Part B: The Vacation
(i) Planning:
January-February 2017 :
I am sure there are people out
there who love to travel solo, but travelling solo is not my first choice. I am
a gregarious person. Obviously there was something I wanted to prove- I
wanted to prove that I need nobody to do what I want to do! (I hear a bunch of
feminists cheering 'Yo Nari Shakti!')
In the meantime, frantic attempts were made to find
company. On the outside, I was parading my bravery and inside, I was a scared
rabbit!
The plan was to travel right across the country , that is enter from the West and exit from the East . I booked my tickets :
Goa to
Bagdogara ; and
return from Guwahati to Goa.
There are 3 possible routes to enter and exit
Bhutan. Out of which Jaigaon (West Bengal)/Phunshoeling (Bhutan) is the most
common choice. (*1)
One can also take a flight to Paro. There are
weekly flights from Delhi and Guwahati to Paro and I have heard that it's one
of the best flight experiences in the world as the runway is short and the
plane criss crosses across valleys in order to land. When I checked the flight
rates in January, the cost was Rs.20,000/- one way! So please remember to book well in advance.
By February end, I had spent several hours
researching websites and contacting people on Couchsurfers and Lonelyplanet to
see if there are any travellers I can befriend. I received a reply to one of my
requests on Bhutan Forum on LonelyPlanet one day. He introduced himself briefly
(what impressed me was his Title "Dr."). Dr. Amit is a post doctoral
researcher at JNU and a Bhutanese citizen. He asked if I needed any help or
information regarding Bhutan(*2). I thought " Here's my
chance to explore a country which is like no other in the world! It's the only
country which does not harp on economics, doesn't plunder it's natural
resources, where education and medical facilities are free!Wow! I wanted to learn everything about this land,
its cultural fabric, what they teach at school and in their homes? Can I stay
there longer? Can I settle there? Can I marry a Bhutanese?"
"I hope you are coming back" Asked my
senior a few days before my trip. He perhaps read my thoughts!
Concept: My mind is a football Court! With the football being my thought. Any influential person can kick the football whichever way he/she likes and I fly with the thoughts!
Amit and I started emailing regularly. We spoke on
myriad topics and discussed issues and what their possible solutions may be. Amit told me it was absolutely safe for a single woman traveller to travel in Bhutan. He put me in touch with his brother, Anup who runs a travelling company "Blissful Himalayan Tours & treks" (*3). He applied for an E-permit for me so I didn't have to stand in a queue at the border. He also suggested and offered to book hotels in advance as March to May is high season. I felt like Royalty! I imagined myself arriving at the Indo-Bhutan border, the guards would salute me and the gates would be opened and I would be escorted right to Thimphu!
Just then, my colleague Bhakti reported
"Ma'am, the AC is not working!" I suddenly realised I was the plumber,
the technician, electrician and everything else but Royalty! That's the
challenge of having your practice. You start off thinking you will do some
really sexy high end intelligent stuff and what you end up doing is - repair
the PC's & the office equipment -Printer, AC etc, train the staff and do
some primary filing work which nobody in the companies want to do!
Finally I booked a Hotel on Indian side of
Indo-Bhutan border (*4), just in case.
***********************************
Brief facts about Bhutan:
1. Indians need a permit to travel in Bhutan.
Please carry your Passport and Election card to apply for this permit. At the
border you are required to fill out an application, stick your photo and your
documents, answer a couple of questions and get permission to visit Paro and
Thimphu. Remember that you have permission only to visit Paro and Thimphu and
no other place. If you want to visit other places, you must go to Thimphu
Immigration office and apply and extend your permit. The procedure is simple,
people at the immigration are friendly and patient and warm ( Just like the
rest of them throughout Bhutan). There are check-posts and you are required to
show your permit and get it stamped by the authorities. Do not act smart and
wander in areas you do not have a permit for. Laws in Bhutan are respected;
it's not like how it is in India.
2. Your travel agent can apply for an E-Permit for
you which is done online. But if you have an E-permit, your agent needs to be
present with you at the time of the interview at the border.
23th March
9.15 pm Hasimara Station
Infants on the flight , on the bus and on the train
had wrecked havoc on my sleep deprived brain. Infants should be put on a
separate plane/ compartment. Sometimes I don’t understand who is a bigger
nuisance? The screaming parent or the child? On top of that the train arrived
late at Hasimara!
