We all dreamt of a foreign trip in our childhood. Foreign
countries always fascinate us, somehow we were raised with the opinion that
foreign countries are better than our country. They are cleaner, modern,
sophisticated and people are well cultured. Foreign visit is one of the great
middle Indian dream. As we grow up we see some of our seniors and fellow
students who are employed with IT firms travel to various places, one of the
greatest perks and motivation in life of an IT engineer, site visit. We saw their
photos and we get excited. Then those who go for post-graduation studies also
put photos of Halloween, first snow, some random colorful forest, a big clean
empty street and we naturally unfollow them because we don’t want that kind of
pressure in our life.
One other important dream in college is a trip. For our
generation who was in teenage when ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ was released, an awesome
trip with college friends is a must do task in life. Lots of plans throughout
graduation which never takes shape, cancelled Goa trip every year, and finally
post-graduation trip plans that somehow one has to execute else one’s degree
will be incomplete. So we started with thinking about plan for north-east India
back in January which never got executed as we were too lazy to book tickets
and prepare a large group for economies of scale. Back in August the trip itch
started again and became unbearable so the effort to create a group of 6 people
for a north east trip started again.
At our peak success, we had 9 people but then as it happens
tickets were booked for only 4 and that too for a Bhutan trip and as the last
scene in climax a person dropped out 3 days before making it only 3 person,
somehow we were determined that without this trip our souls will be trapped in
college forever making random trip plans which will eventually get cancelled and
we will haunt the generations living in hostel so we decided to go forward with
the trip and we are glad now we did it.
Our trip started with a 6 AM train from Jamshedpur to
Kolkata. As we are accustomed to stay up which is a safer and reliable option
we did that. We reached Kolkata and went to Park Street where we had a
luxurious breakfast, far luxurious from the economic constraint we put on
ourselves running on economy of scale. We have to stop at MacD in the front as
apparently we weren’t western enough to use the ‘fully western washrooms’ at
Flurys. After a coffee at MacD, we had no idea how to spend rest of our day as
our train was around 11 PM. We reached the Kolkata station and slept waking up
after 4 hours with no idea of where we were and how we reached here. We took a
pleasant dinner at pizza hut at a mall and reached Kolkata station again.
The train moved exactly on time and we were hoping to have a
sound sleep as we were travelling in sleeper class after a long time. As it
turns out, sometimes the cold fresh air flowing throughout the coach from
outside gives you a better sleep than AC coaches. All of us woke up after
perfect sleep of 10 hours. I always consider trains as moving food outlets as I
am fascinated by various items being sold inside the train and usually I try to
experiment as much as I can. The items change in different region ranging from
vadapav of Maharashtra, jhalmuri in Bengal, pakoda in rajasthan or we can have
variation of same dish like aaloo bada, aaloo chop, aaloo bonda in different
parts.
So we reached Hasimara station took a cab and crossed the
Indo border Bhutan at Jaigaon. Boom, entered foreign soil for the 1st
time in life. We went to immigration office and got permit to visit Thimphu and
Paro. The interesting thing about this trip was it was unplanned. We want to
explore things as they come instead of a much planned schedule. We didn’t book
any hotels, any cabs or talked to any travel agents. We were not even sure how
much cities we will visit and in what order. Our sole intention was to explore
and bump into unexpected situations making and hoping for unexpected events
that will make the perfect journey and recipe for interesting stories.
We roamed around for a while observing the different
architecture and dressing style. We had lunch at a restaurant where majority of
dishes were Indian still we had some successful experiment with Bhutanese
dishes. We hired a cab and our journey began. Our car rode through never ending
spiral roads on hill well decorated with mist. The air was so fresh and cool,
one can get high on oxygen. The sky so bright and clear with the full view of Milky
Way, a delight to eyes of 3 Indians who were habitual of the polluted red sky
of Jamshedpur from more than a year. We stopped midway for tea. Tea lovers will
really enjoy Bhutani tea as it tastes different in a good way. Also, they serve
tea in really large cups so you will feel quite fulfilled and contented at the
end.
