A letter from a Himalayan kingdom

Bhutan – What is it / where is it / why would you go there?

These were the questions that most people asked as I told them about an upcoming trip to this landlocked Himalayan kingdom. Indeed, very few of my friends have even heard the name of this beautiful country, surrounded by China and India.

Was it the deliberate intent to keep the entire country and its people a well-hidden secret? This was one of the most interesting and controversial questions we were trying to answer as we were driving and hiking up and down mountain passes, fertile valleys and small towns and villages of Bhutan.

On one hand, foreign tourism offers an excellent source of income for a country of only 770,000 people with hardly any industry and one of the smallest GDP in the world. It is relatively easy to attract and entertain a bunch of foreigners, who are willing to pay good money in order to take photo’s and video footage of the local festivals, temples, and colorful traditional costumes.

On the other hand, the “easy” tourist money can corrupt the age-long values and turn the hard-working farmers into professional entertainers. So, what path would you take, if you were the hereditary monarch and leader of this Buddhist country?

In 1974, the Fourth King of Bhutan, affectionately known as “K4”, had instituted the Gross National Happiness policy, which had effectively turned the country into a protected “natural reserve”. Every citizen of Bhutan was obligated to adhere to the old traditions, wear the national dress, and maintain the strict Buddhist laws of not damaging the nature and not the killing any living creatures. The foreign tourism is still regulated mainly by two factors: a hefty daily fee imposed on every foreign visitor and the lack of infrastructure supporting mass tourism.

Thus, in 1974 less than 300 tourists visited Bhutan, but the doors were cracked open and almost 120,000 people came to the country during 2014. My own group of 10 jolly Lenka Travelers were a part of the even larger batch of foreign visitors in May of 2015.

Our first day in Bhutan was instantly remarkable and memorable.

A quick flight from Bangkok was followed by fast immigration procedures and a warm greeting by Tshering Dorji and Tej Mongar from Bhutan Travel Club – our local tour operators and soon-to-be friends. In less than an hour all ten of us were wearing the “welcome” white scarves around our necks as we embarked on a short hike across two hanging bridges draped with colorful prayer flags. Beautiful, just beautiful, and this was just the beginning.

We drove into Thimphu, the nation’s capital, checked into the hotel and went for our second hike of the day. The hike started in the heavily wooded hills above the city and terminated at a temple complete with a monk chanting next to a large prayer wheel. A few hundred meters below us was a green valley and a sprawling Tashichö Dzong – a 13th century fortress, which still serves as the royal residence, monastery and the governmental heart of the country. We sat down on the benches under the pine trees feeling hypnotized by the amazing scenery and many strings of prayer flags, flapping everywhere around us in the fresh breeze.

As we were hiking back to the trail head, a lonely hiker dressed in a traditional gho was walking toward the group and stepped to the side of the trail to let us pass. He bowed to everyone and said “Kuzu Zangpo La” – the Bhutanese greeting. Then he quietly mentioned something to our guide as we were hiking along. When we reached our bus the excited tour guide said: “This was His Majesty K4 himself”, referring to the lonely hiker on the trail. Apparently, the royal hiker instructed the guide not to reveal his identity until he was well out of sight – the most elusive man in the country didn’t want to make any fuss about the encounter.

Don’t know about you, but I don’t usually meet royalty during my hikes. In fact, this was my very first meeting with a king of any country, never mind the fact that K4 had abdicated a few years ago in favor of his eldest son, who is now called K5. During our visit we saw many glamorous photographs of the royal family and were able to clearly recognize the lonely hiker, K4, surrounded by his four wives (all sisters!) and children.

The following 11 days in Bhutan were equally delightful and adventurous. We drove over high mountain passes decorated with stupas and prayer flags, then descended into lush valleys full of ancient dzongs, monasteries and villages. We hiked to the breathtaking (given its 10,000 foot altitude and beauty) Tiger’s Nest temple and spent a night in a farm house, where we participated in a fun archery contest, sang songs and drank copious volume of home-made brew with the local family. We learned about the Bhutanese ways of life and tried to explain our own to the wonderful people around us.

Hopefully, we had contributed something useful and kind to this country’s Gross National Happiness. I know that Bhutan and its people left an unforgettable impression on my friends and I. We were truly happy and privileged to visit this enchanting kingdom in the Himalayas.

Thank you, Bhutan! And special Kadrinche La to everyone at the Bhutan Travel Club – Pelden Dorji, Tshering Dorji and Tej Mongar – for making our visit so pleasant, smooth and successful.

Click here to view our Bhutan photo album.

Keep on traveling!

Igor and Elena Yasno
www.facebook.com/LenkaTraveler