#bhutan2015

My day to depart finally arrives. I leave for the airport early at 5:15 am. I have tears in my eyes as I head towards the airport. This surprised me as I have travelled to many places and have been touched by beauty in many places. But the tears in my eyes was from the experience of beauty and being received so unconditionally by the people in Bhutan. It is said that after one goes to Bhutan, any other place pales in comparison. I have to say that, that was probably what my heart felt.

I see more sights of beautiful mountains as the plane takes off from Bhutan.

7 hours later, I arrive at Changi International Airport, Singapore. After collecting my bags from the belt, I walked with purpose and speed (in a typical Singaporean way) towards my driver, who was waiting to pick me up. My girls had come to the airport to surprise me and we completely missed each other. Thankfully we were on WhatsApp and I was able to turn back to pick my girls up.

Trek up to Tiger’s Nest Monastery

This is a must for any visitor to Bhutan. I felt the trek would be easy, after having completed the Druk path. The night before, I had also gone for a nice massage and yoga. I was ready. It was a good trek up, as we got close to the monastery, we had to climb down and up a total of 700 steps. It was a bit challenging but I made my way steadily without any trouble.

Jigme and I take it easy on the trek, with time for selfies. 😊 I was very pleased too when he candidly mentioned that he could see the improvement in my trek and breathing, over the past days. That was a real compliment in my view!

All thanks to my 3.5 days of what I considered ‘baptism by fire’ on the Druk path for an amateur and first time mountain trekker such as me! The Tiger’s Nest monastery up close.

And to end off a great day and a great trip in Bhutan, I get a piggy back downhill. This was the pact when I completed the Druk path, that I would get a piggy back at Tiger’s Nest!!!!

Day 4 of trek It’s a wet morning. I’m all packed and await Raj to pick us up. Jigme jokes that Raj is not coming and we will have to walk 5 hours to Paro. Let’s see if it’s true or a joke!!! I can’t wait to get a proper shower and have fresh clothes on. Raj arrives at 9.20 am and his appearance seemed to have coincided with the sunshine. 😊

 I bade my farewell to Karma, Gomchen and Dechen who will also pack up and head their separate ways. Dechen and Karma to Paro, and Gomchen, back to Thimpu with the horses. On our way down from the mountain, our car gets stopped as we await the queen who is on her way to Tseluna to inaugurate a rehabilitation centre currently being built. Earlier, Jigme introduced me to the term BST - Bhutan Stretch Time. I asked for how long We would have to wait for the queen’s entourage, and was advised that it is BST! I don’t mind waiting. How many times does one get to see the queen of Bhutan in one’s lifetime. Once back in Paro, we chance upon an archery competition in the city of Paro and decide to stop and watch.

 After lunch, there were more chances to practice patience as our car stops along the road for road construction and widening. We finally arrive at Tashi Namgay Resort which is situated along the Paro river. Finally, the shower I’ve been looking forward to!👏 

Day 3 of trek As we trekked past Chelela pass, we see the holy site of Gururinpoche. 

Hand print of Gururinpoche

Rosary Bead and Wisdom Eye

Goldfish

My entourage of 7 horses, without which there will be no tent, food etc.

 A picture of a little girl from the yak herders family. 

Day 3 of trek

I slept better the night before, although the first hour of trying to keep warm and getting comfortable was difficult for me. I knew I was in a better place when it came to sleep, when I heard myself snore. Amen!😊 I wake up to another beautiful morning by the lake. A picture of Jana Tsho (Tsho means lake).

There is frost but it quickly melts away in the warm sunshine. Yesterday, Jigme and I discussed that we will take another route instead of heading to Jili Dzong as I was really struggling with the rocks yesterday and it would be an 6-8 hour trek up to Jili Dzong for a more experienced trekker. For me, it would likely mean that I will get to the camp site only after dark. So I decide on another route, descending to Tseluna, so I remain safe and not trek uphill at night. Today was downhill all the way. We descended 1200m from 3600m to 2400m where we set camp. Today’s descent was rocky, muddy, slippery all the way. We cross several bridges as there are streams and rapids. 

At one point, we had to cross a small rapid but there was no bridge. Jigme and Karma test the logs and decide it is too slippery for me to walk. So what was the next best thing? Karma proceeds to take off his shoes, rolls up his pants and piggy backs me across the rapid. It will be one of the memories of this trip to remember and treasure.

