My solo backpacking in Bhutan

There is a world around us but there is a world within us which we have forgotten. I am a big fan of movies that are directed by Imitiaz Ali. It shows how a protagonist who is a corporate slave moves out of his routine zone and goes on a solo trip. Most of the time when I observe people, I can see them chained to their desks and designations. I have traveled with groups before & even with my close friends. I have enjoyed their company. But I always felt that if I am traveling solo & suppose I am passing by great scenery and there is no one I can joke with, there will be no crutches around me. So automatically I would end up staring at the scenery a little longer. I will make the experience a little longer and live in the moment. I wanted this solo trip for the last 6-7 months. "What if", is the biggest monster that does not allow you to sleep. Without a second thought, I selected Bhutan to rediscover myself on this solo adventure. I will be always grateful to my wife for giving me this space. I met many travelers on my way who said I was lucky to have an open-minded wife who allows me to go solo.

I took a Mumbai - Kolkata- Baghdogra flight on 17th December'19. The flight got delayed in Mumbai for 2 hours & though Baghdogra flight took off on time, it returned to Kolkata due to poor visibility in the early morning because of the dense fog. Again, I was stranded for 3 odd hours in Kolkata. An ideal start which one needs to come out of his comfort zone. My trips have been liked that always like that with delays and challenges that are faced at the start. I love it when the trip starts with difficulties and surprises. I believe, one cannot enjoy been of the top of the summit of the mountain without visiting the lowest valley. So, in a way it pumped me. Finally, my flight landed at Baghdogra at 12.30 pm. So, I was running 5 hours late. The next stop was Phuentsholing for which I used Bhutan public transport. By the time I reach Phuentsholing, It was more than 24 hours, I had been traveling (Pune- Mumbai- Kolkata- Baghdogra- Phuentsholing). I took a technical night halt to get the visa/ permits the next day for Bhutan.

I went to the immigration office in Phuentsholing were I met Indian travelers whose travel plan had been affected because of the NRC protests which were active in West Bengal and they were running 2 days behind schedule. The train journey to Hashimara in WestBengal is the cheapest option to reach Bhutan but can be tricky given the ongoing protests. I spoke with few travelers who had traveled for 15 hours on an overnight bus & have directly come to the immigration office in the morning. My plight on the previous day looked small now. The visa/permit is a mere formality, but one must stand in a long queue, since the documents are verified, and biometrics are taken. If you are traveling solo, the immigration officials ask for accommodation details & one also needs to give an undertaking that had to be addressed to the regional director. The permit is issued within an hour which is valid for 7 days. One can visit only Paro and Thimphu with that. Indian citizens can purchase a SIM card only after getting the permit. I went for Tashi SIM since it was recommended to me by a few of my friends on TripAdvisor.

 I boarded Bhutan government bus (It’s called coaster) to Thimphu on which I met Nitesh Chodankar & his wife Shruti from Goa. The drive to Thimphu is 165 km and is through a hilly terrain where the landscape keeps on changing after every 10 mins. The roads are in impeccable condition. The coaster buses are manufactured by Toyota. Based on my study, I have asked for a window seat on the right side which offered beautiful views of the Himalayas. The drive is scenic and probably the best which I experienced post-Great ocean road. There are few patches wherein the roads and the ambiance look like the death highway in Bolivia. 

The pit stop was after 3 hours in the middle of a valley. It was extremely cold, and people were sitting around the fire to feel better. It gets dark at 5 pm during winter in Bhutan. The bus continued & it was then when the driver turned on Bhutanese music. I believe that music can be the best company when anyone is traveling solo. The mp3 was playing Bhutanese songs. I didn't understand a word in the lyrics, but the tempo of the song created beautiful vibrations and I felt the songs were related to nature. I simply loved those musical compositions. It gave me the same spiritual boost as the sun gives me every morning. Himalayan music be it from Nepal or Bhutan brings back memories of the great Himalayan percussionist Ranjit Gazmer (Kancha) who worked extensively for RD Burman.  One who has an ear for music will recollect "Kanchi Re Kanchi Re" from Hare Rama Hare Krishna. There is a subtle slowness, romance in that composition and there are a lot of kids smiling to the antics which Dev Saab does. Frankly speaking, music can do wonders and it did for me during those 6 hours. I stayed at Bhutan Boutique Residency which was 5 mins walk from the Thimphu immigration office. If one needs to visit inner places in Bhutan like Doculla pass, Punakha, Chele la, Haa he needs to get an inner permit from Thimphu. The process seems enforced so that people spend at least 1 night in the capital city of Bhutan. 

