Hello, Local Guides, I m Kaushik Debbarma, Local Guide Level 8, from Agartala city, in Tripura, India.
To me the Local Guides program means something, very special. I just got familiar to Local Guides Program in 2017. Back then, people were not much aware. Like others , I just used to check maps about where to visit for tourist attractions, for delicious foods, for hangouts. It has been 3 years and many things have changed now. This program has brought the world much closer, be it anyone from anywhere around this world. Just by searching on the Google maps, we not only get information about the unknown place, but even videos and pictures too. And more than that, if a certain place is missing it can be added too with the approval of others. It gives information about the countries even which are less visited.
I mean I can even connect to Individual Guides with shared passions. We as local Guides help Google to collect informations, reviews, and pictures as much as accurate information and feedbacks about business in localities. And since we are awarded according to the contributions , so we get more reasons to keep posting on Google Maps.
This year we didnt go to any place for travel as the world has just started to the suffer the COVID19 pandemic. All our plans of trip has been postponed.
So I am sharing my trip to Bhutan of 2019. One thing to be kept in mind that if you plan for a Trip to Bhutan then you have to contact Travel Agents. They then arrange your trip by contacting the Bhutan Government Tourism.
First of all, to reach Bhutan, we took train from Agartala (Tripura) to Alipurduar (West Bengal).
So as planned, we left on the night of 20 April, 2019 at 10 pm. I was so much excited as for the first time, I ,including my family too, was travelling to a foreign nation.
At 12 noon, the train halted at Guwahati (Assam). So we had to wait for the next train. We took some lunch there, but the food was not that good. The station seemed busy with so many people.
Then we took a cab to Kamakhya Railway Station. Not much busy like the Guwahati Station. At 5 pm, we boarded the train. And the journey started. Just when we were passing through Bongaigaon Junction, I saw a large Oil Refinery which spanned nearly few kilometers – seemed like never going to end. And here and there, I spotted so many tea gardens, forests, few rivers which just amazed me.
By the night 10 pm, we reached New Alipurduar station. So we booked a hotel for the night stay. The next day, one man came – Kaushik Dutta. He is that person who planned and arranged our journey . He and his brother jointly owns the Indu Tour & Travels agency. And we were both surprised when we found we have the same name. And that’s ow we bonded. Kaushik da, as I called him, seemed very polite.
The city seemed very much similar to Agartala. Cars were less, and people were found to be less in number.
So, he took us to few tourist spots in Alipurduar – Sikia jhora, Rajabhat khawa Museum.
At the end of the day, we passed on a road through the Buxa Tiger Reserve, which is one of the biodiversity hotspots in India. The car stopped on a river bed, at that time of he month which was dry. The river’s name is Jayanti, it is just near to the surrounding hills of border of Bhutan. At evening we visited the Buxa Tiger Reserve, had a jungle safari only in the Buffer zone.
We took a shelter on the Wooden Cottage, just located at the bank of Jayanti. The local people warned us to be prepared for Elephant attacks, which is very frequent there.
The next day, on 23 April 2019, we had a long hike to Buxa Duar Fort. On the way, we met James Bhutia at the market. He was our guide for the Hike to Buxa Duar. And as we kept ascending,.we passed through so many homes of the local dwellers there. Mostly consisted of Nepali and Bhutanese. The lemon tea quenched our thirst as we kept ascending to the Buxa fort. It was used as prison to keep Netaji locked during the Colonial Rule in India. Then at afternoon, we descended back. The descent was not that tiring as the ascent. Since we were so much tired, we slept very earlier.
On 24 April 2019, we woke up earlier. I was just taking a stroll around the Jayanti River. The puppies followed me. I was thinking that I am going to miss those moments.
At 9 am, Kaushik da came and we left soon. It is 40 km to Jaigaon, and we passed though the tea gardens. Then reaching Jaigaon (end point of West Bengal), we took breakfast…
After that we headed to the Phuentsoling (Bhutan) Immigration Office. The moment I entered the gate of Bhutan, the stark contrast surprised me. Phuentsoling seemed to clean, and the traffic seemed to disciplined. Nobody broke the rules. After getting clearance from Immigration Office, we bought SIM cards from the shop. One thing remember that you would get any Bhutanese or Tibetan Handicrafts, items at a much cheaper price there in Jaigaon than the mainland Bhutan.
Our driver, Alam da then came. He would be our driver for the next few.days in Bhutan. We got inside car. And left at 2 pm. As we went on, we kept on ascending and the temperature dropped. It was so soothing than the Indian Summers. I noticed the vegetation seemed gradually kept on changing as we kept ascending.
Then at 7 pm, we reached Thimphu. The time zone was different. Bhutan seemed 30 min earlier than India. The hotel was booked earlier by our travel agents. That hotel served only Vegetarian Dishes, keeping in mind that Indian Citizens mostly stayed in that hotel. The owner who seemed to be in his 30s, was very polite. And the staffs working there were very generous and polite.
