Trip report: Bhutan 27-31 October 2008

Thanks to all the others who%26#39;ve posted trip reports in the past! I feel I should do my bit.

Family of 4 from UK: kids are 12 and 10. Only planning 4 nights in Bhutan with a few afterwards in India.

We travelled via Kolkata and arrived there late on the evening of 25-Oct via Lufthansa. As an aside, on arrival at the Hyatt wwe bumped into the Captain in the lift and asked if he%26#39;d been to Kolkata before. He replied that he hadn%26#39;t but as they flew back the next day he wouldn%26#39;t have time for a look around. A couple of days later I read that the flight back to Frankfurt attempted to take off on the taxiway with work in progress so maybe he didn%26#39;t sleep too well.

27-Oct we at Kolkata airport nice and early for the 0840 departure to Paro. I wasn%26#39;t overly confident that the incessant rain was conducive to flying down Himalayan valleys, but once through to the departure lounge was pleased to see the Druk Air A319 on the apron.

I was amused to see one tour group agitating about the free seating and they were lining up at the gate with at least 40mins to go to departure time. I guess the lure of window seats was the reason for this but I assumed that as the plane had started the day in Bangkok they%26#39;d all be taken anyway.

As it happened, the flight was delayed awaiting weather improvement in Paro. We spent all day in the departure lounge at Kolkata and then at 1530 the flight was cancelled. The local Druk Air rep deserves a gold star for staying in the lounge throughout chatting with the passengers and providing updates and food/drink. We were eventually put on coaches and went to the HHI Hotel in downtown Kolkata without all our luggage which stayed on the plane. There were a few minor grumbles from fellow passengers regarding lack of clean underwear....personally, living in the land of Ryanair, I was delighted to be given food and drink and a hotel for the night so lack of pants wasn%26#39;t an issue for me!

28-Oct we were taken by coach at 0330 back to the airport and we departed at around 0630 for Paro. An uneventful flight; interestingly, a red carpet was unrolled for one of the princesses who had been in Business Class on the flight.

In baggage claim we were met by our guide, Rinzin. When originally planning the trip, I%26#39;d emailed several tour operators with our vague plan and although most replied, we picked Bhutan Scenic Tours simply because the reply from Tshering the owner was personalised and referred to the kids%26#39; needs as well as ours. The promise of a new van and driver for our family alone seemed great, which it turned out to be (on a trip 10 years ago I recall being squeezed in a Landcruiser with all seats take.

As we%26#39;d lost 1 night due to the weather, Rinzin chatted to us as we had to decide what we really wanted to do for the remaining 3 nights. As my wife and kids had not been to Bhutan before we agreed to go with the flow and see what grabbed us within reason. We did decide that a 3 hour drive each way to Punakha wasn%26#39;t a good idea especially as the Dzong was closed to visitors because of the upcoming coronation.

So we set off for Thimphu, had breakfast on arrival, visited some of the museums and sights and stayed at the Riverview Hotel. I won%26#39;t describe all the sights here but thinking back, we did seem to have done a lot in a day! After lunch, Rinzin was getting the measure of us and our interests so the plan for the next couple of days became clearer. We asked if we could watch some archery and spent an enjoyable hour or so in Thimphu watching the competition down by the river. Two of the princes were in teams, so in one day we%26#39;d seen more princes and princesses than I%26#39;ll probably ever see in my lifetime here in the UK.

At the Riverview we had two adjacent rooms, high up with a view over the town. The rooms were fine and the 4 of us having been shoe-horned into one room in Kolkata the previous night it was positively luxurious and we set about showering and drying all the wet Kolkata stuff in our bags on the heaters as this was the first time we%26#39;d had access to our suitcases in 2 days. Food was quite acceptable, no complaints at all; the main comment on the restaurant was the presence of a famous English actress who was presumably on a tour.

