you arrive, it comes into view, perched high above the Mangde River.  People say it is so high that clouds float below it.  This majestic and imposing dzong is strung out for some distance along a ridge and was surely a most formidable and intimidating obstacle for all ancient travelers trying to pass beyond.

There are no ‘loops’ that one can do on a drive in Bhutan, all roads are just out and back, so our next day was the long drive back from whence we had come, back through Wangdi, Punakha, past Thimphu, to Paro.  Paro lies in a valley with the only flat land I saw, and hence it is the location of the only airport in the country.

The best had been saved for the last.  Another of Bhutan’s impressive dzongs, Rinchen Pung Dzong, or ‘fortress of a heap of jewels, is in Paro.  It is one of the strongest and most important dzongs and we paid a visit, but to be truthful, I was almost too tired to enjoy it. 

Bridge to Punakha Dzong

Tea House

The Path Up. And Down

Tea Break on Hike to Tiger's Nest

However, earlier in the day, at about 11:00 in the morning, I was at 2,900 meters, drinking a cup of tea, and preparing myself for the final 400 meter ascent to Bhutan’s most famous monastery, The Tiger’s Nest, or as known by the locals Taktshang Goemba.  Guru Rinpoche is said to have flown to the site on the back of a tigress and there he stayed for three months to meditate.  You see, this is where I have trouble with religious mythology.  I mean, three months.  What did he eat?

Anyway, the hike up to the teahouse had taken slightly more than one hour with an elevation gain of some 500 meters.  Even though the next leg was much steeper, with quite precipitous drops alongside the narrow trail, the spectacular sight of Tiger’s Nest as viewed from the teahouse was more than enough motivation to carry on for one more hour. 

After leaving the teahouse, the trail followed a ridge, large mountain oak trees draped in Spanish moss, pine, and rhododendron trees on all sides.  Mist from the low clouds drifted through the trees, it was quite magical.  To get to the monastery you actually have to climb up beyond it to cross a small stream and then go back down, very discouraging, actually.  There is a small gate a few hundred meters before the monastery, lying beside it was a pile of firewood.  On the gate was a hand-lettered sign,

                                                            Request

            As saying goes “service to man is service to God”.

Dear Brothers & sisters we would like to request to get a piece of fire wood if you don’t mind.  Pl.

                                                                                    Thanks by

Kings & Jam Som.

Well of course Thinley and I had to make the last few hundred meters carrying wood.  And those last few hundred meters are the most daunting, many visitors decline to go the last bit, satisfying themselves with the views they have had getting to this point.  The trail becomes stone steps that plunge back down the rock face into a deep chasm, and looking down, it is very intimidating.  There is one last police checkpoint just before the gates and then we arrived. 

Going Down to Go Up

Tiger's Nest Through the Trees

Don't Look Down!

It is difficult to describe how precariously this monastery is clinging to the cliff.  And it is much larger than one would expect; it has two courtyards, many meeting rooms, living quarters (there are 28 monks who live here), and six temples.  We were the first tourists to arrive that morning but there were at least 75 locals already there engaged in prayers and chanting.  We wandered about for a while and visited two of the six temples including the most sacred, the cave the Guru stayed in.  Photos are discouraged, but with Thinley’s encouragement I was able to take a few. 

A Powerful Symbol

And with that, my visit to Bhutan was pretty much over.  It was a much quicker walk down, and although I was quite beat, I was quite elated with the hike.  It was a great finale to a most fascinating week.  Yet while I have seen much, I really have only visited the major cities and Bhutan is overwhelmingly rural, over 80% of Bhutanese live at least a one-hour walk from a road.  About 50% live 24 hours walk away from a road.  I cannot know the future for Bhutan, but I can’t help but admire the path of development they have chosen.  I surely wish them great Gross National Happiness. 

I have again posted some photos.  I do know this is inordinately, and most certainly unnecessarily, long but this was a very interesting week and there didn’t seem to be an easy place to split it up, so it all comes at once.  Also, I have now been home for two weeks, I am obviously late getting this off, and it seems to me to be more a history report than a travel report.  Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy it.  I hope you are all well and have a great summer.

Merv. 

Tiger's Nest

Tiger's Nest from Afar

Tiger's Nest Hanging on Cliff

Monks in Thimpu

Monks Working Inside Paro Dzong

More Large Prayer Wheels

Kids at Phunakha

Inside Wangdue Phodrang Dzong

A Yak Close Up

Made It! Tiger's Nest Hike