From Nepal To Bhutan (Bhutan Day 1)

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We're supposed to go back to Malaysia after spending 8 days in Nepal, however, one of my friends and I intended to prolong our trip. We decided to visit Bhutan from Kathmandu. For your information, the only way to get into Bhutan is either flying from Singapore, Bangkok in Thailand, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai in India, Dhaka in Bangladesh and Kathmandu in Nepal. Since we're already in Kathmandu, my friend and I were thinking, "Why not extend our trip to Bhutan instead?" So here we are, our impromptu trip to Bhutan from Nepal.   

Not that really impromptu anywhere, as both of us did preparation earlier such apply for Bhutan's visa and tour arrangement prior to our trip to Kathmandu. And because of this, immediately we changed our flight ticket for the route from Kathmandu back to Kuala Lumpur and luckily for us, the additional charge for changing flight only cost each of us RM200. Consider fairly affordable cause if I'm not mistaken, we changed our flight 2 months before flying to Kathmandu.  

Since our flight to Bhutan were quite early, we bid goodbye to the rest of my friends who will catching their flight back to Malaysia in the evening. The ride from where we stayed in Kathmandu which is Thamel to Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport wasn't that really long - the journey was approximately 20 minutes.

#1: Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport - It's not that really huge but at least my friend and I managed to find a seat. 

Now let's talk about Bhutan. How many of you ever heard of Bhutan before? Neither do I, not until Juno from Runaway Juno, a Korean avid traveller where I met in Kota Kinabalu and she passionately shared about her travel adventures and experienced around Bhutan. Since then, I was so intrigued to know more about Bhutan. She even so kind to help me to get information and introduced me to Bhutan local licensed tour operator. Do take note that all foreign visitors must book their trips through a local licensed tour operator and each visitor is required to pay minimum daily tariff (USD200-250 per person per night). Only those visitors who hold passport from India, Bangladesh or Maldives, they are exempted from applying travel visa nor sign up for a tour to visit Bhutan. I will share more about the total cost we paid in order to get to Bhutan as well as the local licensed tour operator I engaged with by end of this travelogue.

#2: All foreign visitors must book their trips through a local licensed tour operator and apply visa before entering Bhutan. 

Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan is a landlocked country between Tibet and India. Geopolitically sits in South Asia, Bhutan is consider to be one of the least visited countries due to the hefty tag of daily tariff imposed to the visitors. Honestly speaking, it's one of the most expensive country I've visited so far, but by end of the trip, I never regret with my decision to visit this stunning and unique country, in both culturally and enviromentally.


#3: The flight from Kathmandu to Paro. Never got bored with this Himalayan mountain view.

Paro International Airport is the main airport of Bhutan. It is served by two airlines; Druk Air which we flew with is the government-run carrier and private airlines of Bhutan Airlines. Airline schedules change at least twice per year. Hence, it's best to check from your respective local licened tour operator for the latest update schedule.

#4: We flew with Druk Air, the country's flag carrier. In Bhutan, Druk indicates the mythical thunder dragon and it is the important symbol of Bhutanese culture. It's pretty obvious as you can see this huge Druk symbol reflected on the plane.


#5: Paro International Airport. The first thing I noticed when I arrived Bhutan: Just like the Thais, the Drukpas love their king and queen so much. Such a handsome king and beautiful queen.

Our flight from Kathmandu was actually delayed for few hours due to the adverse weather conditions. However, both of our tour guide and driver patiently waiting for us at the airport. When we came out from the arrival hall after went through the short immigration clearance and collecting our luggage, we were welcomed by a very young and fairly tall gentleman holding a card with our name on it. Just because the tour only consists my friend and I, we thought they will use a small and compact car throughout the trip but turned out, they drove a SUV type vehicle. And the car seems pretty new too. Impressive and excellent service! Regarding language in Bhutan, the country's national language is Dzongkha, a sino-Tibetan language spoken by more than half a million people in Bhutan but fret not, they are well-versed in English cause English is their second language and was thought in school.


#6: A brief stop for photo opportunity before heading to Thimphu.


#7: The untouched nature - that's what make Bhutan so unique and special.

Due to our flight delayed, we unable to visit few of the attractions which had been planned earlier. The only tourist spot we managed to cover is Tashichho Dzong, a Buddhist monastery and fortress on the northern edge of the city of Thimphu. Unfortunately, we're only allowed to take photos from outside cause it's closed to public from visiting the inside of the building.


#8: The Utse, or Central Tower of Tashichho Dzong.


#9: A lovely manicured rose garden in front of the building welcomes the visitors to the fortress.


#10: The main structure of the whitewashed building is two-storied with three-storied towers at each of the four corners topped by triple-tiered golden roofs.


#11

Besides serves as a monastery, Tashichho Dzong is also a central secretariat of the present government. It has been the seat of Bhutan's government for more than 50 years. It presently houses the throne room and offices of the king, the cabinet secretariat and the ministries of home affairs and finance. During our visit there, something out of our expectation occurred. A long and exclusive black car passed through us and our tour guide required us to bow. Only to find out that their beloved Royal King was inside the car. What a lucky day on our first day in Bhutan!

Talking about Bhutanese food, I barely remember what was the first meal we had there. And wondering why I didn't take photo of it. But at least, I managed to take photos of the hotel we stayed in Bhutan and it was totally exceeded our expectations.


#12: Hotel Pedling in Thimphu


#13: Our stay in Bhutan was totally exceeded our expectations.