The Gateway To Bhutan

Phuentsholing….that quaint little town in Bhutan is the gateway to this Himalayan Kingdom.

Let me start with a brief overview of my Bhutan trip…

I did this tour of Bhutan with a group of amazing Seenagers ( Senior citizens with a teenager’s heart!) organised by a travel and adventure company from Bangalore called 50 plus Voyagers. We were twenty three of us and apart from a a couple of us,( who knew each other before) were total strangers when we all met up. In a matter of few hours, all of us gelled with each other and anyone would think we had been friends for years….

That friends, is the magic of age…each one of us knew that we were in it for fun and wanted to make the most of what life had to offer in its twilight years….

Accompanying us on this tour was our Teenage guide Vanshika and two Bhutanese guides, Sanchay and Tenzing

Have a look at my co travellers before we embark on this Himalayan journey…

My co travellers on the Bhutan tour…at the immigration office at Phuentsholing

Our Tour Manager Vanshika

Our Bhutanese guides Sanchay and Tenzing

Earlier that day, we arrived Bagdogra by flight from where we were received by our tour manager Vanshika. We started our drive to Bhutan from Bagdogra airport by car. Siliguri is the closest city to Bagdogra and we drove past Siliguri..

A lunch at a hotel in Siliguri helped in quenching our hunger and getting to know each other more…

Soon we left the crowded streets of Siliguri and headed to Jalpaiguri where the greenery of the tea estates left us in awe. The peculiarity of these tea estates is that they are on flat ground. Elsewhere, tea estates are located on hill slopes but here it was different….

A little bit on the Duars region of the Himalayas

These are basically plains on the foothills of the eastern Himalayan ranges mainly in North East India and West Bengal.

Duar means door and forms the gateway to Bhutan and NE India. With the backdrop of the Himalayas, this region is a paradise for nature lovers. The Teesta river, several wildlife sanctuaries, tea gardens, several small rivulets and waterfalls add beauty to this region.

Some pictures from our drive through the tea estates of West Bengal…

The tea gardens

We also crossed some bridges and the long road to Bhutan welcomed us with the views of the mountains ahead…

The rivers and the long road to Bhutan with the mountains ahead….

Just as we were enjoying this ride, it was tea time and we enjoyed some saffron tea and biscuits at a tea shop…

Enjoying tea and biscuits…

Continuing the drive, we enjoyed the scenery and the company. After five hours of the drive from Bagdogra, we were close to the Bhutan border and we could see Phuentsholing town at a distance.

Phuentsholing at a distance….on the slopes

The last Indian town was Jaigaon and as we approached Phuentsholing, our guide collected our passports and other documents to get the visa and other permits for travel in Bhutan.

Once we reached the border, there was an ornate gate here to demarcate the border. In addition there is a wall also to one side.

The ornate gate at Phuentsholing and the wall demarcating the Indo-Bhutan border.

After alighting from our vehicles we walked to the immigration counter at Phuentsholing. Our guide accompanied us and we walked through the typically Bhutanese style immigration office.

The immigration office with typical Bhutanese decor

We had to wait there for sometime as our papers were getting ready and we used that time for some quick pictures .

Once our papers were through, we walked in to Bhutan and I must tell you, it was such a contrast.

A few feet this side of the ornate gate and the streets were clean, there was no honking, vehicles were stopping to let pedestrians pass and the whole atmosphere was so calm and peaceful. It was simply unbelievable!!!

The Indian side here was particularly crowded and dirty ( though I must add that it does not represent a major part of India) and that added to the contrasting image in our minds.

The clean streets of Phuentsholing and our hotel

Soon we reached our hotel Bhutan Ga Me Ga ( meaning happiness in Bhutanese). With a nice welcome drink, we all reached our respective rooms after a long drive and relaxed for sometime.

We decided to explore Phuentsholing and here are some pictures from our outing….

A typical shopping area with shops displaying boards in green and white colour

Bhutanese Handicraft shops

There was a monastery close to our hotel that was beautifully lit up at night.

The lit up monastery

Returning to our hotel in time for dinner, we rested for the night looking forward to our drive to Thimpu the next day.

From the next episode, we are going to travel inside Bhutan and it will be good to know some important details of this country to understand the various places we visit and their significance.

Bhutan is located in the Eastern Himalayas between China in the North and India in the South. Its actual name is “Druk Yol “or Land of the Thunder Dragon. It is a constitutional monarchy with the King as the head of state and the prime minister as head of government. Buddhism is the state religion and its political history is intricately connected with its religious history. Religious leaders known as the Chief Abott are given as much importance as the political leaders.

Dzongs are fortresses where there are both political and religious activities taking place. This again points out the importance given to religious activities and leaders. We visited several Dzongs in Bhutan which we shall cover as we go along. Zhabdrung Rinpoche occupies a very important role in Bhutan and his statues are seen in all monasteries and Dzongs

The national language is Dzongkha (meaning language spoken in the fortress)

Getting back to Phuentsholing…..

We stayed at Phuentsholing overnight during our return journey too.

At that time, we visited a Buddhist Temple called Karbandhi Gompa.

Karbandhi Gompa

Located at a height of 400metres , the beautiful garden surrounding this temple offers views of Phuentsholing town and the Indo Bhutan border.

The temple itself has beautiful paintings of Buddha and statues of Buddha , Guru Rinpoche and Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal ( Zhabdrung Rinpoche or Unifier of Bhutan)

We attended a typical Buddhist prayer session accompanied with music using local instruments. Unfortunately photography is not allowed at the temple.

Karbandhi Gompa and the steps leading to the temple

The views of Phuentsholing town and the IndoBhutan border were also great…

Phuentsholing town and the Indo Bhutan border from above

Our group at the Indo Bhutan border viewpoint

We checked into our hotel and got busy as most of us did our last minute shopping for trinkets, handicrafts, clothes and Bhutanese Wine which was good and was available at reasonable rates.

Well, that’s all from Phuentsholing. Next week we do a picturesque road trip to Thimpu. Till then do subscribe, comment and give your feedback…