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Day 1: Phuntsholing to Chukkhha:
The first day of the ride was to be from Phuentsholing to Paro, 160 km
away, which on normal terrain would be no problem. However, there were
still some immigration formalities to deal with in the morning, and the
office did not open until nine, so it was about 10:30 when I set out.
Given that Paro is 2,000 meters higher than Phuentsholing I knew that it
would be impossible to get there in one day. That was when I chose to add
the second additional day the the plan. That helped, but the first day was
still a little brutal. I assumed that if we only went halfway to Paro, I
would only do half of the elevation gain on the first day. Incorrect. The
first 50 km, or so, from Phuentsholing climbed right up to 2,300 m.
Perhaps it was fortuitous that it was foggy all that day, so there were
no vistas to distract my attention. The route on that first climb is
fairly isolated with only a few small settlements, some isolated homes,
and a little light industry. The road on that section was, as it is all
the was across the country, one wide lane, which is probably my favorite
type these days. Being the main access road between the larger towns in
the west of the country and India, all of the international trade passes
along that section, with a higher proportion of trucks than elsewhere.
Nevertheless, traffic was several steps lower than in the countries to the
south, which was a huge relief. There was still occasionally a little of
the annoying horn-honking, but at least the volume of the horns was not as
deafening as in Bangladesh. Even better, most of the truck drivers had
enough courtesy to slow down a little when we met on a narrower place on
the road. What a big difference that made.
It was well into the afternoon when I reached the place for a meal break,
where my guides were waiting for me. Bhutanese food is somewhat similar to
other Himalayan cuisines, with Tibetan-style dumplings, Nepali rice with
Dal, and also its own dishes, like chilies or other vegetables cooked in
what is called cheese, but tasted more like a cream sauce to me. I had a
sampling of such dishes at a little roadside restaurant, which was more
like a private home than a café, while a few other guests watched
television (which has only been available in Bhutan within the last
decade) while seated around a wood stove. Outside of the tourist hotels,
most restaurants in Bhutan are similar to that one. Like most places,
there are also little shops in towns, and along the roadways, selling
snacks, drinks, sometimes fruit, and other household items. Since my food
was included in my package, and was arranged in advance, I really didn't
need to visit the shops as often as I normally would. However, from time
to time, I did anyway because I can always use more sugary drinks or
snacks, and because I usually try to support small local businesses like
those.
There was not much daylight left when I reached the top of the climb, but
by then I was pretty close to the halfway point to Paro, and our stopping
point for the day. So I took advantage of having the guides along and had
them follow me down the 300-m descent, illuminating the road with their
headlights. At the bottom, in a gorge made by the Wong Chu (river), was
the powerhouse for the Chhukha hydroelectric power station. They have a
guest house there that is normally used for officials coming to see the
plant, but despite the fact that we arrived unannounced, they got
permission for us to stay there that night. It was rather nice, and the
staff prepared another hot meal, which was really appreciated after the
cold fog of the day.
Next page - Day 2 |
