Over the Dochula Pass to Punakha

Saturday 26th

The only road connecting the capital with central and eastern Bhutan is barely wide enough for two trucks to pass and climbs out of Thimphu in a series of hairpin bends to ascend the 3140m Dochula Pass. We reach the pass about 11am, and stop to marvel at breath-taking views of snow-covered Himalayan peaks in the distance. It's cold up here!

A graceful collection of 108 (an auspicious number) chortens rise above the pass. These were built by the Queen Mother in 2005 to atone for an incident when the Bhutanese army flushed out Assamese militants from the south of the country, and some lives were lost. This morning the chortens are dusted with fresh snow.

Just below the pass we stop at a tea house, and warm up with our cheerful guide, Chimi, by the wood-burning stove.

The road then descends towards the Punakha valley, and we enjoy the changing scenery. The high altitude oak, maple and blue pine gives way to a lush forest of hemlock, cypress and fir. We spot the delicate white flowers of daphne bushes, whose bark is used to make paper, tiny blue primula, and numerous rhododendron which will bloom in a couple of weeks.

On a peak across the valley we see an important Buddhist university, and below us are the terraces being cultivated by subsistence farmers. 

Chimi has insisted there will be no lunch today, to put us into the right (fasting) frame of mind to visit Bhutan's holiest temple, the Punakha Dzong, the winter home of the Thimphu monks. She has us completely fooled until we pull into a field beside a cool river (where we're to wash our feet!) and find a picnic laid out for us. A wonderful interlude before going on to visit the Dzong. It is another spectacular fortress/monastery, alive with young monks. They have some time off on Saturday afternoon and some are meandering by the river, washing their robes or relaxing in the grounds. But others are taking part in rituals in the temple, and this young monk is being admonished by the whip-bearing Dean of Discipline for being late to a service!

We drive another half hour beyond our night stop to see the Wangdu Phodrang Dzong, founded in 1638. It's one of the oldest monastic buildings, still with a wooden tile roof held down by stones, and is in the process of being restored with aid from the Indian government. It provides a nice contrast with the better kept larger dzongs, and here too it's very much alive with a community of young monks, such as this one enjoying a moment with his cell phone. Then we double back to the Damchen Resort, where our rooms overlook the river, and we're more than ready for dinner and a good night's sleep.

Thimphu

Friday 25th
We are fans of Save the Children, and thanks to the US headquarters I've made contact with Save's team in Bhutan in order to learn about their work out here. We begin the day with a discussion with Dorji Wangdi, STC's Program Coordinator in Thimphu. Our time together is all too brief, but Dorji gives us a great perspective on some of the tougher issues facing families here - access to schools from remote villages, building teacher capacity in rural areas, emerging youth troubles in towns, a generation gap (blamed partly on introducing TV into Bhutan 10 years ago). There are lots of good programs, but a reduced budget and staff since the recession hit fund-raising globally.
These Thimphu teenagers walk to and from school in their national-dress uniforms, carrying lunchboxes.

We have a very full day of sightseeing (and shopping!) ahead. We drive into the hills above town to get up close with Bhutan's national animal, the takin, a high-altitude breed which looks like a cross between a goat and a deer. Along the path through the preserve we're tempted by silk and cotton scarves woven by this family.

At a fifteenth century monastery with these huge prayer wheels we watch the monks blessing small children whose mothers have climbed up the long hill in the hope of cures for their ailments. This is often the first port of call before conventional medicine is tried, although health care is virtually free in Bhutan.

We're all intrigued by the Folk Heritage Museum - a restored wood and cob farmhouse, which shows how life was lived a century ago. With space for animals on the first floor, and the communal family bedroom on the fourth floor, this was vertical living with narrow ladders to climb up and down.

After lunch back at the hotel, we take a walk around the National Memorial Chorten, a large whitewashed memorial to the third king. We're in good company, for this is a spot where many of Thimphu's elderly gather to walk or just sit and socialize. 

At 4:30 (it's not open to visitors during the work day), we access the capital's most important building - Trashi Chhoe Dzong. This imposing fortress/monastery epitomizes the close connection between the Buddhist 'church' and state. It is both the seat of government, housing the offices of the king, the secretariat and some ministries, and the summer home of the spiritual head of the country: the Je Khempo. The chief monk is the only person other than the king to wear a saffron yellow scarf. He and a community of around 700 monks winter at lower altitude in Punakha, so there's only a skeleton crew in the Thimphu Dzong today. The Je Khempo's, and indeed the king's, power may be constrained since Bhutan became a constitutional democracy in 2008, but both figures are deeply revered. 

