Phuentsholing to Paro and Taktsang Monastery
Trip Start
Jun 11, 2005
1
69
114
Trip End
Dec 22, 2005
Paro,
Bhutan
Saturday, October 1, 2005
Bhutan, or Drukyul in the local Dzongkha language, is known as the land of the thunder dragon. It's a place that we've dreamed of going to but never thought we'd be able, as it is so expensive to visit. To get a visa you have to be on an official tour costing at least $180 a day (including everything) and no independent travellers are allowed. This means that only a few thousand tourists a year visit, providing valuable income while not putting any pressure on the sensitive ecosystem.
The government insists that the culture is protected by ensuring that all new buildings are built with traditional windows, roofs and painted wood, and all people on official business wear the national costume. It makes for an amazing experience stepping back in time.
Phub told us that this was his first tour having just qualified as a guide, but as a graduate he was extremely knowledgeable on all things Bhutanese, especially on Buddhism. One of the first things he told us was about Gross National Happiness being more important than Gross National Product (GNP) the usual way of measuring a nation's wealth. The King, who clearly enjoys great respect and love amongst his people, had explained that 4 things made up GNH - culture, environment, good governance and economic development (in that order). It became clear during our visit that this philosophy is so true and the Bhutanese have a very high Gross National Happiness!
Anyway, our journey up to the mountains was pretty leisurely and a great way to gradually be introduced to Bhutan as the countryside became more and more spectacular.
Archery competition
Unfortunately the weather was quite cloudy so the views could have been better.We stopped for lunch at a small restaurant where we insisted on tasting Emadatse, the national dish of chillies in cheese sauce, for the first time. Very tasty and the rest of the dishes were equally hot, and eaten with red rice, unique (I think) to Bhutan.
We eventually arrived after 7 hours driving in Paro just after dark. It was quite frustrating as we could see the buildings, but the twinkling lights hinted at the days to come. Our hotel was a beautiful old palace full of painted wood and old relics.
Our friend Hazel flew out from London and joined us the next day to join us for this chapter. It was great to see her and we were relieved when she finally arrived an hour or so late.
While we were waiting we were shown around the vegetable market and watched an archery competition. Archery is Bhutan's national sport and they enjoy success even on the Olympic stage - not bad for a country with a population of only 700,000. It was certainly an impressive spectacle. The teams took turns to shoot their arrows down a 100m track with great accuracy. The partners at the other end dancing enthusiastically to indicate to the archer how well he had done. There were lots of Bhutanese spectators and a group of female singers and dancers making the atmosphere really pleasant.
Despite the jetlag Haze had to jump straight into the deep end with a 4 hour walk up to Taktsang Monastery, sadly mostly in the mist and rain. This monastery is called Tiger's Nest as it is perched on a rocky ledge up a mountain, and was allegedly where a famous Guru alighted on the back of a tigress in the 8th Century. This was the first of many legends Phub told us, hard to believe perhaps but brilliantly colourful nonetheless.