The sun sets
early and rises early in the east. When travelling solo, I always make it a
point to either travel the whole night and arrive early in the morning or
arrive at my destination before sun set. But then, there are these days……..The
station was empty. I remembered Jab We Met scene when the Station Master
lectures Kareena, “Akeli Ladki khuli tijori ki tarah hoti hai.” I ignored the
gush of negative thoughts and went to the office and enquired about transport
facilities to Jaigaon. A police man informed that there were shared taxi’s
at the end of the platform and he told me to hurry, “Beta yahan dus baje ke
baad kuch nahi milta!”
Thankfully I found a group of ladies and rode to
Jaigaon with them.
When I got to the Hotel and checked in, I sat thinking
‘I wasn’t worried about my safety in a neighboring country even before I got
there. But I was worried while I was in India till I got to the hotel! I couldn’t
trust my motherland's streets and people. In all my travels thus far, I haven’t
faced any safety related issue. I have travelled by local trains, shared taxi’s
and hitched rides. Nobody was nasty to me. It brings me to a conclusion again:
that Indian men are not rapists. Women, please trust them. They are here to
help! Seriously! I know that the faith won’t build overnight. So put it to test
and you will know. I am against taking un-needed risks, so I don’t venture out
at nights neither do I wear skimpy clothes. All said and done, India has a
particular mindset and a culture, respect that and it will respect you back.
When travelling solo, it is no time to challenge norms.
24th
March
Entering
Bhutan
The Indo-Bhutan gate was right across the hotel at
a walking distance. Bhutan Standard Time is half an hour ahead of IST. The Immigration
office is a 2 minute walk from the Gates and opens at 9 am BST. The earlier you
go to the office the better it is. (*5)
In my full josh, I crossed over the border/gates by
foot only to be stopped by a police man and was sent back to India! You can
enter through the gate only if you are in a car. Otherwise you have to walk
through a smaller gate at the sides. I did that, and was back in full josh walking
towards Immigration office when I heard the same police man whistling and
running towards me. I was confused! Now what?
“Madam, Indian?” He asked.
“Yes yes.”
“Thought so. Do you see those lines on the road?”
He pointed at the zebra lines.
“They are called zebra lines sir.” I answered
dutifully.
“Oh! So you know. So you walk on them if you want
to cross the road. Understand? Why are you running across where there are no
zebra lines? Welcome to Bhutan! Follow traffic rules! Walk on zebra lines…Understand?”
Lesson No.1 : Walk on zebra lines.
If you have an E-Permit , you need to go to the
Embassy office and not the Immigration office. They are close by. At the
Immigration office, there were Indians everywhere screaming and calling out to
each other. I couldn’t see where the queues began and where they ended.
When I showed my E-permit, the officials asked for
my travel agent. “Why isn’t your travel agent accompanying you?” I am used to dealing
with Indian authorities, so I smile and use my wit to get things done my way.
But it doesn’t work in Bhutan. “Madam, you will have to apply for the regular
permit then. We will cancel your E-permit!”
I had to go back to the Immigration. But
fortunately, I met another Goan there. He spoke to the authorities and asked whether
they can help me since there is some miscommunication with the travel agent.
They sent my application to one Madam Kama. She interviewed me briefly and
consented to the application. I was asked to go to the Visa/Embassy office
again. A short interview and a stamp on my passport later, I was done!
The ride from Phunshoeling to Thimphu was smooth ( in other words 'uneventful' in comparison to the rest of my vacation),
filled with pretty scenery and peace. Isn’t that what we come to Bhutan for?
By the time I got to Thimphu it was 7.30 pm. I
found a hotel (*6), right across the Town square and crashed for the night.
25th
March
Thimphu:
10 am : Ambient Café
Ambient café is this warm, comfortable café on the
first floor from the main street across the clock square. There is nothing like
having a good breakfast and I was starving as I had skipped my dinner the
previous night. I took a corner seat to sip a cup of hot chocolate. I realised there
were 2 young Indians at the table next to me, they were speaking in Hindi and
planning their trip to Paro.
Bhutan or any other place is expensive if you want
to do it absolutely solo, and I was on a budget trip. I knew I had to make friends.
Actually I had met a group of Gujju mid aged ladies in my hotel and they had
offered me to join them if I liked. They had also inquired why I wasn't still married! I was absolutely clear that I was not going
to blow up my vacation with boring company. I would rather do the whole trip
alone!
 |
| What I loved about Bhutan is that everyone loves cats! A lady walked into Ambient Cafe with her injured cat who she had taken to the vet. She placed her on the table, someone at the cafe gave her some cat food, and this monk inquired ," How you feelin' kitty?" |
I looked at the boys and smiled, “Hi! Are you guys planning
to go to Paro?”
