Joseph, Mr.Joseph or Joseph uncle. .... You can give any salutation to Joseph alias Varghese. He was the artist who scribbled the cute little beautiful place ‘Hasimara’ in my hearts. May be because of Mr. Joseph I am always enthusiastic to travel to this territory of Hyundai in North Bengal. Located at about 2 hour distance from New Jalpaiguri (gate way of North Bengal) this cute little town is famous for tea estates in plains. It is very much different & scenic than the usual highland tea estates.
You can take vehicle from India to travel anywhere in Bhutan; nevertheless it requires separate permit for entry. The snake line roads are too scary even though it is a must for an adventurous me. Cliff guards have not been placed at many points & you should have a really experienced driver in highland roads to ensure you safe reach there.
SUV/MUV type of vehicles is apt for the journey as the roads are very much bumpy & you need to curtail deep ditches en route. Hence my Innova gave good comfort even in those roads.
Paro – The Princess
Paro as the name itself sounds is a plain in this hilly Bhutan. The only airport in Bhutan is located here. ‘Druk Airlines’ will cost around Rs.18000 for a return flight to India.
The ‘Druk’ is the Thunder Dragon" of Bhutanese mythology and a Bhutanese national symbol. A druk appears on the Bhutanese Flag, holding jewels to represent wealth. In the Dzongkha language, Bhutan is called Druk Yul, or Land of Druk, and Bhutanese leaders are called Druk Gyalpo, Dragon Kings - because of Druk. During the Bhutanese mock election in 2007, all four mock parties were called the Druk colour Party. The national anthem of Bhutan, Druk Tsendhen, translates into English as 'The Kingdom of Druk'.
Even though you will see the pictures of male genital organ & female breasts displayed in almost all prominent locations, it never means Bhutan to be a place for sex tourism like Bangkok. The place is sacred & naked body is pious for the people of Bhutan.
Paro valley is enchanting,masquerades all the hardship you’ve taken during your travel. Royal museum,monasteries,Tukung monastery(tigers nest) etc are some of the places of interest in Paro.It can be called heaven for trekkers as lot many options are left aside for them.
Thimpu
Thimpu being the capital city & throne of the king has got all its importance. Even if other parts of Bhutan doesn't restrict smokers as such, you may get caught in Thimpu for any breach of law & orders. Foreign nationals from SAARC nations are given liberty in many organizations, even for tickets & passes.
Kings palace, Takin forest reserve,Lee Hong Monasteries, night clubs (don’t expect strip-at-ease here) etc are places of interest. I couldn’t cover Bhumthang known as the Switzerland in Asia,
A 3 day trip is more than enough to cover Paro & Bhutan,never-the-less you plan for adventure trip with trekking & river rafting in plan its better to make it for a week
On our way back we bought some Bhutanese apple as memoir. May be those were the worst apples I've ever had. All curses to the off season time.
When we were about to board our train back to Kolkata from Hasimara we settled the expenses between ourselves. At a cost of 8000 per person , it was a not bad trip,except those serpentine roads which pained our ass for 6hours one side !!!
