Bhutan - 2 (Pheuntsholing to Paro)

'Kuzuzangpo-La' ... greeted Pema  .  Leaving Smitha and kids to have some more breather, Pema and myself kicked off for some birding.  The town was slowly coming to life in the penetrating cold and any possibility of having some black tea was gone in a flash.   Took the main road towards Paro and thus began our bird watching in the alien country.  The hoots of the Asian Barred owlet from somewhere in the teak plantation were reverberating in the valley.  Took a sharp turn and was stunned to see a big black bird hurrying across the road. Never expected a Kalij pheasant right here at Pheuntsholing.  All through our road trip, this magnificent pheasant which looks akin to some pre-historic creation denied me a good look for the shot.

 By now, Pema got curious and  suggested some rustic areas.  Parked the vehicle near a small bridge as I spotted some commotion in the bushes. Turned out to be a lucky brown shrike  followed by a couple of lesser necklaced laughingthrushes  which gave good enough views.  Soon, a spangled drongo, the most magnificent of all drongos swooped right before me. A couple of green-billed malkohas, one of the most difficult birds to spot and photographed emerged out of nowhere and I was bowled over.

  Returned the hotel after couple of hours and by then, all were ready and raring to go out.  At 10, Pema led us to the immigration office to get the visiting permits . The whole procedure lasted only half an hour . For Indian travelers, passport or visa is not mandatory.  Produce the electoral ID and you’ll be granted the permits which you’ve to keep till your journey concludes.

 Ordered rice and curry for lunch and went for some shopping. Phuentsholing is the best place to do some shopping in Bhutan. If you’re expecting any indigenous memorabilia from here, you’re in for a rude shock.  All these goods are imported from India and they will cost you dearer in Bhutan.  Even the Budhist statues are coming from New Delhi. Further East, the goods will be costlier and you wont have much choice. Post lunch, bid farewell to Tshering, Pema's betterhalf and  started our long journey towards Paro.   Poor Pema was denied any music while on the move, as I was all ears for any winged beauties. The sharply curved roads got us quickly out from the buzzing little town. The valley below was beautiful.



As we gained height, the scenic beauty became more and more bewitching. Our method was to look for the birds while on the move and upon detecting some movement, Pema will take some respite and I'd take some detours.  En-route, a clownish looking whiskered yuhina was so confiding that I had to move back a little to catch it in the frame. Couple of silver-eared mesias were foraging down below.. but, already it was getting late . An ashy drongo looking like a lone sentinel patiently allowed me some shots while a naughty black bulbul with all its gimmicks was trying to disturb it.  The magnificently coloured verditor flycatcher, the straiated bulbul, the black-faced tit - all of them heeded kindly to the pleading eyes of the photographer.

  

 










 As darkness creeped in, we reached the city of Paro which holds the only international airport in Bhutan. The Paro Dzong , bathed in exquisite colours was truly breath-taking .  Chele-La, our next day's destination could be seen from the hotel window. The dark woods were promising a lot. (- continued - )...