The Traveling Heat: Travel to Trongsa

We boarded the bus at 7am on Sunday morning. At first, I thought that I had the best seat on the bus. However, after a couple of hours and multiple stops to pick up packages and passengers, I realized that I actually had the worst seat on the bus. There were two people sitting in the doorway and the conductor and I became very close as he practically sat on my lap for most of the journey. We stopped for lunch at a roadside café and I had my first traditional ema datse (the traditional Bhutanese dish – chilis and cheese) which was really spicy. I then realized that all of my preparations in the US were in vain – there was no way I could’ve prepared for these chilis! Although the seven and a half hour bus ride was a little rough, the views of the Bhutanese mountains were unbelievable. The ride was definitely worth it though once we arrived in Trongsa. It is a cute little town with a gorgeous Dzong and tower up on a hill. Since we arrived mid-afternoon, the town was covered in a haze which added to the mysticism of the city. We went for a long walk that afternoon and had a traditional Bhutanese dinner for $10 for three of us (including some beers!!). The next morning, we were allowed to enter the Dzong even though we did not have the correct permit (maybe it was our good karma!). After the Dzong, we went to the museum which was unbelievable. It is housed in the tour of Trongsa; each level of the tower contains various artifacts from the monarchy and Buddhist art. The view from the top of the tower was breathtaking.