We reached Thimphu at night and too tired by the turny track, going uphill and downhill for 6 hours we just searched for a hotel and slept. In the morning, sunlight revealed the beautiful heaven we failed to appreciate in night. Thimphu is such a treat to the eyes, one can just gaze the bluish sky and silver clouds without getting bored for whole day. The house are beautifully made, streets are wide and empty, there are so many colors everywhere, one can easily get lost in them. Although most shops do not open and start functioning before 10 AM so one may find tough to find good breakfast. We somehow managed to get fried rice and tea and our tour began.
We first went to Thimphu Chorten which was pretty much like
a temple. I learnt the concept that those cylinder shaped structures that
everyone must have seen in Buddhist temples actually have prayers written on
them and when you rotate them 360 degree, it means you have said those prayers.
We next went to Buddha Dordenma and the whole experience was heavenly. Standing
on the top of the mountain one can see the entire city from one end to another
and what a beautiful sight that was. The air so fresh, people so cheerful,
place so peaceful, wind so refreshing, complete stress buster. We wished to
stay there forever, we didn’t want to move, we were so transfixed by the beauty
and peace of that place. It’s still so fresh in my memory.
Later we went to another quite old looking temple, a zoo to see Bhutan's national animal and lastly
we visited the garden outside the king’s palace. We were getting used to
Bhutan’s environment, traditions, life style and way of doing things by then.
One interesting thing we discovered is in Bhutan if someone is waiting to cross
the road then the vehicles stops and ask you to cross the road first, quite an
amazing experience that was. I wonder if we start doing the same in India. We
moved to a hotel with wifi as apparently it was little smothering to not check
whatsapp once every hour.
Cities in Bhutan sleep very early. By 9 almost every shop is
closed and lights are off. Streets are empty as if the city is abandoned. It’s
the perfect time for travelers to wander as Bhutan is a safe place. So we
wandered and discovered a pizzeria where we had some amazing dishes. Another
good thing about travelling is you can turn off your worries and thoughts for a
while and live in the moment and you can interact with other people more
freely. We had some great conversations in the peace of night, topics we rarely
discussed even though staying in the same hostel for a year. Most of the
Bhutan’s cable show Hindi channels, so we weren’t so disconnected with the
country but also there were some Pakistani news channel so it was interesting
to see the same news from two different point of view.
We woke early next morning to visit Punakha, a small town.
The road was quite bumpy but scenery and the weather were so delightful we
didn’t feel the pain of the road. We stopped in between at Dochula Pass where
there was a café and a temple. We were lucky, when we reached the top of the
temple the clouds started making way for the most beautiful Himalayan panorama.
I have no words to describe the feeling of that scene. The clouds slowly
drifting apart like god himself is sketching the perfect scenery to describe
the beauty of mountains. The bluish sky, the greyish clouds and the mountains
slowly peaking in between shining with their glory with the little sunlight
that struggled and fought multiple barriers to reach and rest at its final
abode. So many shades of lights were visible from that spot, one can really
wonder the palatte of god is filled with so many colors to cover the big canvas
of nature.
We reached punakha and wandered here and there in the
punakha dzong. Before that we sat in silence and enjoyed the music created by
the merging of two rivers, Mochu and Pochu. 2 different water streams with
different characteristics, 1 a little darker than the other, a little faster,
more turbulent as if two distant cousin one a naughty one and another a shy and
reclusive one meeting together and walking as a single entity afterwards. There
was nothing much to do in punakha, it is one of that place where the journey is
much more valuable than the destination. We returned in the night back at
Thimphu and watched the King’s palace boasting of its royal luster and might in
the beautiful lights that has covered its entirety as if protecting it from
darkness. We were lucky to find a great place to dine. Food lovers will
absolutely fall in love with Bhutan because the food here is so delicious yet
so cheap.
We left Thimphu with a heavy heart in the morning. That’s
the thing with beautiful places, they become part of your life very easily and
then you don’t want to depart from them. In between the way, we discussed
multiple ways through which we can reside in Thimphu permanently but we knew
the fantasies can just help us escape from the reality for a while. Our next
destination was Paro, another very beautiful city pretty close to Thimphu. We
stopped in between at an old bridge made of chains and full of all those
prayers, the typical clichéd image of any Himalayan Buddhist City.
