I’m a fashion girl and I did a complete Instagram detox in Bhutan. Here’s how it went

More often than not, my holidays have been workations that blur the line between loving my job and switching off to come back recharged. Call it an occupational hazard of working in fashion but Paris, an It-destination for many honeymooners, has almost always been a work base for my bi-annual fashion week pilgrimage. Needless to say, the City of Love isn’t all that romantic when you’re running from pillar to post, typing notes while simultaneously dodging puddles to save your pristine ruby-red Sambas. Finally, in search of an actual break and on a mission to do nothing, I arrived at Pemako Punakha, a luxury retreat nestled in the lap of Bhutan, leaving all my appointments, schedules and itineraries at the reception.

The two-and-a-half-hour drive from Thimphu’s quaint airport to Punakha felt like I had travelled back to prehistoric times when nature reigned supreme. For someone who pays $12 for in-flight Wi-Fi, having zero network as the car I was in zig-zagged through misty valleys made the beginning of this adventure feel very wild. Lugging the black travel case that completed my airport look, I carefully crossed a suspension bridge over a gushing river—the only connection to the retreat tucked under the foliage on the other side of civilisation. A scene of David fleeing a bug in a wheat field from Schitt’s Creek came to mind, and I tamped down the thought.