This phrase was used by some fellow travelers to describe Bhutan, the odd clash of old culture vs. modernization evident across the country. Indeed, we stayed at one hotel in Bumthang where our only heat source was a wood stove in our room that we were expected to stoke and light ourselves. I could only do this successfully half of the time. My bathroom in that hotel was also made of cement — cement floors and cement counter top with a plastic shower curtain enclosing the shower and limited light. I couldn’t help but think that this is what bathrooms in prison cells must be like. I would try to get the wood stove lit before I went into the shower so that I could dress in front of the heat, but if I were unsuccessful, getting clean and ready for the day was a very cold experience. Oddly enough, this hotel had WiFi! It also had the best food we ate during our trip including eggs cooked to order each morning.
Lobby at our hotel in Thimpu.
Our accommodations in Bhutan ranged from very nice to barely acceptable. The first hotel we visited in Thimpu was as nice as any very good quality hotel in the U.S. or Europe. It was beautifully decorated and little treats would show up at our door in the late afternoon — cookies or hand-made chocolates. We had all the fresh water we needed, plus a mini-bar with snacks, and there was a lovely dining room where both dinner and breakfast was served.
When we left Thimpu, things went downhill. The first night after our sumptuous lodge in Thimpu, we stayed a what looked like an American roadside hotel in the U.S. We were staying in a town called Wang-Di. My room looked like a run-down Holiday Inn, with threadbare rug and scratched furniture, but it was clean. It turned out that quite a few of us, myself included, had no water — no water at all! Not even cold water. That was only a one-night stay so those of us who had no water managed to go without for a day (and we had just stayed three nights in the beautiful hotel in Thimpu so we didn’t complain.)
We stayed in one hotel that was only partially completed. Light fixtures remained unattached in our rooms, some tile work was not complete — evidently they do not have the same laws in Bhutan that we do in the States regulating the use of facilities before a certificate of occupancy is issued. This night was just after our three nights in the hotel with the wood stove, so I did not complain because at least my room was warm and the bathroom was a serviceable upgrade from the cement one that I had been using! Also, there was a lively group of young people working in this hotel with lots of enthusiasm for entertaining and being helpful to guests. In my mind, this made up for spending the night in a construction site.
Group of young people entertaining us with Bhutanese folk songs and dancing at the hotel that was still under construction even though they were using it to host guests!
Perhaps my favorite hotel along the travel route was in Punaka where we stayed in wood-paneled rooms that reminded me of Michigan summer cottages. This was a simple hotel, with simple rooms and baths, but my room was toasty warm with a space heater.
Happy New Year to everyone and may 2012 bring you all many adventures!