Land of the Thunder Dragon - Bhutan

Connections.

It's always amazing to me how connections and circumstance can change one's life. How did I end up in Dubai? My parents were at a medical conference, randomly met a Serbian doctor that connected with my mom because they have some overlap in their profession, and whose husband is a sportsmedicine doctor. Boom. I'm in Dubai.

As per my previous blog, my dad randomly talks to his parking neighbor whose girlfriend lives in Dubai, boom. Next thing you know I am going to their wedding in India and might have future connections in Chicago as he is in the same field as I am.

A travel friend I met in the Arctic who happens to also be a physical therapist knew a friend that was passing through Dubai so she wanted to connect us. I met him, and he is probably as much as a world traveler as I am. Somehow the whole conversation revolved around his "best travel trip ever" to Bhutan. "Bhutan? Where's that?" I had heard of it, but why was it so special? Well, it a unique country that relatively recently opened it's doors to democracy and to the world (tourism 1st started in the mid-70's). They do "quality tourism" by charging EVERY tourist, whether a prince or a popper, a flat fee of $250USD/day, including accommodations (3 and 4 star), transport, entrance fees, and 3 meals a day. One CANNOT travel independently.... aka NO backpackers. Wow. It just got TV in 1999. Tucked in between powerhouses India and China, Bhutan is a peaceful country that is best known for it's Gross Happiness Project, it puts people's happiness first, ahead of Gross Domestic Product. So if there was a bill to be passed, no matter what it is, it must pass the Happiness Project, i.e. seeing if it will affect the population in a positive way, and if it passes, then it will proceed on to the next stages - i.e. economic gains, etc. It is frequently rated as of the "happiest" places in the world. As my friend was talking, my mouth was dropping and I said "I HAVE TO GO THERE!" Especially that it seems relatively enclosed now, but things don't last forever.

So along came my friends Kenny and Shweta's wedding, which happened to be in Delhi, which is one of only several destinations that the ONLY company that flies in/out of Bhutan is - DrukAir. And next thing you know, Boom. I'm in Bhutan.

Ahhh..... from the get-go, this is one of the unique places I've ever traveled. The flight was over the Himalayas and NOT like Nazi American travel, we were all allowed to crowd the aisles to take pictures of the Himalayas AND still stay there during "minor expected" turbulence. It was definitely safe, don't get my wrong, but the staff wanted us to enjoy the views:

THIS is the airport.... from leaving the plane, to going through immigration and getting our luggage, it took about 20 minutes total. Love it.

The cool thing about Bhutan is that because you HAVE to go through an agency to get there, it's all individually designed programs. I told the agency I wanted 1/2 cultural sightseeing and 1/2 activity, such as hiking. Bhutan has one of the best trekking in the world, but alas, I was not in shape for it and just hiking would do for me (although 1 hike ended up being more or less a trek).

Bhutan takes a lot of influence from Tibet.... but also having been to Nepal, for me, I saw a lot of similarities to Nepal. Bhutan is a mostly Buddhist country, and also a lot of influence from India. It was super interesting to learn all these myths and spiritual significance to their way of thinking. 

Our first few days was going through the markets, the fortresses (dzongs), temples, and just interacting with the people. The men where traditional outfits called "gho" (which yes, includes a skirt) and the woman "kira."

Textile weavers

Monks walking through the "busy" downtown area (sarcasm noted)

The kids are..... ahhh-dorable!

Chili is one of the main produces here and they LOOOVE their chili's. One of the traditional dishes is "chili cheese," which was a little hot for me.

Fortress in Thimphu

A monk by prayer wheels

Me by a dzong

Locals where this extra wrap when they go to governmental or honorable places

Prayer flags in the moutains

Ahh.... I'm in the middle of Bhutan enjoying a nice peaceful atmosphere and... there is the driver talking on the phone. Some things in the world are just all the same!

It's not a cow, it's not a donkey, it's a Takin - a combination of the two! The takin is Bhutan's national animal.

Archery - Bhutan's national sport. They even went to the Olympics for this! (and got 2nd to last in the final tally count of ALL the countries participating in the Olympics, ha ha).

For each successful target hit, they add a colorful flag to the belt. 

I love the natural Bhutanese smiles.

Bhutan is very Buddhist, who don't believe in killing or destroying anything. Hence, these old mud houses just stick around until they just fall apart on their own. Yes, it can take centuries and take up precious land space, but they are not bothered by that. 

We had this picnic lunch one day. The green thing on the left by the rice is "chili cheese," a favorite dish among the Bhutanese.

The Big Buddha, largest Buddha statue in Bhutan - in Thimphu

View of Thimphu

One of the many stupa's

Anytime you go to a stupa or monastery, you walk around it in a clockwise direction and in odd numbers, 1, 3, 7 times around, etc. 

