Why Bhutanese in Oz should travel more

Epic first road trip to Tasmania

Back in 2013, when I was doing my undergraduate degree in University of Wollongong in Australia, my friend Jason and his wife Han (we met through mediation group, Falun Dafa at uni) tagged me along to their road trip in Tasmania (again as third wheeler 😂 ). This was my first road trip and I got the first real taste of travelling. We caught a domestic flight in cold July (It was my winter break) carrying nothing but our sleeping bag and back pack. I was excited for it was my first ever road trip and I had saved enough money to buy myself a DSLR camera and couldn't wait to explore. Carrying a bag pack, a camera and with the hiking shoes, I already felt like someone who had been travelling a lot and I felt good already (I was enjoying playing a tourist honestly).

In our hired motor home

I wasn't much of a hiker or an adventure seeker before going to Australia but that road trip to Tassie (Tasmania is popularly called by that name) changed everything. I felt like I was in a movie, where you and your friends drive in a motorhome (or call it RV), and do all those crazy stuffs. We did exactly that but our craziness were all good ones. Now, Bhutanese living in Australia might tell you that you will hardly see mountains in Australia but that's not true. I haven't heard of Bhutanese living in Tasmania for if they were there, they would prove it wrong for Tasmania, this small island boasts of these stunning landscapes, beautiful mountains and some of the best beaches in the world.

We were on the road for 6 days with our hired motorhome and my friend Jason drove it.
I had never seen a motorhome before except in movies and imagine I had that chance to travel in a motorhome and I felt no less than a movie star. I wish I had one of those motorhomes, for I would literally live there and go on road trips everywhere (except that our roads are all winding, narrow and so many potholes, so the idea seems distant).

Some of the crazy good things we did on your epic road trip were ;

1) Hiking around Cradle mountain lake

Cradle mountain and the Dove lake 

I had never been so close up to a mountain in my life before and Cradle mountain surrounded by Dove lake was surreal to me. I was overwhelmed with nostalgia and couldn't believe that nature could make you feel that way. We did the Dove lake circuit which was around 2 hours hike. The hike is a piece of cake for anyone for there are no real ascents or descents, it's more like taking a stroll in a park. The closer I got to the mountains, I realised how tiny I was and how little space I occupied in this world. I was humbled by the presence of this giant gorgeous mountain.

2) Visiting Freycinet National park and wineglass bay
I would say this is the must visit place in Tasmania for you get the view of picturesque wineglass bay. It takes around 2 hours walk to get to the wineglass bay lookout, and 30 minutes walk to the beach down. You never know who will greet you there, maybe a wallaby!

The wineglass bay lookout 

The seas shells I collected from the wineglass bay beach 

Look! who came to greet us at the wineglass bay beach 

3) Visiting Bruny Island
Bruny island cruise will take you into complete wilderness. It crosses across Australia's second highest cliff, amazing caves, rocks which are popular hang out place for seals. Also the drive to Bruny isalnd takes you to amazing coastline where you will see two beaches (north and south Bruny island)only separated by a neck (Isthmus). We also saw the most amazing dusk there.

Second largest cliff in Australia

The mesmerising dusk on the way to Bruny island

Aw, they were adorable 

4) Visiting Mount Wellington, Hobart 

From the Wellington look out 

I was expecting to see some snows but there were none but the wind was really strong and cold. Also a note, there comes a hut with a warm fire along the way and if you plan on camping there, then don't. The wind you receive there is crazy, we had a rocking motorhome at night when we stayed the night there. So, yeah don't get tempted by the warm fire, it's like Icarus flying towards the sun 😉

The strong wind at Mount Wellington with Hobart below

This was the hut I was talking about 

5) Watching the Liffey falls
If you want to see waterfall closely then Liffey Fall, which is a series of four distinct tiered-cascade waterfalls on the Liffey River located in the Midland region is something that should go into your travel itinerary.  

Fast shutter speed, Liffey fall

So, here is the thing. Today I am a woman who loves being in nature, loves to walk, is an adrenaline junkie and am happier and I feel the most confident when I am in my outdoor clothing. The nature teaches us to be humble, when it is dark the stars are there to show that there are beauty even in the darkness. When you are low, being on the top of a mountain you are no less taller than any trees and what's more, you are like the protagonist in your own movie and you can tell that amazing story of your adventure to your future grand children. That one road trip changed how I looked at things.

Dear Bhutanese living in Australia, in a lifetime of being there, you only get one chance to explore, only one chance to make that adventure of a lifetime, for we know when we are back, we will never be able to get out of the whirlpool of work and responsibilities. So, seize the moment and go EXPLORE!

:) :) :)

Druk Path Trek and Thrue in 2015

Blessed rainy day and Druk Path trek

So, it's Blessed rainy day week (Bhutanese call it Thrue baap). Like the name suggests, you got to expect rain on this week (Bhutan celebrates Blessed rainy day on September 23rd every year). Bhutanese would go paranoid if they don't see rain in September thinking it's a bad omen from above for we believe the rain in September contains that magical power which can cleanse all our bad Karma. Don't be surprised to see the elderly people glued to their radios, for they broadcast the time for the heavenly rain to fall (yes you heard it, they can predict when that magic rain will happen, no wonder we are called a very spiritual country 😂 ) and know the best time to take an outdoor shower and cleanse all the bad karma accumulated.  