Trashi Chhoe Dzong is awesome: massive white walls and ancient towers, enormous courtyards, and sacred halls. 

Before a traditional Bhutanese dinner back at the hotel, the women of our group get dressed up in kira and toego. (Sadly the men in the party can't be persuaded to don the knee-length gho!)

Arrival in Bhutan

Thursday 24th

Could the red carpet at Paro airport be for us? Tellingly, it's not unfurled quite up to the door of our plane from Kolkata, but our landing is timely for we soon catch a glimpse of the King of Bhutan walking along the ceremonial way to board the plane we've just left. Bhutan established a hereditary monarchy just over a century ago, and the fifth Druk Gyalpo (Dragon King) became the world's youngest ruling monarch in 2006 when his father (who's still alive) handed over the throne. The fifth king has just celebrated his 31st birthday, a three day holiday in the kingdom, by visiting a village too remote for road access, and is now flying out to a conference in Kuwait. Oxford-educated, handsome in the royal yellow scarf, and unmarried, he's the country's most eligible bachelor. His father had four wives, all sisters, and the new king is the son of the third wife, though the first is regarded as the senior Queen Mother.

We're met by Chimi, a lively and experienced guide who was the first woman to qualify as a tour guide in Bhutan nearly 20 years ago. Our bus is much smaller than the coaches we've used in India, and our 24 pieces of heavy luggage are loaded onto the roof (we had a big excess baggage charge on Druk Air!). Chimi takes us straight to lunch at a typical Bhutanese restaurant in Paro - the buffet is full of good vegetables and a bit less spicy than Indian fare, apart from the national favorite, ema datse, green chillies prepared in a cheese sauce. Tasting this is a mouth-burning experience!

Before driving to Thimphu, we visit the National Museum which is perched on a hill above Paro. It's a striking round building, an old watchtower with extremely thick walls which was renovated forty years ago to house the museum. As in the Guggenheim, we're encouraged to begin the tour on the top floor and work our way down the spiral stairs. The eclectic collection gives us a good overview of the history, religion, crafts and culture of this small Himalayan country (total population of about 750,000).

Then it's back to the bus for a scenic two-and-a-half hour drive through the Paro valley, passing the confluence of two rivers, to the modern capital, Thimphu, where we'll spend the next 2 nights. The Taj Tashi invites us all to a welcome ceremony performed outdoors by a Buddhist priest in the late-afternoon chill. The hotel is a stunning building, with traditional Bhutanese architecture amplified in a modern way. The high ceilings of the lobby and the main dining room are dramatic - even if they give the wood-burning stoves a lot of space to heat. This Taj is just a few years old, a joint venture between the Indian hotel group and Bhutanese partners, and lives up to all of our expectations of the Taj chain.

Exploring Kolkata

Wednesday 23rd

 We're up at 6 to watch people begin their day on the ghat (or steps) leading down to the Ganges (known here as the Hooghly) near the Howrah bridge. Here a solitary figure is brushing his teeth with a wooden twig, and others are taking their ritual dip in the river, waking up from an uncomfortable sleep on the steps, saying prayers, or mud-wrestling - an entertaining performance that we watch for a while.

Our guides lead us through the crush of the nearby flower market - a wonderful riot of colors. Then we visit the ancient Kali Temple, the city's holiest Hindu shrine. Sugar, Mimi and I opt to go into the inner sanctum, each escorted by a young guide, and find ourselves in a noisy, jostling mass of worshippers, being pushed forward over a low railing and burning candles to make an offering to the three-eyed Kali image. An unnerving but very memorable experience!

We then visit the headquarters of the Missionaries of Charity, the Catholic order founded by Mother Teresa to work with the poorest of Kolkata's poor. It now houses her tomb and an exhibition about her life, as well as being home to many younger nuns. The reverent silence surrounding Mother Teresa's last resting place is in total contrast to the hubbub of the Hindu temple.

Lunch is a delicious sampling of Bengali food, served on tali, or individual platters of eight or nine small bowls.

In the afternoon, I split off from the group to unearth my parents' wartime Calcutta, with the help of Swagata, a knowledgeable guide, and a driver. Much of colonial Calcutta is very dilapidated - almost beyond repair - with the city's modern development concentrated around its ring road. But Oberoi Hotels are undertaking a massive renovation of the old Great Eastern Hotel, which happened to be where my parents stayed on their way back to England from China in 1944. The colonnaded building will be a 7 star hotel of about 1,000 rooms - hopefully an anchor for regeneration of the historic area.

