BPD: Life in Bhutan: An exec summary!

(BPD: Life in Bhutan: An executive summary!, 26 Apr -1 Jun '15)

After my stay in Bhutan over the past week, here is what I've gathered about the country. Understandably, this is based on first hand experiences at Thimphu and Paro, but also based on interactions with locals travelling from other parts of the country, and based on the similarity (and simplicity) of life throughout Bhutan.

1. Tourist Season:

Image source: Drukasia

Most people visit Bhutan during the fall months of Sep-Oct-Nov which is considered the peak tourist season and resplendent with local festivals and activities for tourists. This is followed by the spring period of April-May, which sees some tourists. However, unlike other tourist places, even during the current tourist season of April, one can hardly be bothered by crowds. This can be explained by the relatively lesser awareness about tourist options in Bhutan, and also because its expensive for foreigners (non-Indians), wherein there is a mandatory daily package fee of $250 per person.

2. Administration:

Bhutan has been a monarchy since its unification about a century back, when it used to have several regional satraps. It is now taking baby steps towards democracy, as initiated by the 4th King less than a decade back wherein, only the second elected government is in power. All governance mechanisms of a democracy are slowly taking shape including the new Bhutanese Supreme court building, that was recently inaugurated by Indian Prime minister Modi during his visit to Bhutan. However, the people are uniformly very fond of their Kings, and still not entirely comfortable with the concept of democracy, and hence view it as not-so-essential. Every house and monastery has pictures of the Monarchs and they are worshiped as God. 

3. Religion:

Prayer bell in a school playground, Paro!

A huge majority of the population follow Buddhism, though there are some Hindus from Nepal & India, which explains the occasional presence of very small Hindu temples and pictures of Hindu Gods. One can find Buddhist prayer flags, inscriptions and pictures of Buddha & Guru Rinpoche ( who is considered the second Buddha) everywhere. People are generally very religious and one can find people chanting mantras even while walking in the street or travelling in public transports. Its a common sight to see people carrying mini-prayer wheels, apart from utilizing every opportunity to give a gentle, clock-wise push to a prayer bell in the vicinity; and the bells are found everywhere.

4. People:

Toddlers, at the back!

The people are friendly and helpful all over Bhutan, but are generally less talkative and get into a brief conversation, only when approached. Men wear the traditional attire of 'gho', while women are slender and attractive in their 'kera'. It was surprising to see kids go to school in this attire, differentiated only by colors of robe, based on the school. Kids come with dollops of cuteness and its a common sight to see toddlers neatly tied at the back of parents for easier carrying around. It was a surprise to not find a single pram throughout my stay in the capital! The people are law-abiding, with almost zero instances of theft or other illegal activities, and I also heard that the punishments are very severe and swift for any deviation. I was routinely reminded by locals that the law-and-order scene was unlike in India, since I could leave my stuff anywhere in the open, and it would stay untouched for days together!

Archery is national sport and archery training fields seen in all parts of the country. Snooker also seems to be of interest, as seen by the numerous parlors that have sprung up. The local language is 'Dzongka', however most people follow and speak basic Hindi, thanks to the influence of Bollywood and the huge dominance of Hindi Entertainment channels in every part of Bhutan. All Indian DTH antenna are very prominently used by people, though its still illegal - all hotels I stayed in provided Sun Direct service!

Almost everyone chews the betel leaf and areca nut, locally called 'doma'. This is hard to miss in Bhutan, and even if you miss the red-stained teeth and lips, the pungent odour would surely hit you. There are blood-like spots of the 'doma' in all places around the country, and one can find people routinely spit on the roads and around the buildings. This was one undesirable thing that stands out against the clean imagery being propagated in Bhutan.

5. Transportation:

A rare traffic junction, Thimphu city

Roads in the city are broad and clean, while the vehicle movement is disciplined at its best, with the way of right for pedestrians. I was surprised to not find any traffic signals or traffic jam, blaring horns or even loud music in vehicles, there are only the occasional traffic junctions manned by cops. While walking to the Tango monastery in Thimphu, I was shocked to see instances of people in cars who didn't want to sound horns even when pedestrians were walking right ahead of them, blocking the road unintentionally; for a while, all the cars patiently followed behind!

I found the taxi drivers to be polite and reasonable, which again took me some time to adjust to, after all the unpleasant conditioning over the years, on our Indian roads. Most taxis are Maruti Alto or Hyundai Santro, while a lot of private vehicles are fancy SUVs.

