Our Long Beautiful Ride Through the Kingdom of Happiness

Four wheels move the body,  two wheels move the soul. - Popular bikers' adage.

Chris and I, childhood friends, had been craving to do a long motorbike ride together but somehow it didn't happen for a long time. Finally, in the Pujas, we decided to take off from all the hustle and bustle that the city will be and head to peace and tranquility in what is dubbed as the last Shangri La.

The Kingdom Of Bhutan, with it's concept of Gross National Happiness, was the ideal distance for our 2 week adventure. We loaded our saddle bags with the bare minimum clothing and accessories and set out for the ride of our lives. Our first stop was Jalpaiguri, a mere 600 km's away but something that took us more than 24 hours to cover owing to the terrible condition of NH34. We were hosted in a wonderful tea garden by Chris' relatives, Calcutta Chinese, who lived and worked at the Danguajhar Tea Estate.

After a wonderful sumptuous home cooked meal and much needed rest from the iron butts that NH34 gave us we headed to the border town of Phuentsholing. The bureaucrats at the Bhutan border, we came to realise, were just as bad as the ones on this side and after a few greased palms and lots of coaxing and cajoling we got our one permits to enter Bhutan up until Thimphu which was to be later extended in the capital city.

From the moment we entered Bhutan we felt a whiff of fresh air - the roads were far better than on this side of the border, although it is the Indian Border Roads Organisation (under Project Dantak) that makes all their roads but it did a much better job there than here. After a full day of riding and stopping at a few check posts to show our permits and register our names we arrived at Thimphu.

With a population of less than 80,000 and no street lights, but very animated traffic cops, this must be the cutest country capital of the world. And Bhutan has implemented a uniform model code of building styles that is completely in sync with the traditional building styles of the region, something that none of the heritage laden cities of India have managed till date. That is the reason why every new building seemed in sync with the old ones and there was none of the eyesore of glass and steel structures that we come to expect from other capital cities.

Bhutan has developed a unique tourism model that seems to be paying off very well. Since the Bhutanese total not more than 700,000 the visionary former king Jigme Singye Wangchuck realised that they would have to restrict the number of tourists coming in or else their identity, culture and traditions could easily be lost. So he instated a rule by which all foreign tourists wanting to visit Bhutan would have to book a local guide and pay USD 200 (revised to USD 250 fom 2012) per person per day as their visa fees which would include accommodation, car, guide et al. Thankfully, that rule does not apply to Indians and we're given a free peek into this beautiful country. The high fees ensure that only very few select individuals opt for the trip and the local guides ensure that the codes of conduct in this small closely knit society are not violated by callous visitors.

Another wonderful thing that strikes you is that almost all Bhutanese are always wearing their traditional clothes - gho for the men and kira for the women - whenever they step out of their homes. And when we reached there then there were two fabulous reasons to be in the country at the time ... the new King's wedding as well as the time for the annual Tsechu or traditional Drukpa Buddhist festival. The locals in their finest of clothes, the festive atmosphere and the beautiful scenery of the Himalayan Kingdom were quite a heady mix and we felt levitated to a higher state just being there.

Our next stop was the adjoining town called Paro. And the roads between the two cities were four lane international standard highways and a complete pleasure to ride on. We soon learned that fuel was much cheaper in Bhutan than India and hoped we'd brought canisters to take some back. But better sense prevailed as we lost ourselves to the beauty of this wonderful town.

The next morning was the pilgrimage that all coming to Bhutan must take - the trek to Paro Takstsang more popularly known as Tiger's Nest Monastery. It's a scenic half day trek to the most sacred site for the Bhutanese Buddhist as this is from where they believe Buddhism was introduced in the country. And the stories associated with it are no less fantastical than the breathtaking views all around. The most popular one is that Guru Padmasambhava aka Guru Rinpoche flew here on the back of a flaming tigress and introduced Tibetan Buddhism in Bhutan.

Guru Rinpoche flies to the Tiger's Nest on the back of a tigress and introduces Buddhism to Bhutan.

We stopped at a wonderful cafe situated right next to a flowing river and had cheese and chilli toasts - which seemed to be the national dish of sorts. The Bhutanese love their chillies and I once committed the blunder of mistaking Schezwan pepper for oregano and put a lot of it in my soup. Never again.

Another interesting thing that the restaurant owner told us was that they don't kill any animals in the country owing to their Buddhist non-violent beliefs. And therefore all the meat requirements of the restaurants and the hotels is met by Jaiganj, the bordering Indian town with loads of butchers ready to serve this well paying client country.

Next morning was wasted in extending our permits as owing to the king's wedding in Punakha travellers were restricted from going there. But hardly were we in the mood to hear a no and were standing in front of the wonderful Punakha Dzong by nightfall. It was mesmerising to watch the palace under the light of the moon and the water flowing by to meet at the confluence of the Pho Chhu (father) and Mo Chhu (mother) rivers. We sat there for a long time enjoying the beauty and the calm serenity of the place till it was time to find some accommodation and take some much needed rest.

