Bhutan

In 2016 I was lucky enough to visit the tiny Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan - a wonderful experience on so many levels. The people, the culture, the scenery - photographically and personally this trip was one of the most fascinating I have ever taken.

Bhutan is a landlocked country of just over 800,000 people and lies to the north east of India and shares its own northern border with China. There is a lot of fascinating history around the China/India/Bhutan relationship, but it’s not my position to discuss or comment on the politics - worth checking it out though.

There is often a lot of misinformation thrown out around visiting Bhutan - my recommendation would be to ignore rumours and do some proper research. For my visit, I went through the DrukAir office in Singapore - effectively the regional sales hub for DrukAir (Royal Bhutan Airlines). This was a one-stop shop where everything was take care of - visas, flights, accommodation, guides, internal transport and tours - couldn’t have been easier.

When the trip came around, an early flight from Singapore had a brief stop in Calcutta before landing in Paro - the journey took around 5 hours or so. After being picked up by a guide and driver, we drove to Thimphu with a couple of interesting stops along the way. Temples, rivers and mountains provided constant visual delights along the route. After arriving in Thimphu, the capital city with a population of around 120,000, we checked into our hotel and spent two or three days taking in the sights of the city, as well as a reasonable hike to a mountain monastery (Chagri Monastery).

After our time in Thimphu, we drove over the Dochula Pass to Punakha and to a lovely hotel set in a valley with a view of rice field, mountains and the very odd Temple of the Divine Madman. Or rather the Temple of the very odd Divine Madman. The surrounding village is famous (infamous?) for having buildings, shops, restaurants and homes adorned with images of phalluses. There are souvenir shops selling phalluses of different sizes, people use them as ornaments - our hotel used a rather impressive specimen as a doorstop.

I don’t want to dwell on this for too long or keep repeating the word “phallus” as my mother may read this and have a coronary. She’s in her 80’s and it may be too much for the old soul. However, the Divine Madman, a Tibetan monk named Drukpa Kunley, used phallic imagery to control demons and bless the Bhutanese people. No, I don’t know how that works in practice, the guide was a little unclear and anyway I think it’s time to move on…

There is a wonderful Dzong in Punakha that sits between two rivers - very photogenic! A nearby wire suspension bridge also makes for an interesting stop!

There are some images below, but more can be seen on a basic youtube video - please do have a look here (it would be greatly appreciated if you could subscribe to the channel and have a browse at other videos - thank you!)

After Punakha we headed back to Paro, for the final stop of the trip. Our drive back over the Dochula Pass included the added excitement of a landslide which we had to help clear - never done that before!

Anyway, in Paro we saw the oldest temple in Bhutan, had an evening meal in a local home, inclusive of butter tea - and ended the trip with a hike up to the famous Tiger’s Nest Temple - known more formally as Paro Taktsang.

The hike to the temple was wonderful - I’d strongly suggest not taking the donkeys. You’d lose the sense of achievement, not sure it’s good for the animals and the traditional hikers may well despise you! Go on, do it properly - it’s the highlight of the trip and a once in a lifetime experience for most!

My personal highlights of the trip were, in no particular order..