From Paro, Bhutan

This is Siri and Aditya again from Paro, Bhutan. We have been having a great time out here and the fear of this grand vacation ending is gripping us. Well, on the 21st after our permit clearances we left from Phuentsholing towards Thimphu the capital of Bhutan. The journey was great and took about 7 hours and we got down in between to take a stroll in one of the most naturally blessed countries. The drive went in windings through roads which were covered with pine and conifers on both its sides. The scene is right out of the dreams with several places having water streams running from the hills. We got down at one such place and took some pictures. We reached Thimphu at about 7 PM local time and checked into hotel Druk. We were provided with deluxe accommodation and we freshened up and took a stroll for a while and went back to our hotel room for dinner. We hit the bed after dinner.

On 22nd morning we took a tour of Thimpu and our guide Mr. Sonam was quite knowledgeable and showed us the whole city and I must say it was very clean and traditional to look at. Later that afternoon we checked out and left for Phunaka which is a western district. On 23rd we went to the Phunaka Dzong and took a small hike. Later on 23rd evening we left for Paro and were put-up at Gangtey Palace, a former palace converted into a resort. We are still staying in the same place. On 24th we trekked to Tiger Nest. Siri took a shortcut and rode a horse to the mid way while I, our Guide & Driver walked all the way up. Tiger nest is a Monastery which has been constructed right on the cliff at about 10000 feet and hangs menacingly and once of the most enchanting sights. This Monastery was constructed after Guru Padmasambhava a Buddhist monk meditated there for 3 months. It took us about 6 hours in all and way very tiring and came back to our hotel rooms. Today we went from Paro to Haa valley which was very enchanting and a great experience. We went to through the Chelela pass which is about 3,900 Meters about sea level. This is were the blue poppy – the national flower of Bhutan grows. It is said that catching a sight of this flower is very rare, but we could get a few plants which had these . Later we drove down to the Haa valley and had our lunch there followed by a visit to a 7th century monastery.

Right now we are at Paro (the only air port in Bhutan and a small city) and will leave for Phuentsholing tomorrow afternoon which will officially bring our Bhutan trip to and end. We shall call you from Jaigaon tomorrow. We have taken several pictures and hours of video which we shall share upon arrival.

More later
Bye

Aditya & Siri

21st Morning in P/Ling Bhutan

Hi again, this is Aditya & Siri reporting again from Phuentsholing , Bhutan. We got up early and had a wonderful breakfast with Toast and Jam/Butter followed by a cup of coffee. We later had our guide Mr. Sonam who came to pick us up. We later were escorted to the Immigration office to obtain our route permits. Our photos were clicked and our route permit should be available to us at about 12 PM today following which we shall leave for Thimphu the capital of Bhutan. It is expected to take about 8 hours (which includes a few stops) to reach Thimphu and we will have our lunch enroute.

The weather in P/Ling is very unpredictable, it rains with a strong down pour and the very next moment it's hot and shining. I have been told that such weather exists across Bhutan. Today morning we met a person who works with Soligas in BR Hills and it was a nice little chat. We are waiting right now so that our permits come through and following this we shall leave for Thimphu.

Will keep you guys posted on the progress!

Reporting from Phuentsholing, Bhutan

Hi From Siri and Aditya from Phuentsholing, Bhutan. We arrived here in Bhutan after an ardous 5 hours journey from Darjeeling. We came via Mangpoo which is a way to Gangtok Sikkim and took a diversion near Siliguri to reach Jaigoan. Jaigoan is a small typical Indian town, this is the border town with Bhutan and it is called Phuentsholing (foo-ent-sho-ling). Phuentsholing is the only exit/entry point by road into Bhutan from India. We left Darjeeling at about 5 AM today morning after witnessing the Kanchenjunga shine golden splendor at the break of dawn at about 4:30 AM from our hotel room. This like y'day was awe-inspiring. Our taxi driver Swapan Chakroborthy drove us from Darjeeling to Phuentsholing. We reached Bhutan border at about 11:30 AM and checked into the best hotel in town called "Hotel Druk". We have been provided with wonderful double room and we are enjoying it. I am just returning from a hot bubble bath in the tub. We had a decent lunch, which included a typical Indian dal and Palak Paneer with tandoori roti. We now plan to go and have some dinner.

Note that Bhutan is 30 minutes ahead of IST and it is now 7:50 PM as we write this mail. Early this evening we took a stroll around Phuentsholing and found out that the heavy dependency on India. All know FMCG products belong to India - probably the reason for this is because it is a border town and Indians are allowed to freely move in and out of this town. We also visited a Buddist temple and took some snaps.

We would be leaving for Thimphu tomorrow morning at about 8:30 AM after finishing the immigration formalities and we shall push in more details from there to you all. Otherwise we are in prime of health and enjoying this fantastic time in this new country.

Singing off from Phuentsholing, Bhutan