6. Economy:

A shopkeeper in 'kera'

Being a small mountain country with a miniscule population, Bhutan ends up importing almost all of its goods, largely from India, Nepal and Thailand.  Hence, its easy to buy most Indian products, but only at a premium and always above the MRP. People have a good time in Bhutan and are well taken care of, with heavy subsidy and care by the government - free education,  free healthcare, near-free agricultural inputs and public goods. There is a strong focus on quality of life and the businesses appear a little laid back, with less aggressiveness that one finds in other countries. The offices close at 5 PM and most tourist shops and stores start winding down by 7 PM, as well.

Bhutan produces and sells most of its electricity, produced from the abundant hydropower thanks to its mountain landscape. It also exports Cement and a handful other goods that earn revenue for the country, apart from tourism that also generates some income. The country evidently spends a lot on preserving its culture and is fanatical about conserving the natural environment through sustainable development. All of this is in line with Bhutan's famed GNH policy (Gross National Happiness), as opposed to building an economy around the GNP (Gross National Product) as is the practice world-over. 

7. Infrastructure:

Post office, same architecture again!

The first thing one would notice about all buildings is the uniformity of all structures, whether its a house, commercial building or even a mall! All of them follow the traditional Bhutanese architecture, as dictated by the Driglam Namzha. The cities are green and clean with enough trees planted (or rather not cut off). The government has taken care to place dustbins every few metres throughout the city, and more at tourist places - this is in line with Bhutan's target to achieve Zero Waste by 2030. Overall, there are no flashy signs of development or grandeur, even the capital Thimphu looks like a big, but pretty ordinary city.

All houses have paintings of religious figures for good luck and protection. All tourists find it amusing to see pictures of penis or 'phallus', locally painted on the house walls, which is believed to ward of evil spirits. Perhaps, this must be one of the most commonly photographed things by tourists in Bhutan!

'Penis' on house walls, a common sight!	'Phallus' dolls.. just to ward off evil spirits

BPD: On a scenic National Highway

(BPD: On a very scenic National Highway, 26 Apr '15)

Monastery  in Phuentsholing border area

Phuentsholing being a border town on the Bhutanese side, most areas closer to the border don't need a permit to enter. There is a check post few kilometers from the border areas, and uphill on the way to the interiors of Bhutan, which is where tourist visas are actually checked. The border areas are free for Indians to enter and do business, hence one can find a lot of Indian shops, laborers and general public moving around the town. However, it has a distinctive Bhutanese feel, coming under Bhutanese administration and restrictions.

For a shared mode of travel from Phuentsholing to Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan, one can take a bus or taxi from the bus stand, however the bus tickets are in demand. During rush days and tourist seasons, it is advisable to buy them at least a few hours, if not a day in advance. I made the mistake of going at around 9.30 am on a Sunday and most tickets for the whole day were sold out! I managed to get the last few seats in a bus leaving at 1 pm, after which the next and last one was at 4 pm, equally in high demand. The bus frequency is highest between 7 and 9 AM and is the best time to get started from Phuentsholing, on any day.

The travel to Thimphu is very scenic and its advisable to do this in the morning hours, even if one hires a dedicated taxi. The road passes through a series of mountains and about 5 waterfalls, until one reaches the valleys that open up as the cities in Bhutan. Our travel scenery was further enriched by a fresh dose of showers that brought the clouds to repeatedly cross by the road, at various points in the first half of our journey. After the first couple hours, one starts seeing several villages along the slopes of the mountains, dotted with houses along perfect green slopes and cultivated fields, with horses and cattle grazing by. This reminded me of picture-perfect post cards of locales from the Swiss Alps.

Road dotted with Buddhist prayer flags, a common sight

A prominent thing that one notices on the route is that the mountain roads are extremely well laid & maintained, thanks to India's Border Roads Organization (BRO), through the 50-year old joint project titled Dantak. This is one of the many areas of successful collaboration with India that's very visible in Bhutan. However, one cannot find the tongue-in-cheek road safety boards that BRO has put up in India. In Bhutan, the boards are fewer in number and moderated in language!

The bus did a mid-way halt for food at a way-side restaurant. The food options were quite similar to what I had in Sikkim - chowmein, thukpa, momos, rice gravy - but all with an option of vegetarian or beef/pork only! I ordered thukpa and to my amazement it was served 'faster-than-fast-food' in hardly a minute. They had added boiled spaghetti (actually Koka - the most famous noodle eaten in Bhutan) to hot water and strewn on top some chopped, boiled veggies; while salt and chili paste were given separately, to be added to taste!

