"Why Bhutan?" many people have asked us in recent weeks leading up to this trip. When we pivoted from our trip to the Middle East, we wanted to go somewhere really exotic that would be hard to do with kids, and Bhutan has been on my travel bucket list for a while. Mountains and hiking (as opposed to trendy destinations with crowds and lines!) are my happy place (Bhutan is "like Switzerland, with a LOT of temples!" our guide commented), and I needed a hefty dose of calm and peace to help with recent work frustrations stressors (more than the usual). Bhutan, a small landlocked country in South Asia sandwiched between India and China, is known as the "World's Happiest Kingdom" and prides itself in measuring human prosperity by "Gross National Happiness." Sigh-- doesn't that sound idyllic and very much suiting my anti-hustle and anti-capitalist tendencies?
Never colonized, Bhutan has been relatively secluded from the world for much of its history (only allowing TV broadcasting in the 1990-2000), and restricts tourism heavily (imposing a hefty daily tourist tax) to stay sustainable (it is reportedly the only carbon-negative county in the world!) and does not allow independent travel outside the two main valleys (meaning you must have a guide and driver to see more of the country). Bhutan, a country of about 750,000 citizens, is a democratic constitutional monarchy, with both a King (the fifth at present, the monarchy dating from ~1907) to whom its subjects are incredibly loyal, and an elected Prime Minister. About 84% of the population practices (Vajrayana) Buddhism and the people we've met so far are truly some of the kindest, most polite people we've every met. It is country #67 for me (#42 for Kelvin).
We flew from Kathmandu to the city of Paro on Friday, after a short delay due to a delay in the incoming flight. There are only two airlines that fly into Bhutan (from a few select cities including Delhi, Kathmandu, Calcutta, and Bangkok) and we flew on Druk Air (named for the Dragon-- the tail is colored after the Bhutanese flag).
After a very early start, I slept for most of the very short <1 hour flight, but Kelvin (despite us being on the "wrong" side of the plane) managed to snap this picture of a snowy Himalayan peak.
We landed safely in Paro, which is apparently one of the scariest landings in the world due to a short runway and the landing strip being nestled in between mountains.
We were greeted by our guide and driver for the week (Subash and Namgay) with traditional white scarves.
We headed about an hour by car from the airport in Paro to Thimphu, the capital city (population ~120,000) and where many young people live (although most people still live in multi-generational family homes). We learned that renting is far more popular than owning homes here, and houses are far cheaper than cars! Property is inherited by the girls in the family, and there are no surnames here (just two names side by side, making it a bit tricky to ensure you are not related to any potential suitors/partners!). Kids used to start primary school at age 9 but (for about 10 years) now it's been decreased to age 5, and public education and health care are free. Food is inexpensive, basic needs are met, and it is “enough” for a happy life.
There are uniform roof colors (green for residential and red for government/businesses), but the smoke from recent forest fires (monsoons don't start until June-July) left the air hazy.
We enjoyed a delicious local lunch including red rice, fish, oyster mushrooms/cheese, sauteed veggies, and Ezay (a sort of chile salad garnish). The Bhutanese generally don't kill animals, or fish for food, so much of the meat is imported, whereas the grain, fruits and vegetables are locally and organically farmed.
We first stopped at the local Memorial Chorten, a stupa where we saw many locals in their traditional dress (gho for men and kira for women) worshipping.
Giant prayer wheels!
Subash took us on a tour of the National Folk Heritage Museum, where we learned about the dress, culture, and traditional homes and home life.
Archery is the national sport here!
We then strolled Tashichho Dzong (dzong = fortress), which serves as the municipal offices of the King (his very modest palace is nearby, walking distance).
We ended our first day at the Takin Preserve in town. The takin (the national animal of Bhutan) is an ungulate native to the eastern Himalayas that resembles both a cow and goat (like a goat's head on a cow's body) but is actually not closely genetically related to either.
Samba deer also shared their habitat.
On our first full day outside of Thimphu, we got an early start and did two moderate monastery hikes-- first to Tango. It was perfect uphill hiking weather-- cool (like Humboldt).
The scenery reminded me a lot of the Trinity Alps.
Locals hiked up in traditional dress, bringing offerings
Placards lined the path
Tango, also home to an institute of Buddhist studies, was built in the 15th century on the mountainside and is at an elevation of about 3000m.
langur monkey
We popped over to the trailhead to nearby Chari (or Cheri) monastery, and both our guide and driver joined us for the hike.
Photos are not allowed inside the monastery but we could photograph the art on the outside walls.
Wheel of life
We enjoyed a delicious picnic lunch on the riverbank.
This little (well-behaved) pooch waited patiently nearby and was happy to get some of our leftovers.
We then drove to Buddha Point (Dordenma), which boasts a giant bronze/copper Buddha built in 2015 and is possibly the tallest (seated) Buddha statue in the world, at 169 ft. Bronze. The photos don't really do its size justice- it was humongous!
Subash took us by a local vegetable market, where we saw some rarer (and some familiar) vegetables. He told us that payment by locals is usually done through a phone app/via QR code which links to your bank. They don't have credit cards here, and it was interesting to see even at a local market that cash wasn't widely used. (I'm not sure if it's related, but I could NOT get my ATM card to work at the Paro airport upon landing to withdraw ngultrums, which is a first for me in decades [the exchange rate is about 84 ngu/$1]. It was as if they couldn't even recognize this country's banking system!).
We stopped for some treats-- the men enjoyed ice cream, and I (always cold) enjoyed a "hot vanilla."
My mind was blown; I couldn't believe that this was a *thing*. It was much preferred (by me) to hot chocolate and WILL find a way to make this at home (I'm sure Iver will help me! He loves mixing and frothing).
Bhutan has been wonderful so far; a few more days of true stress-free vacation are ahead of us!
