To The Wild Forest Of Bhutan
The sun rises as early as 6 here in the Bhutanese skyline, waking up all the sleeping beings here. Even at 4am, I could already see the first light hitting the darkness of the night sky. The summer season begins to show its characteristic here in the Himalayas. I left Paro after having breakfast in the hotel I stayed. I left my bicycle in some safe place in Paro, still untouched in the bike box. Tshiring, Lhawang and me then drove passing by farming areas, some bad roads and finally a forested areas.
Paro at sunrise, view from the hotel
The faces of the people, the sound of the language, the architectural style and even the environment feel a lot like in Tibet. Sometimes I still feel like I’m in Central Asia by looking at Bhutanese faces here, like the Kazakhs or the Mongols. Some of them told me that they too are descendant of the great Khans of the Mongols. The memory of the body never lies. The memory of our brain only remembers things that happened in our present life… but not the memory of our body. The memory of our brain doesn’t remember anything about the shape of the faces of our great great grandfathers… but the memory of our body remembers all well. The shape of the nose of our great grandfathers are sitting right here on our nose… same goes to our eyes and the rest. Even the blood that ran on our ancestor’s veins hundreds year ago still running free inside our veins right here, right now. And to the Bhutanese, they kept it well. Even their farming style here is still very traditional, very well preserved. Television and the Internet reached the country in the 90s. They still keep their culture strong and it feels so exotic travelling in this untouched country. The people here in Bhutan, rather than spending time and energy pursuing material wealth, they prefer to dedicate their lives pursuing happiness. The result, I see smiles carved on each Bhutanese faces wherever I go here.
After about an hour drive and a lot of talking and exchanging ideas between Thsiring, Lhawang and me, we finally reached the basecamp, the starting point of the trek, which is the Jumolhari loop, not so far from Paro. Again I was surprised it is going to be a very luxurious trek. There are 9 horses that gonna carry our luggage. I was questioning myself, are all these necessary? 9 horses for a 6 days trek. I can ride with only 2 horses from the Chinese border all the way to Tajikistan for months. Thsiring then left me and Lhawang as my trekking guide and there are a horseman and a cook joining us. This setup is usually meant for a big group up to 10 people or even more but this time, its only me.
the horseman, the horses and our luggage
hehe, I can basically sleep in a comfortable bed while doing wild camp :p
We started to trek late at noon, the trek was quite easy and the climb wasnt so steep through the forest. We climbed from 2200m from the base to 3500m to our first campsite on the first day. Since we trekked below 3500m on the first day, we were walking mostly under the forest without much hassle since we had enough oxygen all the time for our lungs. Once we reached our campsite, there was another guide joined us from the middle of nowhere… a young 20 years old boy, almost half my age, very energetic and very strong. No matter how fast I moved, he was always tailing behind me keeping up with my speed. All of them including the cook and the horseman, they look very tough, just like the sherpas but Bhutanese version.
Sonam, the young 20 yrs old guide, very strong, energetic and never gets tired, a Bhutanese sherpa
When we camped, they cooked luxurious food. I even have a menu to choose from. How nice it feels like to eat a full meal of rice with variety of dishes while camping. They carried big stove and even extra blanket for me. They even has a tent for the toilet! It now makes sense to me that trekking in Bhutan can be very expensive. I enjoyed it while it lasts, not always I have this kind of treatment in the wild. Only thing that I have to be careful, that this kind of treatment will pamper me too much and makes me weaker. I always keep it in mind, being too comfortable makes a man weak. Always take the middle path, and balance between the state of striving and being comfortable
Diary Of A Traveller 
These photos were amazing.p7
Ignore the .p7 😑 it was a typo, not a code for a secret message 😂
lol!! thanks man and yeah sure it isnt! )))
‘9 horses for a 6 days trek. I can ride with only 2 horses from the Chinese border all the way to Tajikistan for months.’
i think because its the horses to start & finish the travel too! ;)
if im not mistaken, back then in tien shan, though u ride only 2, but u did changed ur horses right? please correct me if im wrong.
hi fatin. haha yeah youre right there. i did changed a few times actually… but one reason was because i bought the wrong horses at the beginning, i got 2 big stallions. on the road i then learned that the best way to cross the tien shan is to use the domestic mountain horse, particularly from Naryn region, smaller but tougher. and with kyrgyz hospitality, they allow me to change to new fresh horses :))
Amazing view.
Congratulations Sdr Zahariz on yet another awesome adventure. Subhanallah, He has created beauty in every nook n cranny of the world. You are one of the lucky, chosen ones to bear witness of His wonderful creations, alhamdulillah. May the rest of your travel be even more awesome n filled with ease. Don’t stop sharing your beautiful narrations n equally wonderful pictures. Anxiously awaiting your anecdotes…jazakallahu khayr
A fan of your superb stories!
After reading this, I add Bhutan to my list of places-to-go before I die :0
dengar kata visa alone dah 1k usd. Bhutan sangat berhati2 dengan elemen luar yang masuk dlm negara. even culture anak2 muda start pakai jeans juga dah dorang concern sangat
hahahh poor animals ! so much to carry
It can be an unforgettable
Enjoying your blog. I am new to WordPress and a very new blogger. Still don’t have the hang of it but enjoy other blogs. Stay safe and enjoy the scenery for me.
I’m sure I hold the worlds record for “arm-chai” traveling. 😎
You mention in this post that the Bhutanese people choose to put their efforts towards pursuing happiness versus material possessions. I am actually currently reading “The Pursuit of Happiness” based off the teaching of the Dalia Lama which is focused around this idea. I’d be interested in learning more about your thoughts on and experiences with this in your travel through Bhutan; perhaps I will get there in your other posts. I just started reading your blog, but really enjoying it so far and such gorgeous pictures. I will be looking through your posts for travel inspirations. :)
Manzaraya doyum olmuyor
The photographs are truly inspiring. Thank you so much for these. 😀😀
Hey and please do follow my blog too
this is so beautiful!
SUCH HD SNAPS ?? How ??
And yess amazing work !!
These pictures are stunning!!!
Bhutan was already on my list! Amazing photos. And great adventure. I have just discovered your blog and it is amazing. Congrats! And thank you!