My first adventurous journey to Thimphu: 2003.

I was roused from a deep nap, when I heard the old man shouted” Dochu la ma ta tato wondai tso”( meaning we are now feeling hot in Docula(mountain pass). He must be southern Bhutanese because he was speaking ironically in Nepali language. My cousin brother who was occupying the adjacent seat in the bus said” Oh this pass is Dochula said somebody and I believe we are nearing to Thimphu(capital of Bhutan). I started to rub my eyes and peeped through the window glass of the Bus. A piled of snow was seen on the either side of the road.

I was journeying to Thimphu from Gelephu for the first time in 2003 with my brother who had never been to Thimphu. We are embarking to Thimphu for processing national identity card. Unfortunately there was on one in the bus whom we know them.

The driver kept applying constant thrust on the accelerator and the speed of bus was never bad, because it has left many small cars behind plying on the same road. The meandering road was making us to jerk sideward, time and again and in each turn a woman passenger was squealing at driver to retard the speed of the Bus.

“Oh brother where we will sleep tonight, I am sure we cannot find our uncle in Thimphu city” said my brother. I can see his face already tensed and looking at me worriedly. We will look for a waterless culvert and we will park ourselves inside the pipe tonight, I replied to him.

 

Photo: google.com

 

No sooner did we complete our conversation then I saw thousands lights of the Thimphu city twinkling through the fluttering pine leaves. We must been near Simtokha I knew later. My brother pointed his finger to the panoramic view of Thimphu city and said” Look there bro! We can see uncountable number of tall buildings glittering in the never ending line, and who are we as a newcomers to identify our uncle’s residence among thousands?” Don’t disquiet we will try our best bro I consoled him politely.

Our uncle has been working as armed force in Thimphu for quite a number of years. The panoramic view of Thimphu is zooming quickly toward us and finally roaring bus had travelled under a long concrete bridge. Just few meters from the bridge there was wide and open bungalow. The bus was safely parked inside the bungalow.

Everybody was trying to rush through a narrow door of the bus as it was already late night. Yet Thimphu city was brighten with the hundreds street lights. We decide not to rush and took our own time to disembark the bus.

Before I got out of the exit of the bus, there were lots of people who came to usher the co-passengers. I cursed myself for being born to a humble family and there was no one to welcome me at the bus station, despite it was my first visit to Thimphu. Later I learnt those ushers were no other than cab drivers looking for passengers.  

We downed our luggage from the roof of the bus and walked near the RSTA building. My brother was calmly following me. Under the dim street light, I unzipped my wallet and took out the route map (Showing the direction from the bus station to my uncle’s house) created by my father before our departure from the village.

My father lived in Thimphu in early 1960’s with his father who was then serving as one of the first Bhutanese standing army during our third king’s reign. 

As directed by the route map, we had headed towards the bridge, climbed up the stairs and walked towards left side. Just after few meters towards left side of the bridge, we knew that we are approaching the gate as indicated in the drawing. Our confidence was boosted and we walked straight away towards the gate.

Dochula pass.

A young police man had barred our way near the gate. He told us to unzip our bags and he had done through checking. “Sir Do you know corporal Wangchuk? My brother enquired. “Yes but the corporal Wangchuk whom I know is from Zhemgang” answered the police. I shed tears as I could not hold happiness at that moment. The kind police had showed us the building which is about 100 meters away from the gate. We are sure about the location of the Building, but the same building had 6 flats. The police was unsure about the flat that our uncle occupies.

In a sigh of relief, we quickly walked towards the building. The building was two storied houses. We stepped near the first entrance of the ground floor and stayed there for while, spying near the door. We heard a woman shouting at his child” gelamo nan(giving warning in Sharchop). They are from eastern Bhutan, I presumed. We moved to the 2^nd entrance of the lower storey of the same building and passively eavesdropped near the door.

Ah! We discovered somebody in the room was talking in khengkha(my mother tongue). My brother rattled repeatedly on the door. After few seconds of repeated knock, we heard someone unlatching the door. It was only our uncle who unclosed the door.  

There was no cellular service in Bhutan in 2003. We have telephone booth in plenty, but my uncle do not owned private telephone at home.