During the journey, I met a person working in the Bhutan Power Corporation, who had earlier studied electrical Engineering at a private college in Bangalore, on Bhutanese Government scholarship. He explained how the Bhutan government picks and sponsors education abroad for promising students to add to its skilled workforce. He also gave an overview on the history of Bhutan, things of interest and places to visit. I quickly made a note of things to do while in the country and the places to visit in Thimphu and Paro. The bus reached Thimphu main city at around 6.30 PM, to a cool weather which was a complete contrast from the extreme hot sunny afternoon we had set out with, from Phuentsholing! Such is the variation in altitude, weather and temperature throughout the country.

BPD: Bhutan beckons!

(BPD: Bhutan beckons!, 25 Apr 15)

As I set out from the Zuluk village in East Sikkim, it was yet another long, rigorous break journey to reach Jaigaon, the Indian town in West Bengal, bordering Bhutan. The route to be taken was Zuluk - Rongli - Rongpo - Bagpul - Jaigaon, which was a total of about 100km covered in over 8 hours.

For most part of the journey, I had the company of two Army jawans from the 2 Madras regiment, who were also making their journey down from Zuluk. From them, I understood the organisation and operation of the Indian Army units, the career progression and other aspects that make the Army unique and keep the units in fighting-fit form. It was enthralling to hear about the commando training & operations, and also accounts of the army intelligence ops that is secretive but which keeps getting quoted out of context, in the Indian media.

Pic source: Speakingtree

I also found out origins of the celebrated legend of Baba Harbhajan Singh, and a first-hand substantiation of the stories. The story goes that this Baba used to be a jawan in the regiment posted in the Zuluk mountains who was martyred and went disappearing after an army exercise. There were doubts on His absconding and He cleared the aspersions cast by appearing in a dream and mentioning that His duties will continue. Till date, His name is retained in the Army rolls, He goes on duty, has an assistant from the regiment posted in Zuluk who prepares the dress, bed etc. The jawan I met confirmed that the 2 Madras regiment takes up this duty now and he had seen first-hand that, by end of day the clothes prepared are crumpled and shoes soiled, though there was no one visibly using them. The Baba is supposed to help the jawans and people there in various ways, because of which there is a huge following and a big temple built for Him, on the way to Nathu La pass!

The last leg of the journey from Bagpul starts from the coronation bridge, which was built to commemorate the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1937. This journey from Bapgul to Jaigaon, is entirely within the limits of West Bengal and when one is travelling from Sikkim, one finds:

1. Progressively better roads
2. Regressive-ly hotter weather and I had to keep removing layers of clothing
3. More of plains, and less of mountains or rivers
4. But still the Nepali songs continued in the taxis!

During the trip to Jaigaon, I came across an aged person who used to run a trading business in Bhutan. He gave lot of useful details on the entry procedure and what to expect in Bhutan. Consequently, he ended up raising my expectations of the beauty of Bhutan, but scared me out of the wits about the difficulty of a solo traveller getting the visa permit. I had read about this issue in travel forums earlier and had thought of dropping the visit to Bhutan altogether. However, I wanted to try my chances and hence had kept Nepal as a backup option in case of difficulty in getting the Bhutan permit, since entry to Nepal was also from Siliguri, nearby. But with the tragic news of the Earthquake earlier during the same day (we heard people screaming about minor jolts felt even at Sikkim, during our travel earlier the same day), with an epicentre in Kathmandu ruled out that option.

Bhutan entry gate from Jaigaon, India

Upon reaching Jaigaon, I hurried onto the Bhutan border town of Phuentsholing, adjoining Jaigaon, since the immigration offices close at 4.30 PM. As expected, I was questioned on the 'intent' of single travel, that purportedly was against the 'culture' of Bhutan. Apparently, there were earlier cases of single tourists creating 'trouble' after getting into the mainland, which had brought this restriction. After escalations to the higher officials and a lot of explaining that I had to do, I was finally asked to write an undertaking letter, based on which I got the visa. I guess the mention of my origins from Tamil Nadu had an influence on the officer, by indicating some supposed cultural alignment with their country! I finally heaved a sigh of relief, and had the satisfaction of acing a competitive exam.

