It was eight years ago that we discovered the magical Kingdom called Bhutan. A tiny Asian country with its back to the world for centuries, Bhutan is changing. The word is out on the beauty there and the country is responding with plans to welcome more and more visitors.
When the King of Bhutan said years ago that “gross national happiness is more important to him that gross national product” the comment got a lot of attention. Most of us could use a little more gross national happiness at the moment. The thought of a country where happiness is the coin of the realm seems too good to be true.
Bhutanese people who are old enough to remember have a story about the “scissor-pants man.” The story goes like this: an old woman was working in her fields in the central Bumthang valley when she saw something that frightened her. There in the middle of her buckwheat field was something that looked like a man, but with a body like a pair of scissors—mowing down her buckwheat as he walked. The old woman called out to her family—everyone should bring stones and sticks and defend their buckwheat against the giant scissors!
The “giant scissors” was a lanky German tourist taking photographs. The old Bhutanese woman had never seen a man wearing pants before. Bhutanese men wear—even to this day—a kimono-like dress with long sleeves called a Gho.
When did this happen? Only about thirty years ago.
The Bhutanese have seen a lot of people wearing pants since then and are adapting everyday to the increase of tourism in their tiny country. For a country of 700,000 people, with a developing infrastructure, it is taxing. There is one major road from the one airport in Paro to the central and eastern parts of the country. Unless you are a true mountain adventurer, trekking in unmapped regions with your own Bhutanese crew—a much more difficult and remote experience than trekking in Nepal for example, you will be on that mountain road.
Lhaden, which means daughter of God, has agreed to have her picture taken. English is the second language of Bhutan and most people, especially children, love to try it out. Photography is one of those things that can open doors or close them and in Bhutan—where people have so little artifice—it is especially true.
Lhaden wants to know all about family planning in America. As the eldest of seven children, she knows she wants to do things differently, but for now, she has to help raise her siblings. Maybe she will go to college, she says. It is free for all children whose grades are good. One of the greatest pleasures of a visit to a remote country like Bhutan is a visit to a rural school to leave gifts with the Headmaster and meet the children. The Bhutanese government doesn’t want tourists giving gifts to children which encourages begging. But a visit to a school with welcome gifts such as sewing kits, simple books in English, colored paper and pens is something you’ll never forget.
At the Punakha Dzong (fortress/monastery), there are young red-robed monks with saffron collars standing near red and gold prayer wheels. We ask if we may take a picture. They immediately begin to play, pretending to throw one of their brethren over the monastery wall. We have seen this light-hearted playfulness everywhere in Bhutan, juxtaposed with a shy, polite manner.
This side of Buddhism is dyed in the wool here. Religious rituals are performed at all occasions of life; and the monks and nuns of Bhutan are seen everywhere. There is profound worship of the Buddha, the Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambava), and the Shabdrung, the religious leader whose unification of Bhutan created the country as it is today. In addition, there is a pantheon of deities and different manifestations of deities the study of which makes String Theory look easy! But perhaps the 15th century monk, Drukpa Kunley, known by Bhutanese as The Divine Mad Monk, best explains the charming combination of devotion and whimsy. Drukpa Kunley is said to be the most popular figure in Bhutanese history, his legendary adventures known to everyone. While Buddhism was being spread throughout the country, The Divine Mad Monk became known for his shocking, un-monk-like behavior, singing and teaching the religion in non-traditional ways.
Along with important icons of the Bhutanese culture—the snow leopard, the dragon, the tiger, the garuda (a mystical bird), there are penises drawn on some buildings and penises carved in wood hanging from the four corners of some houses, along with a carved sword, which signifies the cutting away of ignorance. The symbol of the penis, which our guide called “thunder dorje”, has important meaning for the Bhutanese. It is protection for the home. The legends surrounding thunder dorje stem from—you guessed it—Divine Mad Monk. Apparently he used dorji (“thunderbolt” in Bhutanese) to subdue various and sundry demonesses. Whatever the truth of the unruly behavior of Divine Mad Monk, most men adore hearing they have an intimate appendage, a thunder dorje, instead of the standard issue.
Whatever takes you to Bhutan, it is the people who may draw you back. If there is a Shangri-La, it lives in the hearts of these peaceful lovers of life. You may go to Bhutan to trek in the pristine mountains, to see the magnificent hand-loomed fabrics, marvel at world-class archery—it is the national sport. You may want to see the botanical paradise that is Bhutan with rice paddies and subtropical groves of bananas and mango giving way to unique orchids, rhododendron, juniper, magnolia, Blue Himalayan Pine and Himalayan Yew. Maybe you’ll go for the festivals or the deep rumbling chant of red-robed monks at prayer. For many, it will be the 770 recorded bird species, including quite a few that are globally threatened.
Whatever takes you there, I’m guessing that the people will also take hold and live on in your memory. As Lhaden said when we spoke our farewell: “Madam, wish you happy!”
For traveling in Bhutan
–Take a good headlamp and/or reading light. Lights are sporadic and dim.
–Plenty of antiseptic hand wipes
–Ear plugs at night to muffle the sound of barking dogs
–Hard candies for the long drives and dry mouth at high altitudes
–Medication for carsickness if you are prone. Mountain roads are one switchback after another.
–Hiking poles for the day hike to Taktsang Monastery, known as The Tiger’s Nest. This site, one of the most important in all the Himalayas, clings to a vertical granite cliff and is reached by a narrow, twisting trail, a real leg-burner.
Now, for your memories…what was the most exotic and/or challenging trip you have taken? Did it change your perception of this wide world of ours? (I also know that I don’t have to go far from home to see the world with new eyes.)
Photo credit: Photos by Patrick Troccolo