bhutanNov 3, 2008
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kids outside a monastery
tyler and paro dzong
emma, rice paddies, and hills
| We flew from Calcutta to Paro, Bhutan to attend the coronation of the 5th king of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck. Joy, who runs Joybells, her mother, affectionately known as Nana, was a teacher of the 4th king of Bhutan. Joy was also friends with him growing up. He became king when he was only 14 years old. Bhutan is a tiny, land-locked, Himalyan country sandwiched between 1.1 billion Indians and 1.3 billion Chinese. It's a bit of a miracle they didn't end up with a fate similar to that of the Tibetans. In fact, when the 4th king of Bhutan saw what was happening to the Tibetans decades ago, he decided his country's isolationary philosophy was making them more vulnerable to takeover. He decided then to open the country to tourism, tv, modernisation, and eventually, the internet. Today Bhutan has about 700,000 citizens who seemed to us to be pretty happy people. In fact, the 4th king established the principle of Gross National Happiness to supercede Gross National Product. It seems to be working in this mostly rural, extremely hierarchichal society. We flew into Paro and spent a couple days visiting the ruins of a centuries old dzong (fortress), a Bhuddist monastery (shoes off of course), and climbing 900 metres above the valley floor to the precariously perched Tiger's Nest Monastery. It is said that the monastery is held in place by the hairs of angels. All in all a very nice place and a very welcome change from the noise, crowds, and dust of India. |
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