62 MOTORCYCLE CLASSICS September/October 2019
Each day, we would ride winding,
crudely paved trails climbing to a high
pass and back down to a new valley.
Thimpu, the capital, offered the near-
est thing to a city. But apart from the
grandeur of the royal palace and the
dzong, the remainder of the city would
hardly rate as a suburb in the U.S. We
reach the center of the country at the
Bumthang Valley and its festival before
turning west again. The eastern border
would have taken us into Assam, India,
where at that time attacks by insur-
gents had made it dangerous to travel.
Every small settlement had its rus-
tic café. In Thinleygang, it was run by
a slender, pale Nepalese girl wearing
glasses — the only person I saw wear-
ing specs in Bhutan. In Hongtso, the
young Tibetan refugee who brought
our tea had long black hair tied back,
and shiny black streaks painted across
her eyelids. The baby balanced on her
hip was not hers, she explained, but
her sister’s. Sure. She told us she was
leaving soon for Kathmandu to find a
husband.The king
On his birthday each year, King Jigme
Singye Wangchuck toured the country
with his four wives (all were sisters) in
a fleet of Land Cruisers. The King was
deeply revered by his people, and any
who lived along the route gathered by
the roadside for the procession.
Our tour tracked the royal entourage
across the country, and every tiny vil-
lage on our route had been spruced up:
Gaily decorated arches spanned the
road; chortens (burial sites) and dzongs
were freshly painted; and prayer flags
snapped in the stiff mountain breeze.
We seemed to be only just ahead of the
king: And the roadside throng, unsure
whether we were part of the festivities
or not, cheered and waved anyway. Not
wanting to disappoint them, we waved
back. Dorje advised us of the proper eti-
quette if we did see the king, but when
it finally happened, I was unprepared.
We were near Yutong La, one of the
highest motorable passes in Bhutan
at 11,635 feet. A shiny Royal BlueBhutan’s Himalayan slopes
provide scenery reminiscent
of the European Alps.