“Yes..actually
we want to do the Druk Path trek from Thimphu to Paro. You want to join?”
The guys seem to be friendly.
“ I would love to. But I want to do some sight
seeing in Thimphu first.” I tell them.
“ Yes , we are doing Thimphu sight seeing today, We
have another friend with us, he is gone to get a taxi.”
“So can I join? ”I ask.
Ruben looks at Ishaan for a while, “Sure! Why not? I
am Ruben by the way, and this is my friend Ishaan!”.
I was proud of scoring the company of two handsome
men. Finally my solo trip was looking promising! Ruben has this big open smile,
you know it the moment you meet him that the guy is chilled out. Ishaan comes
across as this classy, sophisticated , uptown guy and I was not sure how to
approach his highness!
We finished our coffees and breakfasts,
Ruben got a call from his friend and we set out on our Thimphu Sight seeing tour.
The taxi was parked at the corner of the road and
just when I was about to open the door, a man stopped me with his deep voice, “This
taxi is taken.”
I was puzzled and looked back at Ruben.
“Arre yeh hamare saath ayengi!”, Ruben told his
friend.
“I thought this was a boy’s trip! Where’s the bro
code fellas?”, The stranger didn’t look very pleased. He was tall, with curly
hair and strong arms.
“And you are?” I dared to ask for his name.
“He doesn’t have a name!”, Ishaan finally spoke. He
is cute, this Ishaan.
“What’s your name?” The stranger asked me.
“Janaki”.
“Well then ,I am maryada Purushottam Ram! You can
call me MRP – short form!”
I looked at Ruben, he gave me this big smile which
said, “Take it or leave it, your choice.” Ishaan was busy with his mobile. I
thought for a second and got inside the taxi.
The first place we visited was the Buddha Point. When I got a bit comfortable with the boys, I told MRP," Maryada Purushottam Ram is MPR not MRP."
He looked at me for a while, smiled and said,"Don't act too smart with me! Understand?"
He looked at me for a while, smiled and said,"Don't act too smart with me! Understand?"
In the next episode: Thimphu Night life and Paro!
_______________________________________________________
* 1: Bagdogara Airport opens doors to many wonderful Himalayan beauties. It is approximately 5 hours drive to Jaigaon ( The Border town).
Airport to Siliguri Railway Station- is a 30 mins drive.They charge approx Rs.150/- per head for this trip on sharing basis
There is a 4.45 pm local Train from Siliguri which is scheduled to arrive at Hasimara ( 30 mins drive to Jaigaon)- Rs. 60/- ( The
train journey is enjoyable. Every five minutes the view changes from tea
estates to forests to grasslands to dried rivers to mountains. I spotted a herd
of elephants and peacocks, everyone in the train was glued to their windows.)
Hasimara is again 30 mins drive to Jaigaon. (Rs.40/- per head ,shared Taxi)
*2 : A list of all important contacts, taxi
drivers, hotels and their rate card will be shared on my last post. But sorry,
Dr. Amit’s number will not be shared! ;-)
*3 : Blissful Himalayan Tours & treks: Anup
Jaishi: anup.jaishi@gmail.com ;Mob: +975 77319956
http://www.tourism.gov.bt/directory/tour-operator/blissful-himalayan-tours-and-treks
*3: Hotel Satyam : +91 8116233392;
hotelsatyamjaigaon@gmail.com : The hotel is 2 minutes walk from the border
gates. A single room costs approx rs.750/-. The staff is very helpful and
trustworthy. Food is good. The place is clean.
*4 : Haa Valley –Bhutan: haavalleyhomestay@gmail.com.
Also check: http://www.tourism.gov.bt/plan/home-stay
*5 : The Immigration office is open from 9 am till
5pm, Monday to Friday. If you reach the Immigration at 4.30 pm on a Friday, you
may get stuck in the queue and may not be able to cross over. So get to the
office early.
In case you are stuck and can’t get through to
Bhutan. You will have to pass your time in Phunshoeling. Indians are allowed to
roam around in Bhutan till 15 kms from the border, then the check posts start.
*6 : Hotel Gazel: (00975)-2324002; 17248826 ghaselhotel@gmail.com. FB:ghaselhotel
Please note: This is a Vacation story, not just a travel blog. For me, there is no traveling if there are no stories.
Please note: This is a Vacation story, not just a travel blog. For me, there is no traveling if there are no stories.