I thought for strolling nearby that hotel. As I was passing through the streets, I noticed the roads were so clean . Bhutanese citizens seemed quiet mostly. They don’t make noises, unlike us the Indians. My dad was talking about that Indian tourists who visited here were making more noises than the Locals.
I noticed there traditional attire also unique and equally beautiful, so well crafted. I asked one what they call their attire. And came to know that for Males, it is Gho and for Females, it is Kira. And you can buy those traditional clothes in Jaigaon at cheaper prices. People mostly wear the Gho and Kira all the time, since the temperature hardly goes beyond 15 degrees even at summer. From school kids to taxi drivers, from children to adult everyone seemed to be in Gho and Kira. That’s what I loved mostly about Bhutan, which also distinguished tourists and Bhutanese citizens.
Other than Bhutanese, Nepalese origin also stay there in few numbers. The citizens speak Dzongkhang, the national language of Bhutan.
In case, of you dont posses Ngultrum (Bhutanese currency) , it’s ok. Indian Currency (Rupees) and US Dollars are equally acceptable too.
When we sat down at the dine table,.food here seemed to be at skyrocketing prices. A bowl of rice seemed 100 Ngultrum. A plate of Egg Curry costs 300 Nu. One bowl of Daal costs 200 Nu. So we planned just to survive on Vegetarian dishes.
And I noticed, photos of The Royal Family of Bhutan, including His Highness Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk and Queen Jetsun Pema adorned the walls. Infact in every household, shops – everywhere you visit. Must be a sign to show their devotion, their respect to The Royal Family.
25 April 2019, the next morning, I got up early at 7am. So I left the hotel early. The whole city seemed asleep. The kids are heading to schools wearing Gho and Kira. That sight seemed so adorable. And after breakfast at 9 am, we soon left for the tourist spots. First we visited Memorial Chorten. It is a large monastery, white colored with a golden dome. The pilgrims encircled around the monastery. Many tourists seemed gathered there.
Next we headed to Buddha Dordenma. A ginormous statue of Lord Buddha is sitted on that point. And took many photos. The Buddha Dordenma is visible from anywhere in Thimphu. And when we descended, we had to climb down nearly 250 steps which seemed never ending. Just be careful!
Then next we headed to the Museum of Thimphu, which is the earlier shelter for the Bhutanese Royals centuries back. We noticed the food, the handicrafts, the culture seemed much similar to our Tripuri culture, yet many differences too.
Then we visited the Changangkha Lakhang which had so many Manis( Rotating wheels which are used for praying by Buddhists).
And it became evening by the time we reached hotel.
Next day, on 26 April 2019 we left the hotel, heading to Paro. It was the former capital of Bhutan.
We first got down at Dochula Memorial, which has 108 stupas built to commemorate the Bhutanese Soldiers, martyred during the war with Insurgent groups of India.
At 1 PM,.we reached Paro. On the way to the hotel, we got down on the shop to take some photos wearing the traditional attires. The women, ie the shopkeeper mistaking that we are Nepalis, spoke to us in Nepali language. And when she realised, we just laughed.
Next we got down at the Jeeva Hotel. The hotel staffs seemed hospitable and polite. They even spoke Hindi and English too.
At the evening when I reached the Paro Market, I entered to the Bhutanese & Tibetan Handicrafts Shop. The reason is the Saleswoman seemed to be a young girl of my age. And even she mistook me Nepali. She asked me in Nepali something which I didnt understand. But I really seemed to fall for the girl. Lol. A few seconds of attraction. I just kept asking the prices of those items and as I already told, the prices were too high. I liked the antique locks of various creatures like Fish, Frog, Lion, Owl etc. Others are the Tibetan bowl, the Praying wheel, Buddha Statue and many more. All these items are also found in Jaigaon at lower prices.
After few moments I left the shop and went to search for the Cinema Hall. But I found only Bhutanese movies are being played in those theatres. So I came back to the hotel.
Next day 27 April 2019, we went to Paro Taktsang, it is also called Tiger’s Lair Monastery. To reach the Monastery, you have to walk and climb through the valley so it is really tiresome. Better reach at Morning. Since we reached the point at noon, so we thought not to climb higher as it would be very late by the time we get down.
So we headed to the National Museum where you can get the information about Flora and Fauna of Bhutan. The Rhododendron is the National Flower of Bhutan. The Cordyceps also called as Himalayan Gold, has so many important medicinal properties.
After that we headed to Chelela Pass, the highest point in Bhutan. Standing there, Tibetan Mountains can be seen front Chelela. But luck didnt favor us, it started raining. So after few moments I started freezing, so got inside the car.
As we descended, we saw the Paro Aiport, the only airport of Bhutan from a point. Then we headed back to the hotel.
28 April 2019, after getting up, we started to pack up the things. When we were leaving we bid goodbye to the staffs. As we were heading back to Alipurduar (India), I kept thinking that I will never forget these few days that I experienced in Bhutan.
After we reached Jaigaon, everything felt like the earlier Indian situations. And we bought some Gho and Kira for ourselves at a very cheap price, which seemed really high cost in mainland Bhutan.
The same car honks, the people, and the bustle – just regular Indian things.