Thin-boundary wall separating the
2 countries ('Nokia' et al on India's side)

The Bhutan visa was a standard permit for the cities of Thimpu and Paro over a 7-day duration, which typically can be extended to cover other cities, at Thimpu. The uphill journey to Thimpu/Paro was scheduled for over 6 hours, again to cover a distance of just under 180km. With the last bus only until 4 pm, I took up accommodation for the night on Phuentsholing side of the border as opposed to Jaigaon, as rightly advised by some travelers, as the hotels were much cleaner at the same rates. After a whole day of travel down the mountain, I went to bed preparing for another day of travel, but up the mountain this time. Anticipation was also high on exploring a new country, how much ever close it might be to India in location, customs and culture!

BPD: Re-tracing the ancient Silk Route

(BPD: Re-tracing the ancient Silk Route, 24 Apr '15)

Rising at 3.30 AM, I got ready to start our ride up the mountain from Zuluk. As we crossed the first army camp, there were watchful eyes monitoring movement at the early hour. A 45 minute drive up took us to the Thambi view point that offers a great view of the Zuluk village. The highlight of this point is the full view of zig-zag road that one can see leading up from the village. Its an engineering marvel to have constructed around 32 zig-zag roads around the mountain, which is also called the 'bhool bhulaiya' road since one can't figure out at any point whether the roads are leading up or down, since its a maze of criss-cross.

These were the very roads that were part of the ancient silk route, that connected the ancient civilizations of the world from the West to East - across the continents of Asia, Europe and Africa over 2000 years back. Apart from helping transport Chinese Silk to the west, this route helped exchange a variety of goods, apart from delivering an exchange of cultures and religions across the continents!

Zig-zag roads on Old Silk Route	..with the Kanchenjunga range as backdrop

Looking across from the Thambi view point, we got a clear view of the Kanchenjunga and this time I was ever grateful for the view and promptly took a number of snaps, to make up for the foolishness, during my first sighting at Darjeeling! Just as we were about to start from the place, we sighted the famed Himalayan Monal. The Monal belongs to the pheasant family and has a body that is a riot of bright metallic colours - numerous shades of blue, red, orange & green. It is as colourful as the peacock, but slightly smaller in size and has a nice, graceful flight. Before I could pull out the camera, it vanished from sight.

Roads sloping upward	..and some with a downward spiral

We then moved further ahead from the Thambi point towards the sunrise point to get a better view of the mountains, when we crossed an outpost of the 2 Madras regiment that is currently stationed in this mountain. Just then the name 'thambi' of the point seemed to make sense, since this is so non-Sikkimes of all the names I had come across. I later found out that there was a jawan of the 2 Madras regiment who lost his life here and hence the point has been named as 'thambi' or 'brother' point. The regiment might move elsewhere, but the name has stuck.

Half-frozen water pot-holes	..and a 'glass' sheet pulled from the water

A puzzled Yak	Fresh-snow covered mountains

Reaching the sunrise point which was about 10 km further away, we encountered traces of the fresh snowfall of the previous day, and interestingly came across holes in the road that were water-filled and half-frozen. The area was half-covered in snow and the mountains looked majestic as ever, covered in white. We walked around to crunchy sounds from the snow and finally decided to turn back since the permit provided was only upto this point. On the way down, back to the village, we were lucky to get 2 more instances of Monal sighting, once with its pair. Just as in the peacock family, the male is brightly colored and attractive, while the female is of the same size but of a more moderate brownish shade. Both the instances, the Monal obliged for a photograph from up close and I snapped it right next to a rhododendron tree.

The Himalayan monal, taking a walk	..another shot next to the rhododendrons

On the way back, we crossed several batches of Army jawans jogging up until various altitude points, as part of their acclimatisation schedule over 10 days, before they move to be stationed at higher altitudes in this area. This was a systematic program devised to avoid issues like High Altitude Sickness in the mountains.

Getting back to the home stay, I was about to leave when I was forced to have a bowl of thukpa, prepared from wai-wai noodles, the Nepal based company that holds the monopoly in this part of the country. With a heavy heart, I bid goodbye to the family, based on the ties forged over the previous day and moved ahead on my journey towards Bhutan.

