I first began to realize that we were going to experience something magical during our flight over from Kathmandu. At our cruising altitude (say 30,000 feet), we look out to the left at the beckoning of our pilot to see Mount Everest poking through the clouds. It is a pretty surreal experience to see a mountain hovering at almost eye level!
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| Beautiful airport in the valley. The plane had to snake its way through the hills to land |
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| Hard to see, but Mt. Everest is in the back |
Landing in Paro, we were met with endless tracts of green (Bhutan's constitution mandates at least 60% must be forest; they are currently at 73%) - pure serenity. Maybe it was because we had just come from Dhaka and Kathmandu, but leaving the pollution and the constant car horns behind was almost like reaching nirvana. 80% of the Bhutanese are Buddhist, as we would be reminded throughout our visit, so nirvana was a recurring theme.
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| Beautiful even when it rains |
Our guide first described Bhutan as being the same size as Switzerland, and in retrospect it is actually a rather apt description. Bhutan is remarkably similar in terms of lush landscape with awe-inspiring mountains as a tranquil backdrop. It is, however, a much poorer country (although not overwhelmingly apparent) with far fewer tourists. To go to Bhutan you must book a tour through a travel company. The downside is that you don't really get the chance to explore the 'real' Bhutan. The upside is that everything is taking care of for you so you just happily go along with whatever the tour is. We were lucky to get a private tour so we could go at our own pace and spend as much time as we wanted at each site.
It's hard to give a day by day account of what we did. We mainly toured the western part of Bhutan (Paro, Punakha, and the capital of Thimphu). Suffice it to say that we saw a lot Buddhist temples and dzongs (fortresses), which were supplemented by our guide's detailed accounts of Buddhist history and folklore, all of which left our minds spinning. Here are just a few of the interesting tidbits we learned - bulleted with pictures.
- Parents determine at an early age if their children will be monks or nuns. So it's too bad if you didn't want to be one. Property rights are typically handed down through women, leading to fewer females becoming nuns.
- There are 13 traditional arts & crafts which the Bhutanese pride themselves on. There is even a government sponsored school which trains students in these crafts for up to 6 years, helping to ensure continued quality and prevalence of artwork.
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| Embroidery/sewing is one of the traditional skills. This student was using a sweet-looking Singer sewing machine that my bro would be proud of. |
- Phalluses bring fertility & general good luck so folks paint them loud and proud on many of their homes.
- The Bhutan national animal is the Takin, a peculiar goat- antelope that appeared almost mythical.
- In the land of "Gross National Happiness, kids are entitled to free schooling until grade 10. Even the children are blissful, walking hand in hand singing patriotic songs about Bhutan along the way - really!
- Older folks get dropped off at the "elderly day care" - Buddhist temples - by their relatives during the day so they can pray and gain enlightenment. They bring lunch and hang out with their friends all day, then get picked up at the end of the day.
- Fiddlehead ferns are a special dish, especially on festive occasions. Much cheaper than back home and delicious!
- Archery is the national sport (Bhutan sent an archer to the Olympics this summer) - we were even treated to a competition. The target is about a football field's length away and so small that people dance to help signify if you've hit it.
- Goh & kari are the national dress, worn at all times by men and women respectively during business hours and formal occasions.
- The country was only opened up to foreign visitors in the early 1960's. As a result, much of the culture and landscape has been preserved.
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| A Buddhist monk taking a break to enjoy the untouched beauty of the country |
- Stray dogs are fat and happy, often taking naps in the middle of the busy roads! Turns out everyone feeds and protects them because according to Buddhists, they are the the animal most likely to be reborn as a human. Their evening barking is also said to keep the evil spirits away.
- Here I am chowing down like an animal on essentially a rice puff. I loved these things because of their crunchiness but basically it's just rice that's been deep fried.
- Following Buddhist tradition, Bhutanese don't slaughter animals for food (they import them from India) or use pesticides. This was my excuse to stuff my face at every meal. My favorite Bhutanese staple is green chilies with yak cheese.
- "Urban" rice paddies are designated wilderness areas so centuries-old rice fields cannot be uprooted for urban development. This makes for some spectacular scenery adjacent to the towns.
- One of Bhutan's most famous sites, the Tiger's Nest Monastery in Paro, is nestled into the steep cliffs of a mountain. It's over a 4 hr round trip hike but quite a sight to see up close.
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| Over halfway up the hike, the monastery is still a white speck above our heads |
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| The monastery up-close |
- Ara is a traditional Bhutanese rice wine that can only be brewed for private consumption (something akin to moonshine). At dinner the last night, our guide showed us how best to consume it - with yak butter and scrambled egg added to the warmed liquor.
If there is still any doubt that you should stop what you're doing and plan your next trip to Bhutan, imagine that as I am blogging this entry, we are sitting in our hotel lobby which is nestled within rice paddies and watching/listening to an impromptu Bhutanese cultural show, complete with dancing and live musical performances. More performers than actual watchers!
(UPDATE: on our flight to Bangkok, the royal queen mother of Bhutan decided to join us! She had the literal red carpet treatment and a royal send off in Bhutan. She sat with her entourage in first class but generously graced us lower caste folks in economy with a smile and wave!)
For those of you keeping score at home, that makes a grand total of 4 "celebrity sightings" on our trip so far:
- Alick Macheso, Zimbabwe musician
- Willem Swanepoel, father of Candice (VS model)
- Miss Bhutan 2008
- Bhutan's queen mother
I want to go to there.
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