Our last morning in Kolkata began with us all meeting for breakfast then putting our bags out for pick up. We checked out of the hotel and boarded a bus to take us onward. Fortunately, the group is melding together nicely!
On our way to the airport we made a stop at the Jain Temple. While Cyndi and I saw it a few days ago I was pleased to stop on this sunny day. Our previous visit was in the rain! I got many more great pictures that really evidence the striking mosaic work.
We piled back onto the bus and headed to the airport. Dev said you only need 3 things to be able to drive here – a good horn, good brakes and good luck! He handed us our plane tickets and Bhutan visas and got us to the airport in plenty of time. We bid him farewell and found the ticket counter for Druk Air, the Royal Bhutan Airway. With boarding passes in hand we got through security and immigration and thanks to Cyndi and Van, we got access to the lounge. After an hour we made our way to the gate. This was all accomplished quite easily as there were next to no other passengers to contend with along the way! The plane was delayed about a half hour or so, but eventually we boarded a bus that took us out to the plane. A two prop which probably sat 40 passengers.
Soon we were in the air and heading to Bhutan. We made a stop in Gelephu, in southern Bhutan, to let off some passengers and gain others. While coming in for a landing we passed a line of chorten along a ridge.
Soon the mountains began appearing along with an increasingly close flight pattern as we came in for a landing in Paro.
And then we arrived! What a difference a plane ride made! We left the most populous country in the world on its own sub- continent and arrived in one that is just a bit smaller than Switzerland with a total population of just 750,000.
We walked across the tarmac and entered the building going through immigration and entering the baggage area. Our bags came in rather quickly, allowing us to zip on out and be greeted by our tour leader, Passang. He led us to our bus, presenting us each with a khata, a white silk ceremonial scarf with depictions of 8 auspicious symbols of Buddhism. We had an hour and a half drive to Thimphu, the capital, with a population of 120,000. The drive was along a winding, two lane road, driven on the left. Apparently it’s a 200 mile long drive the width of the country with the actual length about twice that with all the curves! Unfortunately the sun had set just after we started the drive, which limited our views, but it was delightful to see stars again.
We reached the hotel, the Thimphu Towers, got our room assignments, and shortly afterwards met for dinner. A delicious meal was brought out family style. And now I’ll be settling into bed with a hot water bottle at my feet looking forward to seeing this remarkable country.