Safely across the river and on to a proper bridge. And without Jigme’s strong hand the whole way through today, supporting me as I trudged through mud and stones, I would probably still be stuck up in the mountains somewhere. The last leg of the trek after lunch was flat ground through the village. However it continues to be rocky and full of pebbles and i really felt the strain on my feet as I trudged along. As it was flat ground, Jigme and I could talk and we exchanged laughs and little snippets of life. After 3 days trekking together, I start to see the cheeky side of Jigme. He is young and carefree and loves his job and it really showed, the tales he told of adventures across Bhutan and friends he has made, and in the way he supported me as we trekked together. He is a friend who trekked with me.

It starts to pour heavily about an hour before we reach the camp site. I’m amazed that God always introduces a challenge each day of my trek. Just when the path became easy today, He introduced heavy rain. We are drenched by the time we get to the camp site. It starts to pour heavily. I was told that the original path, Jili Dzong is raining heavily with strong winds and big hail stones. I would certainly have been stuck trekking in hail and high winds. I am so glad I changed my route. My trek comes to an end. I am totally drenched from the rain and it continues to pour for another 3 hours. Raj will pick Jigme and I up from the camp at Tseluna tomorrow morning. I’m looking forward to a nice shower when I get to the hotel. The thought of a nice shower the next day gets me through another night in the tent.

Picture of Dechen (cook), Karma (cook asst) and Gomchen (horse man) as we all take a break whilst the horses graze.

Day 2 of trek I wake up to the sunrise at about 6 am. The rain has stopped and it is a beautiful morning. It’s a brand new day and I’m off to another steep climb after breakfast. The view in the morning is spectacular. Clouds below us, what a feeling!

I chat a little with the other campers who are on their descent into Thimpu. They are a group of 14 and one had to abandon trek due to altitude sickness. This reminds me to take it easy for myself. Do not rush. Start each day with a positive intent and take small steps to get to the top. 

My breakfast of egg, spam and toast. Who says this is hardship?😂 We set off on Day 2 of our trek. It’s a sunny day and along the path, we met groups who were descending to Padjoding and back to Thimpu.

I’m told by an Australian group that the ground is covered with snow further up hill. Today’s climb will take me to the highest point of 4,090m. before descending. As we got close to 4,000m, I suddenly feel giddy and had a misstep, headed sideways towards the bush. 

Thankfully Jigme is always observant and catches me before I fall off the ledge. I started feeling giddy and nauseous, first signs of altitude sickness. I make several stops to catch my breath and steady myself and also to take chocolate to give my system a boost. I felt really sick and giddy but I wanted so much to be able to carry on. Jigme encourages me and we take small steps. At the peak. I take a rest with some tea and compose myself.

Once I steadied myself Jigme gets me to descend and as we walked I see the highest peak in Bhutan ahead of me.

 We walked a bit more and take another rest.to have lunch. From the distance I hear horses and then soon after, Amish and his guides appear. I had met Amish, a fellow trekker, on my first day in Bhutan, in Ha valley. And it seemed surreal to meet him again, this time at the peak of the Druk path trek, each going the opposite way. We take some pictures, shared some laughs and bade our goodbyes.

Day 1 of trek The last part of trek up to Phadjoding from the monastery We stopped and rest and are very close to the top, where we will camp for the night. It was only 30 min more but was the most difficult 30 min of the whole trek on Day 1. It started to rain and then hail and I trekked slowly and painfully up the last stretch of a very steep incline. I need to make it, almost there… Pant pant pant… The rain was getting heavier and the hail beating down on me.

Jigme waits for me and encourages me, and tells me that we are only 5 min away. I finally saw sight of the tent and hurried into the tent to get away from the rain and get some hot drinks. I hope the rain stops soon. I finally made it through day 1 of the Druk Path.

Day 1 of trek Today is an exciting day for me. I am starting my 3.5 day trek on the Druk Path. Something which I have been training to do. This is my first time trekking up a mountain and camping outdoors in freezing cold mountain temperature. I was not sure if I would actually make it on day 1, much less the entire trek.😱 

After a good breakfast, Jigme and Raj come to get me at the hotel. The car ride to the base of the mountain takes 20 min. Today, I will trek from Thimpu to Phajoding, which is 3,400 m from sea level. The entire trek will cover 5.7 km. I meet my entire entourage of horses, horse man, cook, and cook assistant.

 I'm as ready as I will ever be. Let's go!

It was a lovely sunny morning and we meet other trekkers along the way, coming from Paro. We stopped and chatted and wished each other well. I like the spirit of fellow trekkers.

There were rest stops and the cook assistant hands out drinks and tea. What a luxury. I trek slowly and steadily. As an amateur trekker, I probably stopped much more often than experienced ones. But I was on my own and I just wanted to finish it in my own time. No rush. As long as I get to camp before dark.