Exploring the country of Bhutan was a dream shared by me and my father. My mom , hubby and cousins expressed their interest as well, so we finally chalked up the plan to visit this amazing country during Durga puja holidays, in the last week of September 2017. I browsed through several websites , travelogues and books for a few months to prepare a rough itinerary that we could follow. With 6 days in hand we planned to stay one day in Phuntsholing, two days in Thimpu, one day in Punakha and two days in Paro.
The window for railway tickets reservation opens 120 days prior to the date of travelling and Kanchan Kanya Express being the only train travelling directly to Hasimara (the nearest railway station on the Indian side) , we made it sure that we booked our tickets first. With tickets done, the next job was to book hotels in Phuntsholing, Thimpu , Paro and Punakha. We planned to get help of a tour agent for assisting us in hotel booking, arranging vehicle and permit processing. We talked with a few tour operators based in Jalgaon and after comparing the rates and services provided by them we chose B. K. Tours and travels. They booked the hotel on our behalf, confirmed a comfortable vehicle and promised to help with permit & currency exchange (although his communication during planning phase were very professional and prompt , the overall service he offered in Bhutan was extremely disheartening and I will definitely not recommend him to anyone). So with all preparations made we eagerly waited for our travelling day to arrive.
Our journey began from Sealdah station where we boarded Kanchan Kanya Express. It departed at 8.30 pm. Being a group of six we had a great time on train chit chatting, playing games. Kanchan Kanya express didnt have any pantry facility so we carried our dinner. We slept off early so that the next day we could all wake up fresh for our journey towards the amazing country. Early next day morning we contacted the tour agency to send the details of vehicle and driver who was supposed to take us to Phuntsholing. The agency head messaged us the number of driver but to our dismay on contacting him we were informed that he had already left for picking up another group from Jalpaiguri. On contacting B. K. Tours we were messaged another driver's number thankfully he was available and said he would be waiting for us on time. The train halted in Shiliguri station for about 20 minutes giving us ample time to order our breakfast. We reached Hasimara station around 11 in the morning after passing through tunnels, rivers, tea plantations, North eastern forest each of which offered breath taking views.
The driver helped us in safely tieing our luggage in the upper carrier post which we started our journey towards Indo-Bhutan border. It took about 50 minutes to reach near the border. Just before entering the border we were taken to the office of B.K.tours and travels for final payment ,currency exchange and submission of documents for permit processing. After completing the process the driver took us to the first hotel of our stay in Bhutan- Hotel Asian. On crossing the IN-gate we could notice the striking differences between both the countries. The architecture of most buildings in Bhutan were similar with beautiful picture of their King, Queen and prince tied, broad clean roads, no traffic lights, well-groomed traffic police, allotted parking allay, people wearing their traditional outfit (Gho & Kira) and lot calmer environment. We checked into our hotel after completing the hotel formalities and after a quick shower went to the in-house restaurant (Hotel Asian Kitchen and Bar) for lunch as several travelers on Tripadvisor had recommended the same . The food was lip-smacking and staff extremely courteous !
We had planned to take a quick nap and then explore the city by ourselves in the evening. As we entered our rooms we found there was no electricity, on inquiring the receptionist, we were informed that the supply would be back in an hour and the hotel had no power backup !! Something we just cant imagine in any hotel of this standard in India . Nevertheless we settled in our rooms and after about an hour of sweating and another hour of cool AC we got ready to explore the city ourselves.
The driver helped us in safely tieing our luggage in the upper carrier post which we started our journey towards Indo-Bhutan border. It took about 50 minutes to reach near the border. Just before entering the border we were taken to the office of B.K.tours and travels for final payment ,currency exchange and submission of documents for permit processing. After completing the process the driver took us to the first hotel of our stay in Bhutan- Hotel Asian. On crossing the IN-gate we could notice the striking differences between both the countries. The architecture of most buildings in Bhutan were similar with beautiful picture of their King, Queen and prince tied, broad clean roads, no traffic lights, well-groomed traffic police, allotted parking allay, people wearing their traditional outfit (Gho & Kira) and lot calmer environment. We checked into our hotel after completing the hotel formalities and after a quick shower went to the in-house restaurant (Hotel Asian Kitchen and Bar) for lunch as several travelers on Tripadvisor had recommended the same . The food was lip-smacking and staff extremely courteous !
We had planned to take a quick nap and then explore the city by ourselves in the evening. As we entered our rooms we found there was no electricity, on inquiring the receptionist, we were informed that the supply would be back in an hour and the hotel had no power backup !! Something we just cant imagine in any hotel of this standard in India . Nevertheless we settled in our rooms and after about an hour of sweating and another hour of cool AC we got ready to explore the city ourselves.
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| Prayer Wheels |
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| Zangto Pelri Lhakhang |
The first place of our visit was Zangto Pelri Lhakhang which we were informed is the replica of Guru Rinpoche's celestial abode. Lined by small prayer wheels on all sides and a giant prayer wheel in the back with a park of flowers surrounding it, this monastery visit was really a good start for Bhutan. We found the area more crowded with locals than tourists. After offering our prayers we walked towards the Indo-Bhutan border gate. We noticed a very unique traffic system in Bhutan. Every pedestrian walked on the footpath and if intended to cross used only the zebra crossing to do so. The vehicles on finding any pedestrian waiting to cross near zebra crossing automatically halted. So the whole traffic system existed without the Red-Green-Amber indicator !! In the border gate we clicked a few snaps of the beautiful paintings on it and crossed to Jalgaon (Indian side) to make a few calls back home as our phones had stopped working after entering Bhutan and we were yet to purchase a local SIM. The Jalgaon side was extremely noisy and crowded compared to Bhutan side. After a brief walk in the market in Jalgaon we re-entered Phuntsholing and explored the local markets there.
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| Phutsholing City |
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| Indo-Bhutan Border Out-Gate |
We bought some souvenirs and gifts for our loved ones back home. It was almost 8 by the time we returned back to our rooms to cut my birthday cake ! A trip to the country of my dream on my birthday what more could have I asked for. Post a mini celebration we quickly went to have our dinner as we were previously informed that in Bhutan almost every hotel closes their kitchen by 9. A friend had recommended to try Vegetable cuisine of Kuenga so we went to the restaurant. The food was good and the service impressive. It was 9.30 by the time we finished our dinner and to our surprise we were asked to exit through the back door as the main entrance was already close ! So first day in Bhutan ended with a few lessons - Cross road using zebra crossing only, if there is a power cut don't bother to ask for power backup and eat your meals on time 😂😂 We went back to our hotel and rested for the day thankfully with no disruption in electricity.
Next day we woke up early in the morning as we were advised by our tour agent to reach the immigration office early. For reading our experience of 2nd day follow the link :
https://travel-ab.blogspot.in/2017/11/day-2-in-bhutan-phuntsholing-to-thimpu.html
Next day we woke up early in the morning as we were advised by our tour agent to reach the immigration office early. For reading our experience of 2nd day follow the link :
https://travel-ab.blogspot.in/2017/11/day-2-in-bhutan-phuntsholing-to-thimpu.html
For tips for Indian travelers - http://travel-ab.blogspot.in/2017/10/tips-for-indians-travelling-to-bhutan_16.html
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