Druk Air (Royal Bhutan Airlines) & the Land of the Thunder Dragon

[Fifa]

Bhutan continued to impress us - from the governments’s philosophy of ‘Gross National Happiness’ to the friendly people whose traditional culture has been retained and the amazing scenery.

We were travelling with a diverse and fun group of people in 2 vehicles each with a driver and guide. Our guides were absolutely fantastic and nothing was too much trouble for them - their English is excellent, they take people shopping, they ensure bottled water is always available and answer every question asked with a smile. The drivers are experts on the extremely narrow windy roads and are always there to assist with any request.

Our drivers

We continued to head east and our next stop was Trongsa where we stayed in a resort on a hillside overlooking the magnificent Trongsa Dzong which we visited.

Comfortable room at Yangkhil Resort, Trongsa




Trongsa Dzong

The historic Tower of Trongsa was worth a visit where there is a superb museum. We also spent time wandering around the town and shopping for local crafts.

 

[Fifa]

Monks at Trongsa Dzong

 

[tuapekastar]

Thoroughly enjoying your TR Fifa! I think Bhutan is about to be overrun by AFFers.

I think I'd cack myself on those mountain roads though!

 

[Tuddy]

This is an absolutely marvellous report to read. I did an assignment on Bhutan and it's economy last year for Year 11 Economics (we were told to do intense study on an Asian economy, so I thought I'd do something a bit different...) and I've been wanting to go ever since. Prattling off fun facts about Bhutan (no currency until 1990) annoys my mates, but I love it (and you've provided me with a few more - cheers). This report is just adding more fuel to the fire that is my passion to visit the country (sorry, that's too much HSC English study talking...)

 

[Fifa]

Thank you for your encouragement everyone.
I am having lots of fun reliving our trip and it is bringing back lots of fabulous memories

 

[kpc]

Thank you for your encouragement everyone.
I am having lots of fun reliving our trip and it is bring back lots of fabulous memories

Not easy writing a pictorial trip report, is it Fifa?....but in years to come, it will bring you back very pleasant memories, so it is worth the effort! [speaking from personal experience]

 

[Fifa]

It was then onto Bumthang but on the way we stopped for morning tea at a restaurant overlooking the snow-covered Himalayan peaks and enjoyed butter tea and biscuits.

Later, after we had checked into our guest house we had lunch and walked to the 17th century temple of Kurjey Lhakhang and the Tamshing Goemba (temple) established inn 1501. On the inner walls protected by curtains are incredible original paintings and lying on a rock inside was a chain mail armour as old as the temple weighing 25kg which we were all able to pick up!

Young monks


Our cosy room

Continuing east along rough unsealed roads we arrived at the remote Tang Valley and hiked through farms to the Ogyen Choling museum, originally a 16th century palace. Afterwards our guide arranged a visit to the local school where his cousin is a teacher. Children in Bhutan are taught in English with Dzongkha, the national language, taught as a second language! We had a picnic lunch in the school yard then visited some classrooms, spending time talking to a delightful class of 15 year olds who asked all sorts of questions including what we liked about Bhutan and where we came from. We presented the principal with books, pens, balls, souvenirs and money that he was extremely grateful for.

Very cute kids


Picnic lunch, Bhutanese style

One of our group had been to Bhutan 4 years earlier and had visited a Buddhist nunnery. Her tour group sent over 100 pairs of red socks to the nuns which they still wear today! Our guides arranged a visit and we were welcomed into their temple and served tea and biscuits. The nunnery is home to 105 novice nuns.
What an absolutely incredible and special day! When we think we have seen it all there is another surprise around the corner. Bhutan is certainly a country like no other.

 

[Fifa]

Not easy writing a pictorial trip report, is it Fifa?....but in years to come, it will bring you back very pleasant memories, so it is worth the effort! [speaking from personal experience]

I agree! I just wish I had starting writing it while I was over there!
Most of our accommodation had wireless internet and nearly every adult (including monks) appeared to be carrying a mobile phone.

 

[Fifa]

Bhutan Gayul Tours had organised rangers from Thrumshingla National Park to guide us on a hike through its temperate broad-leafed forests, firs and spectacular flowering rhododendron forest.






We then visited the nearby Phobjikha Valley which is the wintering ground for the endangered black necked cranes and later walked through the village to a traditional farmhouse which was to be our overnight stop.

As usual, when we arrived tea and biscuits were served, this time around a central wood heater. The farmhouse was simple with shared bathrooms and traditional furnishings. What an unforgettable experience.



View from the dining room of the farmhouse.

 

[travelislife]

I had 2 weeks in Bhutan earlier this year just before Easter, it was a great experience and has been good seeing some of the photos you managed to snap. Watching the archery on the weekends was great fun and probably a highlight for me.

