Holiday in India & Bhutan (1): introduction
I am about to go on a holiday to India and Bhutan with the company Great Rail Journeys. This is the first time that I’ve travelled with GRJ and it is a rarity for me to have a tour manager from beginning to end, rather than just when one is in the countries concerned. She is Tracey Richards and impressively she contacted each tour member even before we met at Heathrow Airport.
On this holiday, I’ll be with my travel companion Jenny Madden. I met Jenny last year on a visit to Georgia and Armenia and, earlier this year, we travelled together on a trip to Pakistan. I’ve been to India before (2003), but not to Bhutan, which will be the 90th country that I have visited. Amazingly, Jenny has almost reached 100 countries.
GRJ classifies the mobility rating of the trip as “active adventurer” which means: “You love staying active and like to explore on your holiday. You’re more than capable of handling longer walking tours (more than 90 minutes), standing for extended periods of time, and navigating towns and countryside. Itineraries could include early starts, late-night experiences, and full days.” So, it’s a good thing that Jenny and I are young and fit!
India and Bhutan may be both part of the Indian sub-continent, but could hardly be more different from one another.
Geographically, India is huge (the seventh largest nation in the world) and Bhutan is small (about half the size of Scotland or twice the size of Wales). In population terms, India is the most populous country on the planet (1.4 billion), while Bhutan has a tiny fraction of this many citizens (a little over 700,000). Religiously, India is predominately Hindu with a large Muslim minority (about 20%), while Bhutan is overwhelmingly Buddhist with some 20% Hindu.
Politically, India is a (flawed) democracy, while Bhutan is an enlightened monarchy. India has always been a country open to visitors, but Bhutan was closed to visitors until 2018.
India is currently 4½ hours ahead of British time and Bhutan is 5 hours ahead. The currency in India is the rupee and the currency in Bhutan is the ngultrum. Indian currency can be used in Bhutan, but Bhutanese currency cannot be used in India. Currently a British pound is worth about 110 rupees or 110 ngultrum.