Bhutan – From the Eyes of a 12 Year Old

Bhutan is the land of the peaceful dragon. It is an attraction for many tourists across the world. But what is it to a 12-year-old? That is what I am going to tell you.

Bhutan – From the eyes of A 12 Year Old

Bhutan is a country located above the Indian state of Sikkim. When I traveled to Bhutan, I went by road. The entrance to the country was the Indian town called Jaigaon and Bhutanese town Phuentsholing. Jaigaon is very hot and crowded and unclean but as soon as you enter Bhutan the air becomes cleaner. Roads are more defined and you have to cross them only at a zebra crossing. Any child would love that kind of atmosphere. There is not much for a child to do in Phuentsholing but there is a crocodile breeding zoo and maybe a child would be interested because I did find it nice. There were crocodiles and alligators in the zoo.

Next, we went to Thimphu. It was a four-hour drive and rather boring too. I had nothing to do and we were occasionally surrounded by thick fog through which we couldn’t see.

Thimphu city was my favorite. On the sightseeing day, we first went to an extravagant Buddha statue which was on a hill. The statue was a treat for people interested in Buddhism but a child would get bored after 5-6 minutes. There was also a Buddhist temple below the statue.

Next, we went to the Institute of Zorig Chusum where students were taught fine arts. It was a very interesting place. Students were doing wood carving, making statues out of clay and making Thangka paintings. Some students were engrossed in the cleaning of the institute. We also went to the Thimphu Dzong.

Punakha and Tiger’s Nest Monastery

After Thimphu, we went to Punakha and stayed at Aum Leki Farmhouse. It was a nice farm stay with a good view and three little cats which I liked very much. We had a traditional Bhutanese dinner. Before that, we had also visited the Punakha Dzong or fortress and a suspension bridge. The bridge was over two rivers which were meeting and was pretty long. We also went down to the river through many thorny bushes. We collected many round stones and dipped our legs in the icy cold river. The Punakha Dzong was also very big. Bees had made hundreds of hives there.

After a day at Punakha, we drove to Paro. On the first day, we went for Paro sightseeing. We saw the National Museum and the Paro Dzong.

The second day was hectic. We went to Taktsang Monastery OR Tiger’s Nest Monastery. As most people would know, the only way to reach there was at least 4-hour trek to and fro. For the first half, I and my sister went by horse and then by walk. We spent 1 ½ hour at the Monastery and then trekked back the whole way. After the trek, we shopped for some souvenirs and then had a nice and relaxing hot stone bath. We had a late lunch and then went to the market for some more shopping.

Conclusion

The next day we returned to Phuentsholing, stayed overnight and then returned to India the next day. Overall it was an excellent trip and I think every child would like visiting Bhutan as there is a change in culture and many interesting things to see.