When in Manipal, you can have a relaxed cruise in the backwaters and witness the confluence of the Suvarna river joining the Arabial sea.
Or witness a mythological skit in action
But one must not miss the Hasta Shilpa Heritage Village Museum.
This is not an ordinary museum but are houses that have been transplanted from various parts of the country.
It is not only the houses but artefacts too have also been moved.
A guide will accompany you explaining each and every item with some interesting stories.
For example here is a stone on which history was written, but then it is interesting to know how the stone had a transformation in between. You can hear it from the guide himself in the video.
Here is a table with chairs for the zamindar and the praja. It is worth noticing that the zamindar's chair is higher than the praja's chair
A cradle designed for twins
One of the oldest Harmonium where pedals helped in pushing the wind. I noticed that it is a folding type where it will fit into that box.
When you enter the Mudhol Palace Durbar hall, don't miss the water trough to wash your feet before entering the durbar hall courtyard.
The Deccani Nawab Mahal had a cast iron spiral staircase too.
I noticed that there was music playing in each house, but it was not piped music centrally played and common for all. The Mangalore Christian house had English music, whereas some other houses had carnatic music.
The Kunjur Chowkimane was built in the architectural style of Kerala based from the 15th century.
The plan of the structure follows a Mandala. The basic house module is Nalukettu. (Nalu is 4 and kettu is Wings)
Noticed an old projector hanging on a wall in one of the houses, probably worked with a petromax.
Some houses had ergonomically designed seats that ventilate as well as ensure privacy on the first floor.
Trellis of windows were designed with a purpose
The dead body carrier for muslims is also preserved
We got a lot of information from our guide Mr Sushanth who was patient enough to explain everything in detail. I was also happy to see many school children visiting the place. This is the right time for them to learn history with the objects/houses in front of them.
This tree must have witnessed many changes that have happened in this museum during the course of time.
When watching the video, turn on the subtitles to understand better.
Bhutan has compulsory military training for one year, known as Gyalsung. All the young boys and girls you see in this orange dress are actually undergoing training.
The number of vehicles on the roads are very less. Almost all roads are alongside a river which has clean flowing water.
I never saw any vehicle exceeding the speed limit of 55. There are no traffic lights throughout the country and the zebra crossing is well respected by all drivers. There is a cop at every cross road.
Children returning after school. Girls are more when it comes to the boy to girl ratio.
A phone number is provided at the bus stop. Probably to ring and ask about the next bus?
Even if the roads are narrow, there is also a narrow footpath provided so that the pedestrians can walk safely.
If you visit the Post Office you can get custom made stamps which you can affix on letters/postcards and send to any part of the world.
Bhutan is the only carbon negative country in the world.
The constitution of Bhutan mandates the country to preserve at least 60% of forest cover at all times. (the actuals as of now is 71%)
A Guinness world record was achieved when they planted 108,000 trees in an hour to commemorate the birth of His Royal Highness Prince Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck by 100 volunteers in Thimphu.
Houses are well planned and with sloping roofs.
Almost all the houses are made of wood (wood obtained from controlled cutting of trees)
Farming is the common occupation (mostly rice and potatoes)
While having lunch, from the window I could see the farmers processing their rice grain.
Could also see some tourists showing a keen interest in the process.
They conserve their produce to last longer like this guy was slitting the chillies to be dried which can be used during winter.
Dochula pass is an interesting place. They say that on a clear day one can see the snow covered peaks of the Himalayas. Unfortunately when we went it was foggy and misty. (and cold)
At the pass I saw an artisan standing on a scaffold and painting a perfect circle without a template
This Raven was posing for me as if to say "I am the National bird"
Scaling the Tigers Nest is not an easy task, but two from our group did it.
When in Bhutan one must not miss the black necked Cranes Karma and Pema.
Have made a video on them. Plane landing in Paro is a highlight which one must not miss. Wrote a seperate blog on it. Our guide said that during the Covid lockdown period when they were jobless, the King supported them by giving 10000 BTN per month.
Saw this message on a cross road in Phuentsholing and it says it all:
"Where we live must be clean, safe, organised and beautiful, for national integrity, national pride, and for our bright future. This too is nation building."
I am sure all those who visit Bhutan must be going back home with one question "Why can't our country be like this?"
It is not everytime you get to see a plane landing at close quarters and that too at an airport which is considered to be the most difficult to land.
As Captain Chimi Dorji says, "Paro airport is difficult but not dangerous." (Captain Chimi Dorji has been working for Druk Air aka Royal Bhutan Airlines for 25 years)
Most airports offer about 10 nautical miles (about 18 kms) of distance for pilots to gauge the most aligned approach onto the landing strip, this airport accords only one or two nautical miles, which literally means there is no room for error.
Only 50 pilots are certified to land at Paro due to the demanding conditions.
I was also fortunate enough to videograph the landing. It was a lucky day for me as I could capture three aircrafts landing and one helicopter taking off.
The third aircraft I videographed was a small plane with propellers
While waiting for the aircraft, I saw these Raven (national bird of Bhutan) circling above. Murder in the air?
As I did not carry my tripod, I could not use my big camera, so had to make do with my mobile camera. Made a video on it and that is one item ticked off my bucket list.
Read somewhere that there is a Budha in the cockpit.