BPD: Zuluk, a magical village

(BPD: Zuluk, a magical village in East Sikkim, 24 Apr '15) 

At Rongli in East Sikkim, the weather was very fickle. When I arrived from Reshi after a couple of hours drive in the morning, the bright day with abundant sunlight suddenly turned cloudy and there were small showers. As people scrambled into the houses and shops for shelter, the rain stopped, but it looked like it could pour again anytime.

That's when the taxi driver brought the news that due to sudden snowfall in the higher ranges of Zuluk, the Army was issuing permits only until Zuluk village. This would effectively cut out Tsomgo lake (pronounced locally as 'changu', which I found after much looking up!) and the descending route onto Nathu La pass through the mountains. After much deliberation whether I must cut short the trip and return to South Sikkim, I finally decided to visit the Zuluk village and spend a night there. In hindsight, this was a blessed decision, since I thoroughly enjoyed the stay in the tribal village and had some great sightings, as I will explain below.

As we finally started the ascent towards Zuluk from Rongli town around 12 noon, the weather was cloudy and the scenery magical, as if straight out of a fairy tale book! The road was through a mountain of densely populated pine trees along the sides, and dotted with rhododendrons sparsely. Once we gained some height, the clouds kept passing right through the roads and it looked as if we were transported to entirely another world. As we crossed Phadamchen, a small mid-way town with a police picket, the permit papers were verified and the vehicle let to pass. I heard that the security in this part of Sikkim is quite tight and the Army is selective about issuing passes, and the duration is only for a couple of days, at the maximum. Foreigners are not permitted to visit these areas adjoining the border, and the passes to Indian tourists have been given only in the last 2 years. Rightly so, considering the fragile conditions on the border with China, with this road directly leading up to the Nathula pass & being a high-altitude area with inclement weather, its better to take precautions; the memories from India's Kargil war are still vivid. Crossing Lingtam, we finally reached Zuluk in about 1.5 hours.

Cows on the way to Zuluk village	Public School near Zuluk, Phadamchen

Zuluk, or Dzuluk is a village on the Old Silk Route at an elevation of 9400ft, and has a small tribal population with just about 80 families, and under 500 people in all.  Majority of the inhabitants are immigrants from Nepal about half a century back. The village cultivates potato, radish and cauliflower, though the cultivation season is 3 to 4 months shorter in a year, due to heavy snowfall covering the fields. With the opening up of domestic tourist sector, the village had seen brisk economic development in the last 2 years, with people opening up their houses for home-stay (the only mode of stay for tourists here), people operating tourist taxis, apart from the few odd shops opened to cater to tourists. The army has an imposing presence in the village with 3 armed units being permanently stationed and several army facilities, storehouses and training camps throughout the Silk route. 

The Zuluk village	The tin-roofed hut, my home-stay

Cute 9-month baby in the house

Upon reaching Zuluk, I decided to stay at the home-stay run by the taxi driver. The home-stay is a small extension to their tin-roofed, wooden-walled home that adjoins the road. They have setup 3 small rooms, next to theirs, with beds and other basic facilities for visitors. I was warmly welcomed into their living-cum-bedroom by the large joint family of 8 people, along with a very cute 9-month baby boy and a hyper-active Pomeranian dog. The homes in Zuluk mandatorily have a fireplace that's called the 'bukhari' or 'bukhara' locally. Its a small stove to burn firewood, with the smoke passing up through a make-shift chimney that opens up just above the roof. This is a local but in-genuine setup that can be accommodated in any small place, while it keeps the inhabitants very warm in extreme cold weather conditions. This works economical for the tribals, since this just needs firewood that's available as bamboo trees in abundance, in the forests around.

I was served hot tea and then lunch which I shared with rest of the family. It was a great feeling to be gathered around the 'bhukara', accepted as part of the family and having warm conversations, with a simple but tasty food. This was one of those places where the homes are tiny, but the hearts huge and warm.

Family gathered around the bukhara	Simply and tasty food served

I took a stroll around the village, wherein most of the houses were similar, and half of them own a Tata Sumo, a sign of the tourist economy. The village has a Shiva temple overlooking the hill and there is a huge statue of Shiva on top of the temple with water pipes setup such that the water emerges out of Shiva's locks and falls on the ground to create a fancy effect! I then stopped by at the only store in the village and chatted up with some locals over tea, again by the 'bukhara'. The people were all uniformly warm and extremely courteous, to the point of disbelief. With the evening left to be spent, I sat by the window of the home, that has a striking view of the agriculture fields, and paused to write and reflect. The feeling and satisfaction was indescribable!

