Bhutan & Sikkim: The Prelude

Prayer flags in Bhutan

How does it feel when you are surrounded by snow, when you get to fly like a bird, when you raft for the first time in life, and when you have to camp by the side of a confluence of two rivers? Inexplicably amazing is how I felt. The fact that all this was done in a matter of eleven wonderful days is the icing on the yummy cake!

Officially the annual company retreat is unofficially a trip much awaited by a few adventure lovers and travel enthusiasts. The discussions and planning begin around 4 to 5 months before the D-day. The first sight of the poster calling for people interested creates enough excitement in those travel hungry junkies (I am talking about myself here!).

The first trip meeting is like a get-together for the prospective fellow-travelers, where the overview is discussed and some like me sit in awe listening to the beautiful names of the equally beautiful places that are on the agenda. Not to forget the timely "wows" that are heard during the meeting! (might have just been me again *grinning*).

The meetings that follow are basically to discuss the nitty-gritty. Though we do our research on each of the places in the list, we would eagerly wait for the e-mail calling for the next trip meeting. At the end of the rest of the meetings, when Sajish (the one who's behind all the office trips) asks, “Any questions?” all that we do is nod a "no". Secretly in our hearts we would have mixed feelings, one that says "wow" and the other one that is sad that that was the indication the meeting was over.

After months of anticipation and silent preparation, the D-day finally came. All our bags were packed and we were ready to go! All of us reached the Bangalore International Airport between 6:00-6:30 a.m.

We landed in Bagdogra Airport at around 1:30 p.m., and soon after we were on the way to Bhutan.

Want to know what happened next? Like the proof of the pudding is in the eating, the proof of all the fun is in the Bhutan chapter and the Sikkim chapter :).