29-Oct we%26#39;d asked to go to Dochu pass for a view of the Himalayas so spent some of the morning there. We also asked to have some photos taken with marijuana plants that grow wild (but I hadn%26#39;t seen any thus far), walk across a rope bridge, have some time wandering/people watching in Thimphu and eat red rice and some authentic ema datse. We departed back to Paro in the afternoon, did the National Museum and stumbled upon a ceremony of sorts in progress in the town square so asked to spend and hour or so there. All was great until a Swiss band (oompah-loompah type music) appeared which was no doubt lovely for the locals but we took our leave and went off poking around the back streets.

We stayed at the Olathang Hotel for 2 nights and found it very quaint. We were given a two room cottage in the grounds which we loved...it was clean and comfortable; no complaints from us but you could say that it had seen better days if used to Marriott or Hyatt style facilities.

This evening Rinzin collected us and took us off to the Red Rice restaurant which I believe is run by a local farmer. Here we ate far too much ema datse plus momos, yak meat and various other dishes; all very nice!

30-Oct was our Tiger%26#39;s Nest day. Breakfast at the hotel was OK although someone on another table was getting quite stressy with the staff regarding the food. I can only assume that others expect higher standards than us; if our 10 and 12 year olds were happy, I suggest most adults should be.

Others have described the Tigers Nest climb accurately. We loved it although I think the kids would have been less willing if they were asked to do it again! Afterwards we went to Drukyel Dzong and Paro Dzong before dinner in the hotel, filled in the customer comments form from the tour company and slept soundly.

31-Oct was departure day; we said our goodbyes, thanked Tshering and the team for a great few days and flew back to Kolkata. The Druk Air station manager greeted us with a handshake (never had that before) as he escorted us from plane to terminal and that%26#39;s where the fun began with a debate with immigration as we had double entry Indian visas but it appeared that we%26#39;d already entered twice - the cancelled flight on the outbound leg - and then when we%26#39;d sorted that out, the Inidan Airlines flight we were booked on had been %26#39;schedule changed%26#39;. By 24 hours, with no email/phone call, nothing. But that%26#39;s a different part of the holiday....

In summary, given that any planned intinerary was messed up by the loss of a night in Bhutan, the whole trip %26#39;felt%26#39; great. We visited sights in what seemed the right order, giving all of us background to Bhutan before building on it with an appropriate level of culture; it wasn%26#39;t %26#39;death by monasteries%26#39; at all.

It was only after we were back in India did we even think to mention that a no stage had we felt like Rinzin the guide (or Karma the driver) were too intrusive or inattentive. They pitched it just right, responded to every daft request that we made, so credit both to them and to Bhutan Scenic Tours as my expectations were far exceeded. I%26#39;m sure most of you who have done tours will understand what I mean; there%26#39;s usually something irritating, be it the guide, driver or fellow tourists. For our short trip, there was absolutely none of this and having a guide/van all to ourselves was great!

If anyone out there is thinking of visiting Bhutan for the first time - I doubt it if you%26#39;ve got this far as most of you will be going or have been - go! It%26#39;s really beautiful, you%26#39;ll have a great time in a land where you don%26#39;t get hassled, ripped off or taken to %26#39;my brother in law%26#39;s gift shop%26#39;. The only downside is the feeling that by visiting you are very slightly changing the place into something more akin to the rest of the world and somehow spoiling the things which are the very reason for visiting.

But once comfortable with the notion that you cannot reverse progress and accept that internet, TV and mobile phones are here to stay....you%26#39;ll love it.

10/10: we%26#39;ll be back one day.

Ian Metson

Winchester, UK

Trip report: Bhutan 27-31 October 2008

Spong:

Excellent report! We were in Bumthang on the 27th in the rain and our guide told us about the plane not making it in. I%26#39;m glad you were able to get to the Doncha Pass and the Tiger Temple. In true ';Brit Tradition'; you made the best out of an unfavorable situation!!

Trip report: Bhutan 27-31 October 2008

Really enjoyed your report-so sorry the weather was not brilliant-I think our 6 days of wall to wall sunshine the previous week was the quota for the year.

Great report ;)

I%26#39;m thinking of going there next year for a week , alone, so really appreciate the overview :)