Thimphu permit takes half a day and can be a pain if one has no alternate plans till the time it gets ready. I visited Buddha Point in Thimphu with Nitesh and Shruti. Since our travel plan was coinciding, we did hire a car and visited a few places together. I am thankful to them for capturing my pictures. Nitesh does have an eye for photography. I loved the Buddha Point immensely which resembles peace and silence. We were lucky that the place was not crowded with loud over-excited people & their selfie-ready wife's. I always like looking at the statue of Buddha overlooking the Himalayas. The mammoth statue of Buddha is on top of a mountain & is worth visiting when in Thimphu. I had that evening at my disposal & trekked to a monastery which was on a mountain. I hold less knowledge about Buddhism, however; when I sit in front of Buddha & see those lighted candles, I feel inner peace. We all have become fast money-making machines where there is no mandatory period of peace left to look at. I will cherish this memory where I spend time alone, immersed in the blanket of silence.

I should thank Nitesh for seeding the thought of visiting Dochula pass the early morning. I was running on a tight schedule and a small mistake had cost me a few hours in Thimphu the earlier day. I hired Dorji Phub and went to Dochula pass at 6 am. I loved studying history and war-related stories have always impressed me. Bhutan is celebrating 112 years of peace. Dochula Pass is a mountain pass in the snow-covered Himalayas within Bhutan on the road from Thimpu to Punakha where 108 memorial chortens or stupas known as "Druk Wangyal Chortens". What the Bhutanese king did to avoid the war is extremely interesting, but I won't add that as a part of my blog. The place looks magical from the viewing point. Beautiful images soothe a ruffled soul.

It was time to say goodbye to Dorji Phub. He told me stories about archery, black magic and other superstitions in Bhutan. He told me stories as to why Bhutanese keep a hand over their head while going under a bridge or why an archery team keeps a cloth soaked in menstrual blood on a tree when the opposition team arrives on the ground. I had always been an observer even if I don't understand many things. Black magic is practiced in Bhutan and I have no second thoughts on that.

The drive to Paro is a visual treat with surrounding mountains and a river that flows parallel to the road. Paro was severely cold and had I not carried thermals it would have been very difficult. Paro airport is a good photoshop. I had seen Lukla Airport in Nepal, but Paro is more panoramic, though I will rate Lukla as more dangerous. I remembered my wife Purva who always wanted to visit Gibraltar for the sheer thrill of landing and takeoff. 

After walking for a few hours exploring Paro city, I headed back to my hotel which was converted into a homestay. I spend the evening with locals who did campfire to beat the heat. I got to know about the job situation in Bhutan, binge drinking, views on China, love for India and Archery. I follow travel bloggers, TripAdvisor & Twitter when I travel. I was slightly skeptical about visiting Chele la pass though my friend Sachin had advised me to go for it. I finished my dinner and was standing next to the campfire where I came across Mr. Ashutosh from Kolkata who was traveling with his wife. Smile & the warm gesture of saying good evening works best in most situations. We exchanged pleasantries and he told he had been to Chele la pass that day. Against what was posted on TripAdvisor, he said it was snowing in Chele la and he did show some pictures from his mobile. I felt bad about the selfish Indian travelers who don’t have a habit of sharing the right information and have become addicted to selfies. I was aware of the changing landscape in Bhutan but the pictures he showed confirmed that there can be extremes. Flexibility is the most important aspect when one designs his travel. I had that luxury in Paro.

Chele la pass is worth visiting if it's snowing. The beauty is one won't find snow on the summit. The prayer flags above are for the dead. The view from the summit is like the one you will get anywhere in Bhutan but again it is the journey that makes the difference, not the destination.

Tigers nest is one trek which I would say is a Facebook or Instagram moment for many of us. It's picturesque & a trekking paradise. It is a 5-6 hours trek through a dense forest. There are prayer flags all the way along and I would say it's more of a spiritual walk. It is like the “Camino de Santiago” trek in Spain. I spend some good time at the cafeteria midway reading and watching black cranes which were a rare sight. It is said that no visit to Bhutan is complete if one is not visiting Tigers nest. There are few monasteries above the Tigers nest which reminded me about the stories I have read in books like “The Monk who sold his Ferrari” and “An autobiography of a yogi’. By the time, we started descending there were quite a few Indian and Bangladeshi tourists struggling to climb in their tight-fitting jeans, velvet tops, and fashionable clothes. The entire trek took around 5 hours for us. Nitesh & Shruti was serendipity in my solo travel to Bhutan. We had the same plan for 2 days and we hired a car to reach the base camps. I give credit to Nitesh & Shruti for most of the pictures I have posted in this blog. They are travel freaks and I am sure they will explore the world in the years to come.

The return route was Paro - Phuentsholing- Baghdogra- Mumbai- Pune. In the Phuentsholing Baghdogra route, I spotted few elephants in the jungles of Siliguri. It was a long tiring drive back home.

I felt the solo backpacking was a combination of trek and trip. It demanded extreme flexibility, the right mindset and a contingency plan handy. I remember the words of Buddha – “When you are doing what you truly love to do you are bound to find deep contentment’.