We reached Thimpu around 7 in the evening and started looking around for some cheap accommodation. Most of the hotels are high end ones, but my taxi driver helped me and took me to a couple of cheap ones. Checked some 2-3 of them and finally settled in one which had a more homely feeling. This is a family run place; they live on the first floor and have some 5 rooms to rent on the 2nd floor with attached bathrooms. Nothing much to fancy but had the bare minimum necessities with a cool common dining place, perfect place for budget travelers. After a long ride, I settled down for the night in this cold place inside my sleeping bag.
Next day I went to the permit office in Thimpu to register my arrival and to apply for permits to visit Paro, Punakha and Wangdue Phodrang. All the people I met were dressed in the traditional Bhutanese attire, in the office, on the roads, in restaurants.
Another thing I realized, if we want to go around places in
Bhutan, we need to hire a taxi, there are no other means of public transport going around the city. Most of the people had their own vehicles, else were walking. So I called up the taxi driver who bought me to Thimpu, a happy go lucky guy, negotiated a good deal and he was to drive me around
Bhutan for the next couple of days. Visited some of the places which did not have entrance fees and places which had amazing scenery, check out some of the photos.
From Thimpu, went to Punakha stopping on the way in some local market. My driver then hesitantly invited me to his house, said his mother has never met a foreigner and wanted me to visit his family.
All the time I was just going around public places, taking photos, sitting around reading my books. And when this guy asks me, i could not let this opportunity go by to visit a local house, eat local food and chat up with the village people. His house was just on the bank of a small river, and was the only house over some vast green fields. He picked up his son from school, and we drove as far as there was road. Then had to walk for some 200 meters uphill to reach his house, and when I saw his place, I told myself, this is a place to stay when you retire. The house is built on a slope of a hill, surrounded by green fields, clear view of the river in front and within reach of the local market place. I told to him that he is quite lucky to live in such a beautiful place, but he said he still wants to buy a house in the capital city of
Thimpu.
Although Bhutan is the most isolated and least developed nations in the world, it’s rated the happiest country in Asia and eight happiest country in the world. No wonder the Bhutan King says that the “Gross National Happiness” is more important than the “Gross Domestic Product/Income”. The main economy is based on agriculture, forestry and tourism. Agriculture provides the main livelihood for more than 80 percent of the population.
I was greeted with open arms and wide smile by the family and was given a quick tour of the house. Most houses on the hill side are built of wooden logs, very little or no concrete or bricks.
The kitchen has a central cooking place on the floor and all other material stacked near the walls. We sat on the floor in the living room and was served local drinks made of wheat/barley. It had a strong smell and tasted weird, but couldn’t say no to the hosts. Later had lunch which was some red/brown rice grains, meat (I am not sure of what) and some chilly pickles. I now sometimes wonder how did I trust these complete strangers so easily, visiting their house in a remote place, drinking and eating at their house. But you have to believe me when I say that people in
Bhutan are really friendly and hospitable. During my visit, never even for a moment did I feel that this guy might do some harm to me. He was extremely humble and polite and was every excited when I accepted his offer to visit his place and had lunch.
We moved around his green fields and he explained to me how the farming is done, and that guys when they get married have to move into their wives house. They have to leave their parents and move in with the girls parents, which was opposite to what happened in
India and is most other countries where the bride leave her parents house and moves in to the grooms place. We left the house and I took a couple of family pictures, took their address promising to send the pictures back, which I did.
We came down hill to the taxi and found there was couple of villagers engaged in their local sports, archery. I was introduced as a tourist from India and was welcomed with warm greetings. Watch the guys prepare their bows, take aim, shoot the arrow and start waiving their hands and running towards the target all the time screaming. This was another part of a ritual that when you shoot an arrow, you need to run towards the target, waiving the hands wildly and screaming something like ooowooooowoooo… :-)
I took a couple of close up photos and a video of this ritual. Later we ate mangoes, ripe and sweet ones on the bank of the river and the experience I had could not be described in words.
