Where India Sweeps into Bhutan

Seven hours of winding ascending and descending roads on a coaster across the Himalayan mountain ranges eventually brought me to the plains of Southern Bhutan. Upon arrival to the hotel, a snack of afternoon Indian style pakoras held me over until the beginning of the celebration of Losar, the Bhutanese New Year, where I joined the family of a local friend in a feast of shamu datse (mushrooms and cheese), ema datse (chilies and cheese), and heaping piles of rice, all the while seated in a Buddhist altar room amidst the burning of one hundred and eight butter lamps.

The blend of Indian and Bhutanese cultures was clear in Phuentsholing … the ease with which I’ve become comfortable walking the streets of Thimpu was immediately jostled upon my arrival to this border town. The cleanliness, organization of business interactions, and respect for personal space I’ve come to know in Bhutan was altered by the bustling dynamics of neighboring India. Phuentsholing, at the southern tip of Bhutan, serves not only as the main entry and exit point to India, but also, to the rest of the world.

Walking the streets of Phuentsholing, I marveled at the availability of both Indian and Bhutanese food, apparel, and sights. Men in ghos walked side-by-side with women in saris. Saris hung over balconies to dry; kiras were offered at a lower price than what you might find in Thimpu. Fixed prices existed on the Bhutanese side of the border; prices started at double what the shopkeepers hoped to receive on the Indian side.

Maintaining a tight grip on the official notice from the Medical Director of National Referral Hospital stating that Ms. Bernadette Currier, American Citizen, has been granted permission to exit and re-enter the Kingdom of Bhutan between 16 and 18 January 2010, I cautiously stepped through the border gate to enter Jaigaon, India. My auditory, visual, and kinesthetic senses heightened as I was consumed by the energy of India. Small children cradled half naked babies with one arm while sticking the palm of their other arm out towards me in hopes of receiving money. Electricity at the shops flickered on and off. Consumers walked away if the offered prices were not being met halfway, only to turn back around as the haggling performed in either the Hindi or Nepali language continued on.

I tried on close to ten Bhutanese kiras until I found my perfect fit. Although the choices were slim, the material was soft, so I purchased a package of hot pink bed sheets with little teddy bears on top ... after later examining my package, I only wished I had gotten two sets rather than the one, since one set evidently only comes with one, not two, sheets for the bed. After picking up a few other items that could not be brought from the United States and were quite expensive to purchase having been imported to Thimpu, I completed my shopping with the help of my girlfriend who bargained down the prices from those offered to foreigners, to those offered to foreigners in the company of locals.

We made our way back to the border, and my documents were just briefly looked at before being offered re-entry into the Kingdom of Bhutan. After crossing the gate into Bhutan where we enjoyed an Indian lunch, I visited the local Kharbandi Monastery. There I offered gifts of butter and incense, spun prayer wheels, and received blessings from a Buddhist monk. Nestled on top of a hill, I had a bird's eye view of the Indian/Bhutanese border, where people and cultures seemingly blend to make the world a smaller place. I eventually found myself back on the coaster traversing passes of the Himalayas, stopping every so often to get out of the bus and walk across bridges that were not designed to uphold the weight of a bus transporting twenty plus people across the rivers. Together, as a group of Bhutanese, Indians, and one American, we safely returned to Thimpu. Dressed in my new kira at work the next day, I received more compliments on my Bhutanese dress than I ever have wearing my locally bought kiras ... evidently, my shopping trip to India was successful!