I guess my two biggest disappointments were the amount of rubbish that was thrown about up in the mountains (we did a 6 day trek, spending 3 nights in the snow, absolutely freezing!), for a country that preaches it's sustainability it really is lagging, but I guess that is just like a lot of Asia. The other annoying thing is how all the tour people really want to take you to the same hotels/restaurants/sights and aren't that keen on veering off to a different path even with a bit of pushing.

All in all though it was a great place to visit, but only once.

 

[Fifa]

The other annoying thing is how all the tour people really want to take you to the same hotels/restaurants/sights and aren't that keen on veering off to a different path even with a bit of pushing.

We had the opposite experience - our guides were extremely flexible and would change the itinerary to suit us at any time.
The drivers were also exceptional and would often work into the evening, driving us home from late night shopping expeditions, shopping for us in their own time and sharing their mobile calling cards!

I suppose it all comes down to the tour company and ours was amazing...

 

[travelislife]

A couple of highlights:

Watching the archery on the weekends was great fun and probably a highlight for me. Along with seeing their Engineering skills on the mountain roads. We pulled up to a road block on a windy road with about 20 cars already in line, went for a walk to the front to see the sign "Road closed from 2pm-4pm", it was 3:45pm so didn't have long to wait. As soon as it ticked over to 4pm everyone hit the horns, so the guy on the gate felt the peer pressure and decided to open the gate, so the race was on. Now the problem with this is that the work wasn't actually complete down the road. So it all came to a massive stop once again just closer to the action, creating even more problems. The road had washed away, with a big excavator working to try and dig a chunk out of the hillside but now with no room to move as the cars were directly behind it. Two blokes jumped in the excavator bucket and got lifted up the hillside to drill some wholes and place explosives. It was at this time that everyone (well especially the impatient buggers who sat on the horn and forced the guy to open the gate) realised what they had got themselves in to. So about 50 cars/trucks/buses and a 40 tonne excavator are trying to turn around on a single lane piece of road hanging to a cliff with a 100 metre drop straight down the side as it is getting dark, chaos! To cut a long and eventful story short they blew the explosives, cleared a section of road and we went on our merry way about 2 hours later, but what a site to see!

 

[Fifa]

I loved the archery too!

The roadworks were always worth checking out - and not a single Stop/Go sign in sight :!:

 

[Fifa]

It was a full day drive back to Thimpu where we visited the farmers market with its colourful displays of organic vegetables and fruit and wandered around the town shopping for souvenirs.

Fern fronds - a delicious vegetable served with Bhutanese food. The red rice is also not to be missed.

During our time in Bhutan we were fortunate to see beautiful grey langurs with their long tails, barking deer and countless species of birds. Yaks are found at the higher altitudes and we often passed yak herders and their camps – I couldn’t bring myself to try the smelly hardened yak cheese which hung in yak hair strings from roadside stalls though!


Thimphu is the only capital city in the world with no traffic lights. Instead policemen direct traffic from a traffic circle in the main street.



​View of Thimpu

 

[Fifa]

We woke early on our second last day to make the trek up to the famous Takstang Monastery, otherwise known as Tiger’s Nest. This is a major Himalayan Buddhist sacred site and temple complex and is perched on a cliff side surrounded by thousands of colourful prayer flags.


Half way up the steep track we stopped at a teahouse where morning tea was served while taking in the magnificent view of the monastery, and on our return we enjoyed lunch at the same spot. It was an absolutely amazing day and one we will never forget.





Tigers Nest at last!

 

[Fifa]

Our last day was also memorable as we were driven to Chelela Pass (the highest road pass in Bhutan at around 4,000m). The stunning views of the sacred snow covered Mt Jhomolhari from the pass which is marked by thousands of fluttering prayer flags was breathtaking and was an incredible finale to our trip.


A two hour alpine hike followed, through magnificent conifers and a vast array of flowers covering the forest floor, past a remote nunnery perched on a rocky cliff down to the valley below where we enjoyed a picnic lunch.

Nunnery

 

[Fifa]

A popular form of transport for farming families'


Family and friends all pitch in to help build a family home

 

[Major]

Hi Fifa
What are the crops they are cultivating in those terraces at such a high altitude ?

 

[BVT]

Many thanks for this great TR.

I have already ordered two books on Bhutan. I am about to start planning a visit, hopefully next September.

Great work.

 

[Fifa]

What are the crops they are cultivating in those terraces at such a high altitude ?

The major crops are red rice and maize.
Red rice is served with all meals and when cooked is a pale pink colour.

There was a large choice of fruit and vegetables available and grown locally, which we were surprised about considering the elevation of Bhutan.