Praying at the stupa

Praying at the stupa

Yet another stupa

Spinning the prayer wheels for good luck ... you have to spine each wheel in a clockwise direction for it to be significant. 

Apples are one of the few exports of Bhutan

108 little stupa's

Yaks!

Beautiful countryside in Punaka

Yes, your eyes are not fooling you. Penis's are drawn outside the homes as a sign of protection against evil as well as to bring fertility to the home. It is quite common (and amusing for us Westerners!)

A monk school

A monk school

I am having a zen moment

Outside a beautiful 17th century fortress (dzong)

The same 17th century fortress as above

Inside a 16th century dzong

Heheh.... amusing!!

Bhutan's largest suspension bridge in Punaka

My guide on the suspension bridge 

Schoolkids

Enjoying Druk 11,000. Beer that has 8.5% alcohol!

Sunset over the Himalayas

The main hospital in Thimphu

The healthcare in Bhutan is all FREE. 65USD of the 250USD tourists pay goes to healthcare and schools (the rest, who knows?)

Rehab outpatient department

Rehab outpatient department

The town of Paro.... yes, that is about as busy as it gets!

Whether a new or old building, Bhutan tries to maintain it's charm by most always keeping up with this same architecture. No building is also to be built over 6 stories. 

"Cultural show" at the hotel in Paro

The festivals in Bhutan are known to be AWESOME! There wasn't one when I was there, but here is an example of a costume as the pic below.

Below are pictures of Tiger's Nest - Bhutan's most famous site. It's a monastery for the monks that was built on a sheer cliff that faces the Paro valley. Legend has it that a Tibetan Buddhist saint flew across the Himalayas on the back of a tiger and landed here, bringing Buddhism to Bhutan. It is truly breathtaking! 

Means of transport to bring goods to the monks at Tiger's Nest

My last day was supposed to be a hiking day, but ended up being a trekking day because it was snowy on the mountains, shrubbery had outgrown the trail, and hence we trudged through unmarked paths and snow for 4 hours before getting to a nunnery and then our car. It was exhausting!!! (but it actually snowed, which was cool AND the Himalayan scenery was GORGEOUS! Love the fresh crisp air too).

Best.View.Ever.

What started out as a path...

And ended up being our path (note to self - bring trekking waterproof shoes and not regular 'ol gym shoes next time!)

The unblossomed famous flower, rhododendron

Pelts of snow!

The nunnery

Slipping and sliding away. Doesn't look super dangerous, but it was!

And before I knew it, I was back at the small quaint airport....

Flying back over the Himalayas...

The above is just a glimpse of life in Bhutan. It truly is a magical place. The people are VERY easy going and relaxed, "we don't hurry in Bhutan" when I asked the driver why we were going so slow. He had that reply and also, "you're on vacation? What's the hurry?" Hmm... am I really that impatient? There is minimal poverty there and people do seem relatively content. I'm sure it gets annoying when we foreigners ask about their supposed Happiness (as they have the infamous Gross National Happiness project) and they say they really really trust their government and KNOW and BELIEVE that their government really does want to do things to improve their lives. I didn't sense any sense of corruption or resentment through my various conversations. When I asked if they would leave, like seemingly everywhere else in the world, the local people WOULD leave to make more money, BUT would return, which I found interesting. The other thing I found interesting was that although 65% of the forests are protected, they have this hugs o litter problem. Eh? It seems ironic and was a bit disturbing to see people litter all over the place, especially at some of the protected forest areas. Why? Supposedly "the government" is going to do something about that, but then it brought me to think how reliant they are on the government and won't do anything until they tell them to do it. I said, "well, you can just NOT litter. You don't have to have the government to tell you to not do that" but they didn't seem to understand. 

What makes the country so special, besides the breathtaking scenery is that it does have that untouched feel. Thank gaaawwd the government regulates things so much, so there were NOT any McDonald's or Starbucks... or actually any chains of stores for that matter. That doesn't seem like it will happen anytime soon (phew). The Bhutanese are proud of their country, yet are a bit sheltered. They also like tourists and aren't greedy for money like other places. Even when shopping, they were relaxed and didn't chase me around or push things on me. That was super nice. They know tourists are pretty much paying for their hospitals and schools, so are generally friendly. I just loved the perfect combo of culture and activity... and also again, how laid back the people are. NOT like Arabs, they are timely, yet still have a good-natured slowness about them. 

Soo... there you have it. I visited "the Last Shangra-La," as a recent National Geographic article wrote. I'm curious to see how it will develop in the future, but so far am glad how it is regulating tourism and keeping the quality, NOT focusing on the quantity. 

So if you want an exotic and unique place to travel, I would definitely recommend the Land of the Thunder Dragon, Bhutan!!!