Happiness Is A Place

Driving Across International Borders Is Always Special, Even More So When The Country You Step In To Claims To Be The Happiest In The World. And To Do It In A Pick-up, That’s All Boxes Ticked

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It is rather difficult to believe that less than twenty-four hours ago, we had come to the same spot and refused to get out of our cars. With the rain picking up and the fog swooping in, Dochu La looked far from welcoming. We couldn’t see the tree tops that border the hillside and the temperatures chilled my bones. Now, less than twenty-four hours later, it bears no mark of that scene. The skies are a deep shade of blue, as promised by every brochure that tempts you to visit Bhutan, fluffy balls of cumulus hang in the sky, caressing snow-clad mountain tops in the distance and the sun is beating down upon us. Then again, that is typical mountain weather and possibly the charm that a station higher than 10,000 feet has.

There’s a slight discomfort in my head and my lungs need to do a bit of catching up, as I make my way around the 108 chortens that mark Dochu La. There’s a fleet of Isuzus parked not far away. Amongst them is a D-Max V-Cross pick-up that has taken me through the cold and rain and up mountain passes. While the first day saw us complete immigration formalities to take our India-registered cars across the border and into Thimphu, day two was spent soaking up sights, quite literally, around town, as the rain refused to let up. However, a late evening excursion to visit the ‘Divine Madman’ at Chimi Lakhang changed our fortunes.