I'm keen to find the Saturday Club, my father's home away from home on his regular visits to Calcutta, and have called ahead to ask permission to visit. The Club Secretary, a retired Brigadier of the Indian Army, shows me this photo of the club as it must have looked in my father's day. I'm pleased to see that it's still thriving, with school children playing badminton, members meeting over tea on the terrace, great tennis courts and an indoor pool. The buildings are showing their age, but it's a welcome refuge from city living in the heart of the old colonial district.

I rejoin the group at the waterfront for an evening cruise on the river. We're entertained by a lively band of musicians/dancers, and later have dinner on a floating restaurant (akin to Hong Kong's Jumbo). It's been a long but fascinating day. 

Pondicherry to Kolkata

Tuesday 22nd

Today is mainly a travel day. We have a long drive back from Pondicherry to Chennai, to catch an afternoon flight north to Kolkata. But we have time to enjoy an excellent lunch at the chic Trident hotel, near Chennai's airport.

We land in the evening at Kolkata's airport, previously known as Dum Dum, because it was close to a military base whose firing range made 'dum dum' sounds. During World War II the airfield was a vital base for flights over the Hump of the Himalayas, taking Allied personnel and supplies into China. My parents, Max and Audrey Oxford, who met working for the British Embassy in Chongqing, were frequent passengers to and from Dum Dum taking the terrifying flights over the Hump in and out of China.

Today, we immediately experience the chaos of modern Kolkata on a traffic-snarled, rush-hour journey from the airport to our hotel, the Taj Bengal. On this trip we're staying wherever possible in the fine hotels of the Taj group, and this one is particularly splendid with a huge atrium.

We have dinner in the hotel, in readiness for an early start tomorrow.

Pondicherry

Monday 21st
Leaving Fisherman's Cove after breakfast, we drive 3 hours south along the coast to Pondicherry through flat, scrubby farming country. We make a brief stop at Auroville, a settlement founded forty years ago with great ambitions of becoming an ideal, international community of 50,000 souls. In fact, it houses just 1,800 people and is a bizarre combination of a futuristic center for meditation (sorry, 'concentration', and not open to visitors!) and a rather good collection of modern stores for tourists.

The port of Pondicherry was France's territory in Tamil Nadu, and is still known for its French Quarter and tax-free alcohol (elsewhere in the state, the tax on drinks is a frightening 58%). We reach our beach-front hotel, the Promenade, in time for a late lunch, and then visit the Catholic church of the Sacred Heart - an overblown brown-and-white Gothic construction - and walk through the bustling covered market. Our guide shows us how to chew beetle nut, wrapped in these leaves, though we all resist the temptation.

Later on, Mimi and I head off to explore the French Quarter on foot, discovering the more attractive pink-and-cream Notre Dame des Anges, lit up by the late afternoon sun, and some intriguing antique shops. We try (and fail!) to find a bar for an early evening drink, but return to the neighborhood with Adrienne for dinner in the town's best French bistro, Le Dupleix. We eat out in the courtyard of an 18th century mansion which was formerly the residence of the French Governor. Le Dupleix is beautifully restored as a boutique hotel, but sadly few of the old colonial buildings seem as well cared for.

Shore Temples of Mamallapuram

Sunday 20th
This morning we visit the magnificent ancient temples of Mamallapuram, quite close to Fisherman's Cove. This is one of the Five Rathas, each dedicated to a Hindu god and, amazingly, carved from a single piece of rock. The Pallava-era sculptors had to start at the top of the rock and work their way down, judging the size of the finished temple before they began carving.
The middle temple, Bhima Ratha, has a frieze of faces with distinctly Caucasian features, likely evidence of the coastal town's extensive trade links with ancient Rome.

This handsome life-size elephant is regarded as one of the best sculpted in India.

Moving on to the Shore Temple, originally built by the Pallava kings in the 7th century, we hear that the 2004 tsunami (which I narrowly escaped in Phuket) temporarily exposed the outlines of six sister temples, covered by the sea for centuries. The tsunami also permanently uncovered foundations of the temples - a small silver lining of that devastating event, whose impact reached even these shores. Hundreds of people drowned along the coast of Tamil Nadu.

Sunday afternoon is a time for relaxation at Fisherman's Cove, a lovely beach hotel reminiscent of Caribbean resorts. My roommate, Mimi and I opt out of an outing on a 'catamaran' (the original Tamil fishing boat kind), and so miss a surprise dunking in the Bay of Bengal experienced by the rest of the group!