At our hotel we met two very interesting people, one was a young Officer-in-charge of Punakha Police and the other was a senior official with the Bhutan military. They were very kind hosts and especially kind after hearing that we've ridden on our motorbike all the way from Calcutta. Interestingly quite a lot of Bhutanese we met, who spoke English, had all either studied or at least visited Calcutta for some reason or the other. And that connected us immediately as they all carried fond memories of our city.

Archery - The national sport of Bhutan. 

After a long and lovely sleep, we woke up fresh and headed to the famous fertility temple called Chimi Lakhang or the Temple of the Divine Madman. We learnt here that the divine madman, Lama Drukpa Kuenley, was a fun loving (read drinking and womanising) monk who spread Buddhism throughout Bhutan through his unconventional and relaxed ways of practice. His temple is now where women who want to conceive go to be blessed by a wooden phallus. Those not familiar with Hindu mythology find this fantastical and unbelievable but of course for us here in India this is common ground.

Myths and legends aside the walk to the temple goes through beautiful rice fields and up a small hillock. Once you reach the top you're greeted with prayer flags, prayer wheels and loads of monks in all age groups playing musical instruments, meditating or simply hanging around. It's a wonderful cultural, spiritual, mythological and scenic kaleidoscope. There's a great restaurant nearby where one can shop for souvenirs as well as try some traditional Bhutanese butter tea - locally called suuchaa and not for the unadventurous as its a strong flavour containing yak milk butter and salt.

Although we were having a ball the high point of our trip was yet to come. Our next stop was the Pobjikha Valley - famous for the migratory and highly endangered black necked cranes that come here during the winters from upper Tibet. It is said that the birds come and encircle the nearby Gangteng Monastery thrice while coming in and again thrice before heading out; therefore considered holy and well protected by the locals.

It is this same monastery that gave us the unbelievable experience of a traditional Bhutanese annual Tsechu. The farm that we stayed in for the night invited us to the unveiling of the Thangka, a huge two stories high painting of the Buddha, which is shown only one day in a year during the festival. We were lucky to have witnessed it and the colourful dancers wearing all kinds of masks and performing acrobatics was an unparalleled sight to behold.

Completely content from a soul fulfilling journey we found some local riders and headed to another beautiful valley called Bumthang. Since this was our last stop before we headed back we took it easy and relaxed here for a couple of days. Our return journey was cutting through the Royal Manas National Park where it was common for deer and snakes to come in front of our motorbike while we tried our best not to harm them.

All in all Bhutan is all that the tourist brochures tell you and more. The effects of the concept of the Gross National Happiness that the visionary monarch said his country would be judged by really seems to work. Most locals we met, including taxi drivers and hotel staff, have immense regard for their monarch and seem to have the faith that the King will guide them well for a long time to come. And the King seems to know and perform his duty really well. Although they are opening up to international influences but at the same time they're also holding close to their hearts their traditions, customs and their proudest possession - Buddhism.

Bidding goodbye to this wonderful little paradise.

Long distance riding tips:

1. Wear a quality helmet. Preferably one that covers your chin and ears. 
2. Use a parachute cover. One that can be used when raining - it should be big enough to cover the attached luggage too.
3. Buy well proportioned saddle bags for even distribution of weight on both sides. cramster.in has decent options. 
4. Travel light. But bike spares and a torch are a must. 
5. Keep your arms loose when riding as tense muscles will lead to ache in the neck and back. 
6. And last but not the least: Don't go fast, go far.

Day 1 - Tee off from Calcutta.
Day 2 - Reach Jalpaiguri and rest in Danguajhar Tea Estate.
Day 3 - Cross Phuentsholing in the morning. Reach Thimpu by night.
Day 4 - Thimphu sightseeing and head to Paro.
Day 5 - Relax in Paro.
Day 6 - Trek to Tiger's Nest and relax in Paro.
Day 7 - Get permit from Thimphu and head to Punakha.
Day 8 - Punakha Dzong to Pobjikha
Day 9 - Pobjikha to Bumthang
Day 10 - Bumthang sightseeing
Day 11 - Bumthang to Gelephu
Day 12 - Gelephu to Siliguri
Day 13 - Silguri to Calcutta.

For more pictures please check my Facebook Album - Riding Through The Kingdom Of Happiness.

And we rode through happiness ....

One of the most beautiful rides of Bhutan. To Tiger's Nest monastery.

Ever since we made our motorbike trip to Ladakh and Kashmir, my buddy, Chris, had been itchy to do one too. After many months of planning we zeroed down on exploring our neighbouring country, Bhutan. It had been a long time since Chris and I did a trip by ourselves and wanted to spend some quality time with each other and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. Away from civilization, discussing life, travelling through unending roads, exploring a new land, meeting new people and just being ourselves.

