Bhutan, happiness is really a place!

The India-Bhutan border is separated by the Bhutan Gate with Jaigaon and Phuentsholing on either sides respectively. The bus left us at Jaigaon from where we took an auto to the Bhutan gate which was at a distance of about 2 kms. The moment we reached the other side of the Gate, we could feel the difference... We had entered a no honking and a no smoking country :)

Zen Restaurant and Kizom Cafe are good places to eat; both of them are next to each other. Try the carrot cakes and cheese momos here. We also tried some local wines - Takein and Zumzin (peach wine). Zumzin is really good if you want to try something different.

There are very few places to see around in Phuentsholing and all of them are about walking distances from each other. We visited the Zangto Pelri Lhakhang which lies in the centre of Phuentsholing, right opposite to Zen or Kizom Cafe.

We didn't have enough time to visit the other places in Phuentsholing i.e. Karbandi Monastry and Amo Chhu Crocodile Breeding Centre, since our permit took a lot of time due to missing documents. So we decided to visit these while returning back from the trip.

We reached the bus stop with our luggage by 1:45 pm after lunch and soon left for Thimphu. It is a 165 km ride and takes about 5 hours due to winding roads, but it is an amazing drive with mountains and valleys on all sides. Temperature began to fall as we moved closer to Thimphu since it is located 2,334 m above sea level.

Expecting a dull Monday night we walked to Mojo Park, a famous pub in Thimphu, about 12 min walk from our hotel. To our surprise, the place was full with foreigners and had a live band playing for the night. It played some Bollywood songs too on request :) It is a great place to spend late evenings in Thimphu as it is open until midnight except Tuesdays (since Tuesdays are dry days), offers great food - try Koka here and has live band performing almost each day. Other pubs here are Viva City and Space 34.

Ambient Cafe is a perfect place for breakfast. It has a lively ambience and awesome food.

We had been seeing the gigantic Buddha statue in the mountains since the day we reached Thimphu. So we decided to visit that before anything else and took a taxi from outside our hotel to the Buddha Point for Rs. 250. It is a massive, 51m-tall steel statue of Buddha Dordenma and looks best in morning light when it is illuminated. This point also has a great view of the Thimphu Valley.

We took another taxi from Buddha Point to the Memorial Chorten for Rs. 100. Chorten literally means ‘Seat of Faith’. The Chorten is an extraordinary example of Buddhist architecture and artwork with its gorgeous paintings and intricate sculptures.

We then headed to Simply Bhutan (10 min walk from Chorten), a living museum that gives a good guided introduction to various aspects of Bhutanese traditional life. We even tried the Bhutanese national dress Kira here.

We took a cab to Tashichho Dzong (Thimpu Dzong) for Rs. 100. It is the venue of the famous Buddhist religious celebrations in Thimphu and is set on the banks of a river.

Entry fee: Rs. 300 per head

We spent the rest of the day at local markets looking at beautiful handicraft items, sitting by the clock tower and enjoying the chilly weather.

En route Punakha, we stopped at Dochula Pass for breakfast. Dochula Pass has a stunning view of snow-clad Himalayan peaks including Mt. Masanggang, the highest peak in Bhutan on one side and includes 108 stupas or chortens on the other.

Punakha Dzong is one of the most historic dzongs in the whole country and served as the capital of Bhutan until 1955. It is located at the confluence of the Pho Chhu (Male) and Mo Chhu (Female) rivers. This is the site where various religious events, festivals, King's marriage ceremony and coronation are celebrated.

It has an Entry fee of Rs. 300 which is totally worth it since you will be provided with a guide to help you visit the huge Dzong.

This is the longest suspension bridge in Bhutan and has its unique beauty and you can feel the wind as the prayer flags flutter on the sides of the bridge. It provides an excellent place for photo-shooting with both male and female rivers beneath and mountains on all sides.

Next was the most exciting part of the day - River Rafting. Rafting could be organized in both male and female rivers; while the female river is calm and gentle, male river is powerful with more rapids.

Generally they charge Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 8,000 per raft for male and female river respectively. We managed to bargain for the male river rafting at Rs. 8k. We found two more people, so it cost us 2k per person.

We headed to our next destination Paro, about 55 km from Thimphu. We booked a cab for Rs. 800 and reached Paro by 11 am.

There are a lot of cafes in Paro market - Champaca Cafe, Mountain Cafe, Brioche Cafe. Carrot cakes are a must anywhere in Bhutan. Other places to eat - Authentic Pizza.

We walked along the banks of the river Paro Chuu to visit the Rinpung Dzong and a museum close to it. It is just on the banks of the river and has a walk of about 15 min uphill from where one can get mesmerizing view of the entire city - Paro.

Dzong timings - Until 4pm in winters

We spent the rest of the evening chilling on the banks of the river just outside the Rinpung Dzong.

Tiger's nest or Taktsang, probably the most sacred place of Bhutan is located in the cliffside of the upper Paro valley, about 12 km from Paro market. Cabs take around Rs.600 for the round trip from hotel to the base point.

Once you drive up to the base of the mountain to embark upon the journey to Tiger’s Nest, the climb seems very daunting - to the naked eye, all one sees is a tiny white spot on the side of the mountain – about 3000ft up vertically. With every curve of the mountain, via the winding road, the air gets thinner and the climb more rigorous. But as Lord Buddha said, it is the journey that you need to keep in mind and not the destination. It took us about 3.5 hours uphill. The descent to the base was not much easier considering that it is just a beaten path and a fairly steep incline. The entire experience was unforgettable.

Things to keep in mind for Tiger's nest trek:

1. Get your tickets to the temple from the base point itself (costs Rs. 500 per head) as you cannot avail it from anywhere else once you leave the base.

2. Carry enough water and juices as there is nothing other than a Cafe throughout the trek.

3. Carry enough food as there is just one Cafe located midway of the trek and serves food only at lunch hours from 12 noon - 3 pm.

We spent the evening at Tshetob Ying Yum Spa and Massage to relax ourselves from the strenuous trek.

We visited the Crocodile zoo or Amo Chhu Crocodile Breeding Centre at Phuentsholing; it was a 10 min walk from the city bus stop and our hotel Bhutan Residence.

Entry fee: Rs. 100 per head

The cab picked us from the hotel early morning at 6:30 am and reached the airport within 4 hours.