Touring Bhutan

By William Hawke
  

Click here for photos. (© William Hawke)

Diplomatist Magazine Publisher and Managing Editor visited Bhutan in late November (2003) and this photo feature marks their appreciation for this unique Himalayan Kingdom, which is steeped in tradition and culture.

We flew into Paro – the only international airport – via Druk Air, and chose to depart by road through the Pheuntsholing border town crossing into West Bengal. The trip was business-oriented – we were there to document Indo-Bhutanese cooperation projects – but between visits to power stations, hospitals, schools and microwave towers we managed to sample a few attractions.

At Paro Airport, the first impressive image was the terminal building, constructed in traditional Bhutanese style and a sneak preview of all architecture that we’d see during the week to come. In fact, there are no shining glass office towers in Bhutan as the height of buildings is restricted and even new construction must be of traditional style.

Our base for the week was Thimphu, the charming capital city of Bhutan, which is surrounded by mountains and has a river running through its center. Other than by the style of the buildings, we were impressed by low level of vehicular traffic. Thimphu is the only world capital without a traffic light. The lack of crowds of people and the non-hustle bustle atmosphere also caught our attention. Buddhist prayer wheels were prominent at major intersections and to add to the originality, all Bhutanese men dress in a gho and women in a kira (the traditional male robe and woman’s dress). Since international fast food chains are non-existent in Bhutan, the only golden arches that can be seen in town are at the entrances to temples, and these are adorned with dragons.

We passed our free time in Thimphu by wandering through the town centre and visiting the handicraft shops stocked with Bhutanese hand woven textiles, thangkas, woodcarvings, brass-ware, clothing and jewellry. On one occasion we stopped at a restaurant and ordered momos and green tea – simply delightful!

We had the opportunity to drive past the impressive Trashi Chhoe Dzong on numerous occasions. It was built 17th century and after suffering three fires and an earthquake, the dzong was renovated and enlarged in 1962, the year after the capital was moved to Thimphu. The renovation was performed traditionally, without written plans or sketches and nails. We also visited the beautiful SAARC Building, which houses the National Assembly and Foreign Ministry. If the SAARC building were a hotel, it would truly deserve five-star status.

The weekly (Saturday/Sunday) market in Thimphu is a bargain-hunter’s dream. It consists mostly of fruit and vegetable stalls, but there is one section – about one-eighth of the market – that has handicrafts. One of the most abundant items was the Buddhist prayer wheel ranging in price from 350 to 13,000 Indian rupees. Other popular items included Bhutanese masks, brass door handles, incense, textiles and handmade knives. We walked away with an old teapot, a prayer wheel and two marvelous brass horns that telescoped to a length of two metres.

One day was spent on an excursion over the Douchu La (with ‘La’ meaning pass) to the town of Punakha. We got our only glimpse of the snowcapped Himalayas from the highest point (10,000 ft) along the way. Upon descending into the valley we made our way to the confluence of the Pho Chhu and Mo Chhu rivers and the Punakha Dzong, which is considered the most beautiful and most important dzong in the country.

The Punakha Dzong (photos previous page) was built in 1637 and is oblong in shape. It looks like a defensive structure, with its great stonewalls leaning inwards and rising up to the gently sloping roof. The windows closer to the bottom of the walls are small, but those near the top where the living quarters are located are larger and have intricately carved frames. Inside, two-or three-storey brilliantly painted wooden buildings surround the main courtyard. The courtyard itself is paved with large flagstone panels. A massive tower, a small white chorten (known elsewhere as stupa) and a Bodhi tree stand in the middle of the courtyard. There are two sections to the dzong, one containing administrative offices of the region and the other various religious structures. The Punkha Dzong was truly the highlight of the trip.

Another day was spent visiting the Chukha and Tala hydro electricity projects in southwestern Bhutan. Both projects are absolutely massive and sterling examples of Indo-Bhutanese cooperation. Both projects will be covered later in one of our other publications. So, I’ll continue on the original vein by saying that the daytrip to the southwest was enhanced by magnificent scenery with each turn in the winding road presenting a different panorama – hills, vales, high and low meadows, mountain streams and rivers, waterfalls, foliage with its hues of red, yellow, brown and green autumn splendor, stepped farmland, prayer flags, distant chortens, stately rock formations – all indescribable with mere words. Photographs, with their limitations of field, fail to give a true picture. The photos herein represent our meager attempt.

Visit Bhutan: After visiting the Bhutanese national website (www.kingdomofbhutan.com), we realize that we only scratched the surface of the attractions of the Kingdom of Bhutan during our short six-day visit. We plan to return in the future and therefore recommend the destination to our readership.

All photos by author


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