Bhutan November 2017

November 2017
A short but fine adventure by Lifes a beautiful journey
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  • Day 1

    The land of happiness ~ Bhutan

    November 19, 2017 in Bhutan ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    One fine Saturday Morning,
    1. Early 4 am we ( Parth, Paras me, Kaush n Md ) set out and drove down from Vapi to Mumbai on our endeavour to find and increase our happiness index by visiting Bhutan which is a richly overflowing mountainous nation in its GNH. The drive at the dawn was smooth n swift in the 2 innovas ~ thanks to Parth.

    2. We were joined by the one who had planned and organised this whole experience for us very beautifully and comfortably ensuring the best experience throughout ~ Kalpit Oza !!, and Mitali, Jatin n Priyanka at the Mumbai Airport from where

    3. We excitedly checked in and caught a 3 hrs flight from Mumbai by Jet Airways. A lil worried about our luggage weight exceeding the meager 15 kgs allowed for the 14 days of woollens n jackets, we managed getting the emergency exit comfy seats.
    Although i didnt get a window seat, but with the view of a tall, handsome, well built, model type dude seated next to me on one side n my cute hero husband on the other, it was an interesting start to the happy trip already ;-)

    4. We got off at Bagdogra (W. Bengal) and then drove to Phuentsholing ( Bhutan ) which is about a 6 hrs drive therefrom.

    The sight of the Himalayan peaks from the air n spotting them just behind the clouds was a "not 2 b missed view" !!

    The drive was nice with views of lovely tea gardens all around ( though many chose to have a good sleep ) and with our tea and snacks stops at places which already started giving us the Bhutanese taste and feel with fotos of the Royal family of the King of Bhutan hung on its walls.

    5. Checked into the Park hotel in the evening ( 6 pm in Bhutan looks like 9 pm in India ),
    Welcomed by our very interesting tour guide - Mr. Karma,
    Got our entry permits quickly - Thanks to Kalpit again for the doing the initial process online which saved our half day waiting in ques for getting them.

    Adored the sudden change in cleanliness on the "no horns ever" roads, had ice creams (our non stop eating spree starts here :-D) we were served a good Veg Indian dinner at the Park and the staple Bhutanese dessert - Fruit Cocktail ( which was ok here, but amazing at next hotels we were about to visit )

    Oh not to forget, we collected something which were our everyday 6-8 pm partners ~ Raven , Druk Supreme, Druk 11000, 15000 and Zumzin and K5 😎🍹🍻🍺🍸😉

    And finally we had a good night sleep with the start of actual Bhutan waiting for us the next day.

    Fun moment of the day : mentioned in the comment bar in one of the photos here
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  • Day 2

    To Thimphu

    November 20, 2017 in Bhutan ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    From today, we get our nice floral bus with the heater inside which does not let us realise how cold it is getting outside untill we open the windows..

    Mr. Rabten our bus driver takes us trough the mountains and rivers carrying us from Phuentsholing to the capital city - Thimphu

    On our way we were awe struck with "wow moments" enjoying the beautiful views of cloud kissing mountains, city embracing valleys, peacefully flowing rivers ( which they call "chuu" , clear blue skies, gushing waterfalls and lush greens everywhere making the air so pure to breathe ~ Imagine a country being carbon negative !! We had our 14 days of purity, serenity, peace, fun and happiness :)

    We halted for lunch and tried some hands on Bhutanese Thukpa ( some soupy noodles with minty herbs which we found too bland and wierd but Jatin seemed to like it )

    Finally reached our hotel on the outskirts of Thimphu city - Wangchuk Taba where Sonam and Jimmy greeted us.
    The temperature had fallen to 15 ° in the evening and we were provided with bon fire in their open lounge and also shawls ! We gathered to get some warmth and our K5 sessions began :)

    Again we had a good Indian Dinner - Red Rice, Chapatis, Potatoe and Mix vegetables and dessert by about 8 pm.
    Adding To our health besides breathing pure air, we also had early meals as Bhutan winds up early.
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  • Day 3

    Budha Dordenma & Simply Bhutan

    November 21, 2017 in India ⋅ ⛅ 34 °C

    Today we are geared up for some sight seeing around the capital city. We leave after a good breakfast of
    Aloo paratha, toasts, watermelons, omlets etc by 9

    The Buddha statue built with the assistance n sponsorship from China and Hongkong is a 169 m huge beautiful golden structure which is visible from everywhere in Thimphu reminding of the serenity and his teachings to everyone who sees it even from far distances.

    We learned about Zhapdrung, Guru Rimpoche, Buddha , The monks, chief abotts, their history, culture etc in the Kuensel phodrang.

    We then proceeded for Simply Bhutan where we also decided to try Bhutanese food !

    We were welcomed with the local alcoholic beverage called the Ara which we all enjoyed.

    Simply Bhutan is a wonderful place to learn about Bhutan, it has the best Bhutanese meal (for an experience) and is the best place to have photos in national dress of Bhutan (Gho for gentlemen and Kira for ladies). We also tried hands on archery (a small archery place in the campus of Simply Bhutan).
    Post lunch, we visited the market, relaxed, had some good exotic coffees, and drinks (the best cafes and bars are only in Thimphu) near the clock tower. The place we come accross each day.
    One can also visit the professional archery ground at Thimphu. It was amazing to see the players taking shots from distance of greater than 100 meters !! It is an enjoyable game to watch if you are in a group.

    We got back to the hotel and Bhutanese cultural dance show was waiting for us. Its interesting to watch them if u understand the story, culture, history related to them.

    Pending :- A beter pic in gho n kira, ara pic , better grup pic at Buddha , buddha from far , professional archery pic
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