Bhutan!

I spent the past week in Bhutan, a magical country, and like none I've ever seen. Sandwiched between India and China (Tibet), the steep terrain has kept it as an independent country (it's never been colonized) and the government strongly promotes awareness of kindness , protecting the environment and the happiness of it's citizens.

It was a kingdom until 2008 when the king himself declared that they should be a democracy, at which point they elected a prime minister. There is still a king who is honored and revered (much like England).

As I was heading to Bhutan, at the gate in the Bangkok airport, there was a gentleman in traditional dress (a gho) that all the Bhutanese passengers recognized and respected. As each person went passed they would bow and wai. When we were landing, the announcement from the cabin crew started with 'Your majesty, ladies and gentlemen...' and I thought, well that's a very kind, but formal way this was to address passengers! The man next to me was Bhutanese, and he said, "it may take a while for us to get off because of the high ranking passengers". I remembered the man at the gate and asked who it was. It turns out it was the first prime minister, who was very much liked. But also, one of the two princes of the country was on board as well! So now I can say I've flown with royalty. 😉

As you fly in you can actually see Everest above the clouds. This was taken through the airplane window.

We visited several dzong (forts where the monks live) and other Buddhist sites including the stupa in Thimpu, where people circumambulate (walk around clockwise) and recite prayers or spin the prayer wheels and a fertility temple that was constructed in 1499.

Thimpu chorten

Dzong from outside

Scenes from the movie Little Buddha (1993) were filmed here.

Dochula Pass

The roads are narrow switchbacks and thankfully we had an experienced local driver. Prayer flags line the road and along with the cars you'll see dogs, cows, horses and the occasional monkey. Motorcycles and bicycles have only appeared in the country since the pandemic ( I saw two motorcycles in total over 6 days).

We were extremely lucky to be at the Punakha Dzong on a festival day. Everyone was dressed in their finest clothes and came to watch the masked dancers, music and ritual. They don't include this in the itinerary because it doesn't happen on every trip so we were extremely fortunate to see this! The people were extremely kind and didn't seem to mind the few foreigners joining to watch.

We stopped at a weavers shop, to see an example of the intricate hand weaving. The patterns are beautiful, colorful and the patterns are all done by memory.

The final day was our visit to the Tiger's Nest. We started out early, with cloudy skies but the sun appeared part way through the day, providing the sought after views from the trail of where we were headed. The first (two hours) of hiking are extremely steep. There's a well placed cafe at roughly the halfway point, where you can rest and get a quick beverage before heading out again. The second half you start to see glimpses of the temple, clinging to the sheer cliff. It's staggering to imagine this being constructed in 1692. Apparently they made some improvements to the path during the pandemic, adding extensive guardrails which I think we all appreciated! (Total walking time appx 5 hrs, elevation gain 2,000 ft)

Look at the people for scale!