On a rollercoaster journey

24 July 2009

A journey on a public transport bus from Phuentsholing to Thimphu is scary and insightful at once. Rabi C Dahal shares his personal account of such a journey.

The Taktikothi stretch of the Thimphu-Phuentsholing highway

To go or not to go was the question. The condition of the Thimphu-Phuentsholing highway was at its worst. The authority concerned had cautioned travellers and drivers to be extra careful on the road or avoid non-essential travels.
It was over two weeks since I had planned to go to a medical treatment in Thimphu. The condition of the road was not improving but my treatment was getting delayed. On July 10, I risked any mishap and embarked on my journey to Thimphu on a public transport bus, a Toyota Coaster. I thought my health was crucial to me.
It was sunny when I boarded the bus in Phuentsholing at 11 am. After a few minutes, when the bus reached Rinchending checkpoint, it was surrounded by a number of local fruit vendors displaying their stuff in plastic bags. Use of plastic bags is banned in Bhutan, yet, even at that far-flung checkpoint, plastic bags are plenty.
From there, the bus turned right and took Rinchending-Pasakha detour that connects the highway at Jumja. A few minutes later, the bus reached Singye Chhu (Barsa Khola). Since the diversion road had been washed away by a flash flood, heavy vehicles using the weak Bailey bridge could get across only after ferrying their loads across the bridge in dribs and drabs. But the bus crossed the bridge with all the passengers on board.
DANTAK officials in April this year said the new bridge would be completed by the end of May, but little progress had been made.
After three hours and 12 minutes of incessant groaning, the bus reached Gedu. All along, except for a few few-metre tarred stretches, the road was muddy, slushy and bumpy. Heavy vehicles made the road condition worst. It was nearly impossible for light vehicles with low ground clearance to ply.
Even for the coaster bus, the mud was tire-deep. After much struggle, the bus reached Dhamdara checkpoint. The journey was muddy, tiresome and scary. The bus skid a number of times so it was often forced to take the wrong side of the road.
A public toilet is under construction near the checkpoint. Does it mean that the lateral route will be used for some more months or years?
From Dhamdara, the ride was smoother although mist was all around. The road gradually grew wider and better.
The newly widened Gedu-Taktikothi road was better but some overhanging boulders posed a real threat to traffic.
When the passenger bus moved past Dhamdara, it started drizzling and a hush fell on the passengers. They were praying for a safe passage.
Past Taktikothi canteen, the road was worst. If you could pass the Taktikothi-Wangkha stretch without closing your eyes, you would qualify to ride the world’s longest rollercoaster.
At some points, the road was so narrow that only one vehicle could pass at a time. At some places, it seemed like the whole ridge would collapse. The visibility was just five metres or less. It was practically impossible to watch the falling boulders and drive past.
Takti ridge looked ugly – very ugly. It was sleepy and ominous under a thick blanket of fog, making it impossible for anyone to pass across its lap without a sense of insecurity.
In April this year, I spent a night on the road when a truck was washed away by the landslide. I spent half of the night talking with the labourers about cement, cigarette and fuel.
It was 4 pm. Every passenger was hungry. Everybody wished the bus to halt at Wangkha canteen, but it didn’t. The quality of food in restaurants and eateries along Thimphu-Phuentsholing highway is generally poor.
It was past 5 pm when the bus halted at Tshimasham for lunch. A few under-aged waiters attended to the passengers. The food was poor but expensive. A place of rice with a piece of fish in thin soup cost Nu 80.
Passengers muttered under their breath that every restaurant provided free and delicious food to taxi and bus drivers. At the end of the month, they received a handsome commission from the restaurant owners for bringing customers to them.
It was cold. Two girls, who were in boxer shorts, were shivering.
At Tanalum checkpoint, the bus passed through a strict security check. It was a cumbersome process. Meanwhile, a few Toyota SUVs passed through the checkpoint without much hassle.
Some people, probably the staff at the checkpoint or drivers, were smoking nonchalantly even as others moved around them hastily. Tobacco is banned in Bhutan but smoking in public seems to be of no concern to anybody.
When the bus reached Thimphu in the late evening, everybody heaved a sigh of relief with a groan of fatigue.