So, when my dear friend Dr. Maureen in Australia said she was planning to do this Druk Path Trek in Bhutan in the year 2015, I requested her to tag me along with her partner, professor Paul (for I make a pretty good third wheeler 😛 ). When she consented and said that I would be going without having to pay a penny for the trek ( I was then just a fresh graduate), my happiness knew no bound (I would be ever grateful to Fly2Bhutan( https://yellow.place/en/fly2bhutan-paro-bhutan) for the free trip) for I know how expensive guided trekking tours can be, even for the locals. And guess what, my first ever trekking in Bhutan fell during Blessed rainy day week (we started from 19th and ended on 24th) and I believe I am all cleansed of my bad Karma for we received pretty good amount of rain during the trek. 

Drying our wet under wears, sorry socks 😋

All you need to know about Druk Path Trek 

This famous wilderness trail covers the two popular towns of Bhutan (Paro and Thimphu) and you can choose which way you want to start the trail. We started from Paro and ended at Thimphu ( I heard its actually challenging if you start from Thimphu). We finished the trek in 6 days (covering a total distance of more than 60K) for we decided to cover short distances each day and really enjoy the wilderness. 

Druk path won't disappoint you, for it will give a scenic view of Paro from Jili Dzong, beautiful lakes( with plenty of giant trouts), waterfalls, stone stupas, wild flowers and of course rhododendrons (sad thing it wasn't time for them to bloom in September). I believe anyone can do this trek for it is not challenging except that the trek takes you to relatively high altitude (don't forget to take chocolates or K5 whisky 😝  incase you get altitude sickness). I bet you can do the treks in winter (around December) for I have seen the pictures of the trek in snow and it is just mind freezing (in a good way of course).

First day of the trek

We began the trail above Taa dzong (National museum) following the dirt road for like thirty minutes before the actual climb. The first day was fairly short but it was mostly uphill. Fifteen minutes or so into the climb and my legs were already jelly (I trained for this walk, walking everyday to Buddha point in the evening for a week) and I was panting. I think it's all about acclimatising the first day and it gets better. Trust me all these are worth once you reach Jili dzong, which was also our first stop. You get this impeccable view of Paro and photo cannot do the justice what you actually witness with your eyes. I was blown away by the beauty of Paro, that at one point I said I am going to find someone who owns a land in Paro and settle here forever😝.

Jili Dzong, our first stop

Second day of the trek

The second day wasn't bad either with small ascents and descents and you cross rhododendron forests mostly. I wished it was the blooming season so that instead of light shower we experienced that day, we would have rhododendron showers instead.

Rhododendron glistened with wet lichens on the way to third day stop at Jimilang tsho

No thup(porridge) for Thrue but sure had a great view dining above clouds. Second day stop

Third day of the trek

Well if you haven't seen an actual lake up close, brace yourself for you will see this amazing lake, Jimilang tsho (the campsite), so you can expect plenty of giant trouts (except that fishing is not allowed, I mean unless no one sees you fishing 😆). The third day, by then the hosts of heaven had already started blessing us with quite heavy shower, so much that I begged that I was cleansed already but they didn't listen. My trekking shoes were all wet for my shoe was basically designed for short hikes and not for actual treks ( thank god I had a sneaker carried along that kept my feet dry). So, yeah it was mostly rain the third day!

Jimilangtsho (also known as Sand Ox lake) also a place for giant trouts they say but we didn't see one!

Fourth day of the trek

The fourth day, the sky cleared up and we saw waterfalls and professor Paul couldn't help taking pictures of the wildflowers. The campsite was at Simkotra tso, I believe a Dzongkha movie was shot in this lake. The lake was amazing and you could also see the trail that takes you to Dung tsho (will blog about this soon) from Simkotra. We had a campfire and dried our clothes and the Fly2Bhutan peeps always had amazing meals to offer. I was pretty amazed when they got us hot pie not baked in oven and still tasted good (It wasn't Arya Stark's pie baked from human flesh, GoT fans you know what I mean). Amazing view, amazing food, warm fire and starry nights it was.

Wild flowers and professor Paul 

Simkotra lake

Fifth day of the trek

The fifth day of the trek ended at Phajoding. It was quite a long walk but not challenging again. You get an amazing view of Thimphu from Phajoding. We camped at Phajoding instead of getting to Thimphu and saying goodbye to Druk path trek (we weren't ready to say goodbye yet).

Phajoding with Thimphu city below. (End of Druk Path trek)

with our pony guy, ponies are hard to ignore with that burr 😀

Sixth Day of the trek

The path was all downhill and if it wasn't for the heavenly shower and slippery trail, I would have ran straight at the end point where your vehicle would be waiting, also a shop which sells beer 😉.

Druk Path Trek is for you if you want to experience wilderness without having to struggle much and want to see gorgeous lakes and if you are lucky you can also see yaks grazing. So, go for it but remember September 23rd, expect rain and get ready to get cleansed in the jungle!

         

Happy Blessed Rainy Day :)

Kuzu zangpo :)

I have always wanted to blog and being able to finally create a blog (I am still exploring), i should say i am really happy.  I knew i wanted to blog about 'Travelling" ( i am not a frequent traveller, cause i am also a BROKER, if there is this word :P, basically means i have not enough money for exotic travels) cause i like getting into wilderness and getting lost. They say people who travel are merrier and are story tellers. I want to be an amazing story teller to my grand children one day. I will be basically blogging about my travels so far which is in and outside Bhutan.

Also a note to the reader, I am just a Chemistry teacher, so do forgive me for any grammatical errors  la!

Just a Hi note to all :)