Hotel
Druk Zongkhar, the
guest house that I was lodged in, was undergoing major overhaul. Needless to
say, there were many shortcomings in service too. I had nearly 270 km to travel
to the Bhutanese border town of Samdrup Jhongkhar. I was keen on an early start
and came down to the reception before 5 am. Even after loading the luggage and
waiting patiently for some time there was no sign of the receptionist. I had to
make the payment and hence, I started calling out for someone to attend to me.
I seemed to be the only occupant in the guest house. After nearly 30 minutes a
young girl in her night clothes appeared and apologized profusely. She was the
owner’s daughter and told me that she had been educated in Delhi.
Soon after the formalities were
completed I took the highway to the Indo-Bhutan border. The road after Mongar
was better than it had been from Thimphu to Mongar. I cruised past Trashigang,
where I had originally planned to halt, prior to the delay at the landslide
location. Just after the town I encountered two heavy duty vehicles in front of
me and tried to overtake them. They stubbornly refused to pass me through.
Shortly thereafter the first lorry broke down while encountering deep slush and
boulders at a work spot on a steep up gradient. The axle was severed and the
driver and cleaner of the two lorries gave up hope of repair in quick time. As
it was a work spot there was a JCB, but it was unmanned since it was a Sunday.
I despaired. Every day, since entering Bhutan, I had encountered some problem
or the other delaying my journey. I could do little. I wandered around the
place and tried to keep calm.
After nearly two hours the driver and
supervisor of the JCB appeared and pulled the broken down lorry past the
obstruction. The Champion showed her mettle the second day running when she
effortlessly took the slushy gradient surprising many onlookers. Then I was detained
at Khaling village for the local college children to complete street shows on
the evils of alcohol and its impact on domestic and societal harmony. I parked
the car and watched amusing presentations put up by senior school children.
Domestic violence and the evils of drinking were the themes.
With less than 80 km to Samdrup
Jhongkhar I was surprised by the blankety mist that descended all of a sudden
and that too between 1 pm and 2.45 pm. The road was narrow and steeply winding.
It was scary and dangerous because of the rain, poor headlights and reckless
lorry drivers. I took the road with great caution and low speed. At one point
as I turned a side of the hill I found a lorry stationary with blinking tail
lamps. I had come within inches of headbutting the lorry! In the thick mist I
did not know why the lorry was immobile. I got out of the car to investigate
and immediately felt the cold biting into my bones. What I saw was most interesting
as I went closer to the lorry. A Prado driven by a middle aged lady was parked
almost diagonally on the road and the lady and lorry driver were in animated
conversation. The lorry driver, upon seeing me, told me that the lady was in
panic as she could not maneuver the car away from that position because of the
mist! The lorry driver sought my help. The road was narrow and I could not see
a foot beyond the rear of my car. With some difficulty I reversed the car and
parked at a safe distance away from the lorry. The lady handed over the keys of
her car and I tried my level best to get into it. The car overflowed with her
shopping. It was all over the place, under the seat, over the seat and wherever
there was space. I could not push back the seat and so I had to manage sitting
in a most awkward position. I did what was required and got out of the car
before I cramped up. The lady had her eyes full and profusely thanked me as if
I had saved her life!
By about 3 pm I reached the check post
of Samdrup Jhongkhar where the car permit and the immigration papers are
examined and submitted. At the outpost I asked if I could find a decent place
to stay in the town and a gentleman suggested the Tashi
Gasel Lodge, which was a short distance away from the check post. The lodge was
set in a sprawling premise. I parked the car and went to the reception of the
lodge. There was none there. I walked around the place and still did not find
anyone. So I decided to go into town and look for accommodation. The town was about
five km away. The suggested accommodation did not match up to my needs and
after a reconnaissance of the Indo-Bhutan border I went back to the Tashi
Lodge. This time I found a functioning restaurant and the manager of that
facility allotted me a room, which was neat and clean. The room boy was also
extremely friendly and fetched me a late lunch and a light dinner later on. He
also promised to get the car washed by one of his colleagues.
The drive through Bhutan over the past
four days of nearly 925 km has been adventurous, to say the least. Anything can
happen at any time in the mountainous country roads that can set one's program
back by days. Widening of roads has added its bit to the unpredictable
conditions. As a local wondered aloud, is it rebuilding of Bhutan or its
unbuilding? Nevertheless, an amazing country with its people establishing that
Gross National Happiness is its collective wealth. The term was coined by
Bhutan's former King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, who opened up Bhutan to the age of
modernization. The four pillars of Gross National Happiness are the promotion
of sustainable development, preservation and promotion of cultural values,
conservation of the natural environment, and establishment of good governance.
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