In order to realize this trip we had to organize a few things, namely:

1. A Motorbike, a Royal Enfield. 
2. Indian citizenship papers for Chris as he was an Australian citizen with a PIO (person of Indian origin) card and that would mean that he'd have to pay USD 250 per day - which his wife would only agree to if he bought her a LV bag - every day. So pretty much out of question.

The bike we wanted was a newly launched Classic 350 with drop dead gorgeous retro looks and a smooth hassle free engine that would go for thousands of kilometers without a glitch. This motorbike has a 6 month long waiting list as they were handcrafted in Chennai and the company could only produce so many. Through my contacts in Calcutta - namely a trusty old mechanic called Salim bhai - I managed to get it within a couple of days. 

The second part was a little tricky and could only be realized after Chris had landed in Calcutta which he did a good 15 days before the trip. 

Together we made a trip to Calcutta Motor Vehicles department and saw a bunch of guys sitting outside selling forms. Upon inquiry we were told that getting a license, that too within a week, before the place closes for the Durga Puja holidays was almost an impossibility. Not ones to be daunted easily we tried every single person sitting there and finally came across a young seemingly inexperienced lad called Pappu. Pappu promised us that he'd get us the license provided we make a drama in front of all the others that Pappu was unable to get us the license on time or he'd have to share the booty with everyone. We agreed, as both Chris and I, love this kind of drama and were happy to do anything as long as we got Chris' drivers' license on time. Which we did after paying a hefty fee and displaying our theatrics.

Finally by the 4th of October we were ready to leave at the crack of dawn. But things were not meant to be smooth and Chris' wife, Suman, had a sudden gastric attack which brought our plans to a standstill. After nursing her all morning we were ready to leave in the afternoon. 

We had got ourselves Cramster saddlebags and tankbag which was enough together to hold our luggage for the next ten days. And also a good enough excuse to tell the others that we could not buy anything for anyone as we had no space left. I tell you these Cramster guys think of everything. By about 2 pm we left with good wishes and a heart brimming with excitement at what lay ahead for us. 

In all great trips the first thing that goes awry is the plan. And we were not expecting this to be any different and hence Chris and I had agreed that we will simply go ahead and let life throw at us whatever it did and see how me make the most of it. I made the mistake of consulting Google Maps for our road from Calcutta to our first halt, Jalpaiguri. Therefore instead of just taking us directly on NH34 it took us all the way around Shaktigarh (with it's delicious lenchas), Santiniketan and onwards to Behrampore. It's only when we touched NH34 did we realise why Google Maps had avoided this road. It was the worst road imaginable to mankind - the moon's surface would be an understatement. Let's just suffice to say that we were royally NH34'ed and were in the end quite sympathetic to the Gorkhaland agitators as we though that that one road was reason enough for them to demand a separate state. 

We reached Siliguri after 24 straight hours on the road, short sessions of shut-eye in two dhabas, severely sore butts and a badly beaten spirit. Upon reaching Siliguri we checked out the newly opened City Center there and ambled like zombies to lunch at the food court. After some refreshment we made our way to Chris' uncle who had invited us to stay at the tea garden that he worked at. Upon reaching the Danguajhar tea Garden we were greeted with the warmest Chinese family I've ever met. They had prepared hot water for our baths and a sumptuous dinner for our famished selves. That night we slept the most peaceful sleep in days as our broken backs had got exactly the kind of hospitality it needed. Never before did we know that we'd be so comforted by humanity. 

Early next morning we were up and ready to cross the border into Bhutan. After thanking our hosts with all our hearts we left for a wonderful ride crossing the Jaldapara forest on one side and wonderful tea gardens on the other. Upon reaching the border towns of Jaigaon on the Indian side and Phuentsholing on the Bhutan side we saw the difference between a poor but huge nation like ours and a small but well off nation like theirs. And having a small population seemed to make all the difference in their favour. We had to go through many formalities to get into Bhutan, formalities that included bureaucracy and bribing, but we didn't care as long as we got to get in and do our long awaited trip. 

By the time we were done it was already 2pm and we still had to make the long journey all the way up to Thimphu - which was a good 6 hours away. Some of the road between Phuentsholing and Thimphu was bad but we had been on NH34 and everything else seemed like a cakewalk to us - and we glided our way into Thimphu by nightfall. So far we had only been travelling and did not get a chance to stop, breathe and enjoy our holiday yet. And the problem was compounded with a tyre puncture but thankfully it happened just as we'd reached Norzin Lam - the main street of the capital city. We simply parked our bike and checked into a nearby hotel - a place which was almost brimming with other tourists from Bengal. We grabbed dinner from a Nepali restaurant nearby where young boys were drinking and watching a Bollywood movie and went back to hotel for the night. We had made our super hectic journey so far and were ready to be treated to the beauty of Bhutan from next morning onward. 

.... to be continued.