Bhutan

Day 4: Paro – Mystical, Magical and Mellow (15th Feb )

It was a little past 17:00hrs when we reached Paro. Chetin helped us find a clean and spacious room for 250 rupees. For hundred rupees more we would have had the luxury of a geyser and room heater – but we were backpacking on low budget. The landlady agreed to give us a bucket of hot water in the morning. It would take us one night’s stay in Paro to realize the importance of one bucket of hot water!

Paro is an extremely quiet and beautiful city. The calmness of the place cannot be overstated. The river runs parallel to the city, and the view from our window was breathtaking. Nestled in a valley, Paro is quite small compared to Thimpu (and I thought Thimpu was small!). The buildings here have more of a traditional flavour, and the Paro Dzong stands majestically at a higher ground overlooking the city.

While in Paro, we ate all our meals at hotel Perjoling. Words would fail me if I were to describe how delicious the food in that little hotel is. The cool air and general feeling of Paro works as a fantastic appetizer.

The evening of Wednesday was spent exploring the city and generally soaking in the tranquility. We hit the sacks early that day and the next morning found me feasting on a breakfast of parathas and bread toast at Perjoling. My friend decided to fast, and so while I was devouring the food, he went out to make some enquires about places to visit in Paro. He came back armed with information about two Dzongs – one 15 minutes away and another 3 hours away. Of course, he hadn’t checked if those distances where by foot or by drive (we had intended to hike to wherever). So we set out for the closer of the two—Drukyel Dzong, which actually turned out to be 15 km (and therefore we realized those distances were by vehicle and not foot). It took us three hours to reach, and only after getting there did we realize that the place was the ruins of a once famous fortress. Apparently it was built in the 17th century in commemoration of the victory over the Tibetans. Along the way to Drukyel Dzong we got to see some classic scenes of traditional Bhutanese life. The weather was friendly but once we got to the Dzong, the sky became overcast. We caught a taxi back to Paro, and by the time we reached, it started raining. Of course, we hadn’t eaten anywhere along the way, so we impatiently walked into Perjoling and ordered what now I recall as the best meal ever. Imagine, after a 14 km trek and weather turning cold because of the rains, you have a delicious meal at a place like Perjoling. Could life have got any better?
While eating, it began to rain harder. It was 17:00hrs when this happened, but being tired, we were just waiting to get back to our cozy beds. And did I mention that the temperature dropped well below our tolerance level? I had to purchase some woolen gloves to keep myself warm, and we spent the rest of the evening in our room (and later had another meal at Perjoling).