In Paro, we booked a very cheap hotel for some reason as it
was in the middle of town and it gave a feeling that we are part of the town
not tourists. We went to Bhutan national museum first and realized that Bhutan
is not about Buddhism alone, they have so many deities, and their mythology is
completely different and unique. But the best feature was not on the inside of
the museum but the outside part. The view was so mesmerizing, so divine, so
serene, so pure, so many shades of green distributed all over the place, such a
delight to the naked eyes and in between a river flowing, it was really a
breath taking moment. You can just stand on a spot like this for hours and
contemplate so many philosophical thing and I bet not even once you will think
about your career or life or other materialistic trap for a second. Places like
this take you a level away from your existing conscious, they appeal to your
inner brain, they trigger those feelings and emotions which hitherto never
comes out due to mundane worries.
Like the good parts there were bad parts also. As it was an
unplanned trip we mostly relied on local drivers and their integrity to their
profession. Sadly it was not the case. Our driver didn’t take us to multiple
spots in Thimphu and Punakha giving lame reasons. He sent his friend to Paro
and because of their internal colluding we missed a very important spot i.e.
Tiger’s Nest. One is bound to get cheated in a foreign country and that was our
lesson in Bhutan. The driver took us only till the bottom of the hill, he
delayed in between multiple times to ensure we reach very late and then later
he denied to wait saying he want to go back to Thimphu. We had a huge
altercation but there was nothing much in our hand due to stubbornness of the
driver and paucity of time. May be it was god’s way of calling us back to
Bhutan one day to finish the unfinished business.
We returned with a very bad and heavy mood to Paro town but
we were instantly cheered up by the delicious cuisines everywhere. We later hired a cab and visited a local temple afterwards we roamed
around in the town for hours, stepping in at numerous shops, wandering here and
there, thinking what to buy and whether to buy something or not as things were
pretty expensive. Families and friends are bound to get hurt and angry if we
don’t bring anything and as everyone does, we also hoped here and there to buy
something affordable. The night was heavy as we knew it was our last night in
Bhutan. Tomorrow we will be back to our homeland, the reality, the college, the
career, the grades, and no escape from life.
We took a cab early morning and flowed in the beautiful
scenery for one last time. It was like a slideshow of wallpapers. The colors
will change so quickly on every turn. Suddenly, out of nowhere there will be a
river peaking like a small child full of energy which will become thunderous
like a mighty warrior boasting his full glory. There will be waterfalls here
and there, so many of them and they are so beautiful to see from different
angels. Such road trips definitely triggers some powerful imagination,
something deep in your head, something you can feel but you can’t explain,
something not controlled by rational part of your brain but something that
makes you happy. Something that brings a very pleasant smile on your face. When
you open the doors of your car, put your face out a little and feel the cold
wind touching your face as if its giving you a thousand blessing, it’s reciting
some peaceful hymn in your ear that is making you calm and happy from within.
The mist diffused with the greenery and the blue sky turning once in a while makes
you feel so close to nature. The ride was a never ending ride to joy.
We stopped for breakfast at the same hotel we stopped while coming and we just realized how quickly 3 days have passed. We wondered whether life will give such tranquil moments again or not. Our driver asked us whether we were married or not then he told us that he has married 4 times and he has 6 children. He also told that he is planning to divorce his present wife and marry again as he wants a daughter. Such sensitive topics in our country, quite a taboo which no one wants to talk on is so simple for this person. He was a jolly good fellow, he was a representative of Bhutan, and he was the emblem of Bhutan, a country known for giving happiness priority.
We came to Phuntsholing and we decided to cross the border
by foot. There is a small corridor we went through and we were thinking that
things won’t change much. It’s a border town, there must be multiple
similarities but what a stark difference we found outside. It’s wonderful that
India is same anywhere you go. We left a silent serene colorful town and we
arrived at the same picture every Indian sees daily. Cars honking, Auto drivers
screaming, roads full of traffic and complete chaos. The difference was quite
powerful to the extent we felt like running back to Bhutan. But let’s face it,
India is beautiful in its own way, we might not be as systematic as other
countries but we have a heart of our own. I bet many people who always cribbed
when they were here and left it, a part of them still misses India. No country
can replace our motherland same as the fact that a mother may have few
shortcomings but she is mother nonetheless. There is no perfect mother and our
motherland is still dear to us inspite of all the flaws and we as proud children
will help to cure these flaws. We boarded our train and returned to Kolkata,
had a great breakfast again and came back to college.
