I and my friend planned a trip to bhutan in budget in the month of July.We started our trip from Bihar and took a bus to West Bengal and reached Jaigoan,West Bengal. The small town is situated near bhutan border. We stayed there for a night at hotel Satyam for 1 night in 900INR, The food of the hotel is just YUM in a very reasonable price.The quality and quantity of the food was amazing. The next morning was Day 1 for our trip where in we left the hotel for visa and permissions in the morning. We went to the office and they ask our itinerary details as well as our hotel bookings. We have hold booking of the hotel and they checked it and approved for the same. A voter ID is enough to visit Bhutan. However, I would advise to carry any other ID proof apart from voter ID. The visa staff asked us the reason of travel, we mentioned that we are traveling as a tourist and will be back in 6-7 days. The staff told us "Make sure you don't do any illegal stuff in our country". We smiled and said sure sir we will take care of the same. I and my friend was send to visa processing room where our photos and finger print were captured. It took around 1 hour for the process to complete. In the visa office, we got the SIM Bhutan Telecom in 350INR where we got talktime of 100 INR and few gb of internet data. After getting all the permission, we head back towards our hotel and checked out from the hotel and proceed towards the bus stand to get the bus. We faced alot of problem in getting the buses as buses are prebooked 2-3 days back of your travel and we are getting a bus of 14:00hrs in the afternoon which will reach Thimphu near around 22:30 hrs in the evening costing around 300INR per person. We got luck and negotiated with a taxi driver who took 550 INR for Thimphu in a Van. The price of taxi is fixed to 750INR per person for Thimphu as well as Paro. We booked the cab on sharing basis and reached Thimphu near around 21:30hrs in the evening. After reaching bhutan we booked a hotel on spot at 900INR per day. We had our dinner and went to sleep for the day.
Its day 2 for our trip in Bhutan. We woke up in the morning, had breakfast and went out to explore the capital of bhutan Thimphu. We went to the post office of bhutan where you can get our 8 image stamp printed in 500INR. We headed over to Royal Takin Preserve.The takin is the national animal of Bhutan. The ticket cost 100 INR per person to visit the Preserve. Though there was not much things to do, however the place was very peaceful and we spend around 1-2 hrs . We also found a seating area with tree cutting which was amazing. The view of the Thimphu city was amazing from the Preserve. We then headed back to our hotel and met with a cab driver who took 300INR for our hotel. He asked us about our day plan and offered us a day out cab plan wherein he will cover every place of bhutan under 2500INR. As it was a budget trip, we decided not to opt for this offer. We went to the bus stand and started looking for cab options in the city to explore the city. After 1-2hrs, we got a deal for 1500INR for the sightseeing of the whole city. The cab was with us for 4-5 hrs where in we explored museum,Tashichho Dzong,Buddha Dordenma,Folk Heritage Museum Kawajangsa,National Memorial Chhorten,Sangaygang View Point and alot more. We paid for museum of 50INR.The places were close to each other but the cab driver was very much co-operative and allowed us as much time to visit the place. We were done visiting all the places around 18:30hrs. We then visited the local cafes in bhutan and ordered Burger with coke costed around 120INR per person. Thimphu as a city is a very happening place in itself. We took some awesome photos and Amazing timelapse and went back to our hotel.
It's Day 3, We checked out of our Hotel and booked a shared cab to paro for 200INR per person. It was a wagon R and we were only 2 so we have to wait for 2 more passenger which took around 2 hrs and then we left for Paro,Bhutan. We reached our hotel at paro near around 13:00hrs. The name of the Hotel was Hotel KK which costed us 1200INR per room per night. We had our lunch at the hotel itself which costed us around 100INR per person. We then went out to explore the city paro by walk. Paro is a small city which can be easily explored by walk.We explored the city in 5-6 hrs and back to our hotel. We visited Paro Dzong,View point of paro, Spotting aircraft and many more thing. We talked to the locals about Archery in Bhutan,It is the national sport of the Kingdom and was declared the national sport in 1971. At the end of the day, we went to the ATM in bhutan to take out cash as we were having less cash in our pocket. We went to many ATM but did'nt worked out. Our ATM cards was not International transactions at that moment due to which we have to return to Phuentsholing the next day.
It's day 4 and we are all set to get back to our home country. We took a cab in 200INR Thimphu, however the cab driver told that he will leave us at the point where the roads divide for Thimphu and Paro. We reached the place and after 2 hrs ,we got a lift where the person charges us 600INR per person for Phuentsholing. We agreed on the deal and reached by 16:00hrs. We went to the ATM in India and took some cash. We paid to the person 1200INR and went to Hotel Satyam for a day. We explore the city well phuentsholing and rested all night.
Day 5 -We woke up early morning and took auto to Hasimara Railway station to catch our train to Patna, Bihar. We reached Patna,Bihar in the evening near about 22:00hrs. The auto took 30 INR per person one way to reach Hasimara railway station and vice versa. It was a Amazing trip to such a beautiful country.
Suggestion from our Trip-
1)Try to plan the trip with group of 4 people as it saves alot of time and money as well.
2) Try to book hotel onspot as it will save alot of money. There are hotel in bhutan which are not registered in any OTA(Other Travel Agent) Platform and also they are cheap and can cost you around 1000INR per room per night.
3)Make sure to carry enough cash,some ATM in that location doesn't work which can lead your trip a bit trouble.
4)Buy the SIM from outside the Visa office as it will save up 150INR. Tashicell is the service provider which is best as well as cheap to use for 7 days trip.
5)Carry some homemade snacks-If you are a vegetarian, try to carry some home made snacks as it will help you to spend less on food while you are traveling. Also getting a good veg food in Bhutan is bit difficult.
Currency is Bhutan is equal to Indian Rupees. Nu is the curreny in Bhutan whereas Rs is the currency in India.
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