In the night, the locals indulge in Tsonga beer, which seems to be the staple drink in Sikkim. Dinner was rice, dal and subji, which was also a common feature in the state, wherein the intake of rice is quite high. In Sikkim, apart from rice, people take thukpa, chowmein, momos and very occasionally roti. After a conversation on the local customs, I retired early to bed in anticipation of the early morning ride up the snowing mountain to catch yet another, but a better glimpse of Mt Kanchenjunga.

BPD: Alone, atop a mountain!

(BPD: Alone, atop a mountain!, 23 Apr '15)

Starting in a shared taxi from the village homestay in Darap, West Sikkim I was mentally weighing the options before me: the heavy-snowing & pretty landscapes of North Sikkim, -OR- offbeat locales of Zuluk on the Old Silk Route, -OR- an early departure from Sikkim to head towards Bhutan. I had heard a lot about the extremely scenic snow landscapes of North Sikkim around Lachung, Gurudongmar Lake, but they were also on the standard tourist grid and hence were likely to have a lot of tourists in the holiday season of April-May. So, the Silk Route seemed a good option. Further, it didn't feel like 'I was done' with Sikkim yet, so Bhutan had to wait for some more days.

Interestingly, the travel from Pelling in the West to Zuluk in East Sikkim is hardly 180 KM and Google Maps 'says' that it can be done in 4 hours. After my travel around this part of the country, I had come to realize that distances are just numbers and aren't meant to be read beyond that! The highest risk is that of falling rocks on most roads, and landslides come close as a second possibility; this, coupled with the availability of shared-taxis and wait-times involved make this a full-day journey, including a night stay! I planned to halt in the mountains of Reshi, before moving higher-up towards Zuluk by the next morning.

Freshly cleared landslides	A fallen rock, that's being worked upon

..and this is all one could do in this situation; wait and while away the time!

The multiple legs of the journey were covered across Darap - Pelling(14km) - Jorethang(50km) - Rangpo(45km) - Renok or Rhenack(58km) - Reshi Khola(7km). Starting from Darap at 7AM, I reached Reshi Khola at around 5.30 PM. I got the reference of a mountain homestay in Reshi and as expected, it was so remote that the last motorable road was about 3 km away and one had to hike through a small jungle and then ascend a mountain for about an hour to reach the home! During my travels on road through mountains, I had always looked up in awe at the homes built deep in the mountains with no easy access to roads and safely tucked away amidst the jungles. It was a dream come true to finally stay in such a place, even if it were only for a night. 

Delighted kids, just back from school	A make-shift bamboo bridge

Hike towards the mountain	Reshi river camp houses, by the way

House visible at the top is the one!

The path from the drop-off point in Reshi Khola meanders past the last few houses in road connectivity, and then crosses a logging camp, to go along the clear water streams of the Reshi river for some distance. That location alongside the river seemed to be an emerging tourist spot, with several river-side camps and resorts having recently come up to organize light treks, fishing and picnic. The path from there is a climb up the hill through some dense foliage. Walking alone, following a narrow trail and coming across occasional paint markings on the rock, I was only half-sure that I was on the right track, while it was slowly getting dark. Just as I was about to pull out the head-torch from my backpack to keep it handy, I sighted a home in the distance. Getting closer, I sighted two men seated around a make-shift wooden table that was supported by tree roots. They introduced themselves as the hosts and caretakers for the home stay. The place was a small building with 4 rooms, two each in the ground and first floor, and had basic bedding and toilet facilities. There was a small quarters with a common kitchen stocked with firewood and space for the hosts to stay. With no other guests for the day, all rooms were empty and I had the entire place for myself! 

Since there was some light before dusk, I left the backpack and decided to hike down, back to the river and spend some time exploring the place. As a typical mountain under cultivation, there were several layers or levels carved out of the steep mountain to make for some arable area. While, this spot did not have any crops under cultivation, there were small shrubs, some decorative plants and ferns planted at all levels descending down up to the river. On the way, I crossed a very small stream of water amidst lush ground. Walking around the periphery of the water stream, I suddenly noticed an army of big crabs standing in attention ahead of me, with their claws drawn out for the attack! The crabs were black-dark brown and completely camouflaged. It was a reminder that its not only the big animals or snakes that one must watch out for, in such a setting! Retracing my steps back delicately and throwing some stones around in the water to disperse the crabs, I precariously walked on the stones and crossed the stream to safety. 

