We caught an early morning flight on Bhutan’s national airline, Druk Air, from Bangkok to Paro. The flight was scheduled to make a short layover in India but much to our delight, the stop was cancelled. We were fortunate to be seated on the left side of the aircraft; as we approached Paro we could see the high peaks of the western Himalayas outside the plane window. Shrouded in clouds, the snow-capped summits appeared to skim the wings of the plane.
Paro is Bhutan’s only international airport with a limited number of flights coming from a handful of cities – Bangkok, Delhi, Kolkata, Katmandu, Singapore and Dhaka (Bangladesh). Landing in Paro gave us an appreciation as to why only a small number of pilots qualify to fly into this airport. At an altitude of 7332 ft, Paro is located in a deep valley close to the Paro River and surrounded by 18,000 ft mountains. Flights arrive only during the day and in clear weather conditions as pilots must have full visibility rather than rely on instruments to land. A combination of high altitude, strong winds and a short runway surrounded by some of the world’s highest mountains, make this a very challenging airport. Our landing was smooth and had I not observed from the window how close the plane’s wings were to the sides of the valley, I would have thought we were landing in a flat, open airport.
We disembarked to partly sunny skies. Bhutan is called Druk Yul, ‘the Land of the Thunder Dragon’ in its national language, Dzongkha; the thunder dragon is the symbol for the country’s flag and adorns Druk Air’s tailfin.
We obtained visas prior to arrival so the immigration process was a formality and very quick. The airport terminal was beautiful and typical of the traditional architecture we would see throughout the country. The building was multi-storied with rows of decorative windows ornamented with colorful painted facades.
A large picture of the royal family, King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, Queen Jetsun Pema and their three-year-old son, was prominently displayed near the terminal building entrance; we later noticed that not only government and commercial buildings, but private homes as well, exhibited pictures of the royal family. Only the fifth king since Bhutan was unified as a kingdom in 1907, this monarch is well loved and respected for the balance of tradition and progress maintained in the country. His father, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, was responsible for initiating Bhutan’s move from a monarchy to a constitutional democracy, but the son has skillfully managed the transition and has especially encouraged youth, whom he sees as Bhutan’s future, to engage in democracy.
Our flight arrived an hour early due to the skipped India stop so we waited about 20 mins before our guide, Tandin, arrived. Tandin, as well as all guides and drivers picking up guests at the airport, was dressed in the male traditional dress, gho. More about the gho and kira, the national female dress in a later post, but suffice it to say that this was strong reinforcement of Bhutanese culture.
We immediately set out for our first destination, the capital city of Thimphu, a 35 mile hour and half drive from Paro airport along winding mountain roads. Enroute, we stopped to watch a new house under construction and see first hand the elaborate detail of the architecture. Constructed primarily of wood, the windows and facades are hand painted by artisans in the traditional Bhutanese style. Tandin told us that new construction is strictly regulated to ensure adherence to traditional architecture standards which means that building and maintaining a Bhutanese home is expensive. We saw tons of new construction throughout the country driven mostly by rural youth’s desire to live in urban areas. Colorful prayer flags flapped in the wind, a constant reminder that Bhutan is not only a happy but a deeply spiritual country.
The drive was beautiful as we followed the river between rocky hills. Spring planting had just started and some of the terraced fields were newly plowed or planted. The hillside was gradually turning from brown to green.
Sandwiched between the mountains, Thimphu has grown via sprawl along the valley. Now the capital city, it sits at 7700 ft with an estimated population of over 100,000 that continues to increase as people move from the countryside. We stopped for tea and lunch at a restaurant in the city center, called the Swiss restaurant, a popular place with tourists who get their first gentle introduction to Bhutanese food. Tandin told us that there are three degrees of the national food which mostly consists of rice, noodles, vegetables, chicken and occasionally pork; spicy, very spicy and hospital spicy. The Swiss restaurant gave us a chance to sample spicy; I realized this was the extent of my tolerance for spice although several of my family members progressed to the very spicy level over the course of the week.
We checked into our hotel mid afternoon; the Druk Hotel was located adjacent to Clock Tower Square, the gathering place for impromptu friend meet ups, festivals and Thimpu’s resident dog population. The Druk was lovely with its large spacious rooms and traditional Bhutanese lobby and dining room.
We were exhausted from the long day of travel but forced ourselves to explore the town before dinner and crashing. We visited the National Textile Academy to learn about the rich history of Bhutanese textile production. Sponsored by the Queen Mother, the museum showcases and has sparked national and international interest in Bhutan’s textile and textile art traditions.
We walked the streets of Thimphu, the only capital city in the world with no traffic lights. Instead, a policeman in a colorful booth at the intersection of Thimphu’s two major cross streets, orchestrates traffic flow with graceful balletic gestures like a musical conductor. As the sun set, the temperatures dropped and we headed back to the Druk Hotel for a light dinner and a well deserved night’s rest.