Clear waters of the Reshi river

One of the crabs blocking the way!	..and the quirky host, cooking my dinner

The waters of the Reshi 'Khola', or 'river' in Nepali were clear and the sound of water flowing past the stones and huge rocks was mesmerizing. Had I reached the place in the afternoon, I would have loved to spend the entire afternoon sitting and watching the river flow. With a paucity of time, I hiked back up to the home, again past the crab stream. For dinner, the hosts had cooked dum aloo with dal and roti. While I had the food, one of the hosts played the tabla to the tune of some Nepali songs sung by the other person. This seemed like a daily routine and only source of entertainment for them, for they only had the company of a cat and dog who were lazily lying around them. 

After dinner, I retired to the room and spent some time writing. After a couple of hours, hearing some loud barks by the dog, I got out of the room and onto the balcony. The hosts were fast asleep in the adjoining kitchen-quarters some distance away. The dog was nowhere to be seen, as it had run away into the darkness chasing something, and this was a regular feature throughout the night. I was standing there alone, under the 60Watt bulb and staring into the darkness, while there was not a single light or sign of activity to be seen for miles around, even on the other side of the mountain, beyond the river. There was only the calming sound of the river water flowing at some distance down below, mild chirping of some birds and occasional howls and sounds of some small animals in the forest. I sat there for an hour still looking far into the darkness, and it was a different kind of an experience to be felt! In some time, the dog came scurrying back and gently curled and lied down beside me, while I continued to ponder.

BPD: Pelling's wish-fulfilling lake!

(BPD: Pelling's wish-fulfilling lake!, 22 Apr 15)

Pelling is just about 14 km from Darap and is a 20 minutes drive up the hill, which makes it easy to access the places of interest in and around Pelling, while staying in the tribal village. I was chiefly interested in 3 places of historic and/or religious importance - Khecheopalri or the 'wish-fulfilling' lake, Rabdentse palace ruins of the first capital of Sikkim and the 500-year old Tashiding monastery.

The scenic, Kanchenjunga waterfalls

I had tagged along with a group of Bengali tourists who had planned a local sight-seeing tour of the city. On a 'touristy' mode, we were driven around a list of places including the road-side Rimbi waterfalls, majestic Kanchenjunga waterfall and Singshore bridge, the second highest hanging-gorge bridge in Asia.

A suspension bridge at Rimbi	Selfie stick in action, at the waterfalls!

View of the river deep below, through holes in the foot of Singshore bridge!

Due to paucity of time, we couldn't visit the Rabdentse palace ruins. I enjoyed the visit to the Tashiding monastery that is a revered Buddhist place of worship, considering it was founded by one of the three wise men who unified the Sikkim Kingdom and identified its first King. During the evening time when we had visited, the daily prayer ritual was on and it was a fascinating one for the eyes and ears at first sight. Hundreds of young (and very young) monks were seated in rows, each with a small scrip of manuscripts neatly laid out on the desk in front of them. There were a line of monks with the 'dungchen', or Tibetan horn and another row of monks, each with a drum and gong. Facing all the monks, at the head of the table were 5 'senior' monks on a slightly elevated platform and leading in the prayer. As the monks at the head of the table chanted, all other monks followed suit, to a culmination with the high-frequency sound of the gong and beat of the drums. Apart from the sight, the sound of the chants was mesmerizing and I tried to capture a 2-minute audio grab of the same, posted here. We stayed back in the monastery, seated for over 45 minutes, lost in the beauty of the ritual.

The Khecheopalri or wish-fulfilling lake, is in the shape of a foot when viewed aerially from atop the hill nearby. The local folkore goes that no leaves are allowed to float on the lake and anytime a leaf (from the thousands of trees in the forest around) falls in, they are dutifully picked by the birds and taken away! The lake waters looked clean and clear when we visited as well. The lake had a teeming fish population that was hungrily feeding on the snacks thrown in by the tourists, an act which was forbidden for the tourists! Getting the blessings from a Nepali pujari who stood worshipping the lake, I paid a visit to the ancient-looking monastery adjoining the lake.

A Buddhist lucky sign	Nepali pujari at the lake

Colourful prayer flags	The Khecheopalri lake

Abundant fish life in the lake	Back at the home-stay, writing..

With the drive around Pelling done by the evening, I got back to the village home and spent the rest of the evening writing and interacting with the locals.