BHUTAN - IN PURSUİT OF GROSS NATİONAL HAPPİNESS

I had decided to travel to Bhutan in the summer of 1999 but first I had to find a guidebook. No such guidebook in Istanbul. After having gone through Paris and London bookstores, I finally managed to find one. And the first sentence in the book, very appropriately, said : ''You will have great difficulty in finding a guidebook on Bhutan . Very few have been written. And when you tell your friends and family you are going there, you will, inevitably, be asked ''where the heck is that place ? ''. That is exactly what happened.

Bhutan, a tiny country secluded in the mountains of the Eastern Himalaya, is quietly tucked away between the plains of India and the cold and arid Tibetan plateau, thus managing to remain aloof from the rest of the world.  This is why it can be considered as the last Shangri-La.

What used to be a Himalayan Kingdom in 1999, recently transited to democracy with the voluntary abdication of the King , one time refused by the people in a referendum and accepted only in a second referendum through the insistence of the King himself. That is surely  unique in our world. The Bhutanese call their country Druk Yul which means the Land of the Thunder Dragon. There are only 800.000 dragons there, i.e. that is the total population of Bhutan. 

It is not easy to go to Bhutan and all trips have to be arranged via a Bhutan-based travel agency. And it is not cheap either because the country is famous for its USD 250 per day fee (including hotels and meals) set by the government to ''filter'' low value tourism (there are no backpackers in Bhutan) and prevent pollution and change brought about by mass tourism. The important thing is to keep their culture as it is. As far as I know, the number of accepted tourists was around 5.000 in 1999 and reached around 15.000 - 20.000 today. The aim of the country being to keep its subjects happy, here the Gross National Happiness index is prioritised over economic growth and the Gross National Product index. Again a world wide uniqueness.

In those days, you could only reach Bhutan via the flag carrier Druk Air and that from Kathmandu (Nepal) or one airport in India. We chose to go from Kathmandu. But for a country where everything flies, Dragons, Garudas (celestial beings half man, half bird) and Tigers , there is only one airline with two planes . And here I am in one of them. A half hour after take-off, the pilot announced the Kangchenjunga (3rd highest of the Himalayas) and Mount Everest being visible at the left side of the plane.  The small plane swerved a little to the left when the whole cabin came to that side to see. And here they were, a few snow-capped peaks towering above the clouds. I wish I could open the window.

MOUNT EVEREST ON THE LEFT.

FEELS FUNNY TO BE SO NEAR.

Fifteen minutes later, the pilot was on line again, and with a perfect British accent (he was British) made the usual announcement before a plane lands, adding : '' Ladies and Gentlemen, we are now entering the Paro Valley and you might have the impression the wings of the plane are touching the mountains. Do not worry, we are used to landing in Paro airport and nothing will happen ''. How exciting. In fact, the plane descends into the valley and reaches the airport by making two or three sharp turns evading the 5.000 high mountains which really seem to be only a few meters away. Paro Airport at 2.200 meters above sea level (the only one in the country and allowing flights only in summer months) is one of the most scenic airports in the world with a terminal building totally fitting the local architecture.



PARO AİRPORT

THE CONTROL TOWER

Let us start our visit without wasting any time. The first stop is Ta Dzong, which is the National Museum. In fact it has been built as a watch tower in 1651.

TA DZONG

PARO VALLEY
THE ONLY FLAT STRİP OF LAND  İN THE COUNTRY

WATER WATER EVERYWHERE....

OUR GROUP WALKİNG DOWN
TO THE VALLEY

OUR AİM : RİNPUNG DZONG OR
THE FORTRESS OF THE HEAP OF JEWELS

THE DZONG LOOKS VERY İMPRESSİVE AND İTS MASSİVE WALLS
TOWER OVER THE TOWN AND VALLEY.

What are Dzongs ? Dzongs are the center of government and religion in each district of the Kingdom. In each Dzong, one part is dedicated to secular functions and another to religious functions.Those imposing structures have been built on ancient principles of architecture incorporating sun-baked mud blocks, stone and wooden beams and, traditionally, no metal - not even a single nail - is used in the construction. From the set-up of Dzongs we easily understand that both king and priest are important here. Buddhism was introduced to Bhutan in the 8th century. Bon was the belief system in both Bhutan and Tibet prior to that and was absorbed into Buddhism. Guru Rimpoche or Padmasambhava , an Indian saint, was invited to Bhutan where he subdued several demons and finally converted the king , and thus the whole country, to Buddhism. Thus Guru Rimpoche is considered to be the ''patron saint of the country'' and is extremely respected by all. Bhutanese Buddhism is different from Tibetan Buddhism in ways that are still unclear to me but Buthanese do not consider the Dalai Lama as their spiritual and religious leader. They have their own such leader, the Je Khenpo, who is considered a reincarnation of Guru Rimpoche. In fact, it seems the last Je Khenpo had just died and after strict searches, the new Je Khenpo or reincarnation of Guru Rimpoche had just been found. I had the honor of meeting this little boy who was being trained for his new duties. I have been blessed by His Holiness whom I pitied a lot since while his friends were running around and being kids, he had to sit very formally with his parents. I had never met a reincarnation before.

THE NEW JE KHENPO İN ORANGE
WİTH HİS MOTHER, FATHER AND BROTHER.

WE ARE BLESSED BY HİS HOLİNESS

Let us know visit Paro itself, the second biggest city in the country. In this small country, the second biggest city can only be a 500 meters long street lined by houses and shops. I have the impression of being in ''toyland''.

                                                          PARO FROM THE HİLL

PARO'S  MAİN AND ONLY STREET

THERE İS EVEN A BAR



SCHOOL GİRLS İN FRONT OF A GROCERY

PARO HOUSE WİTH CHİLLY PEPPERS HANGİNG TO DRY.

TYPİCAL BHUTANESE ARCHITECTURE

In Bhutan women wear the Kira, an elegant long dress held up with silver brooches at the shoulders and tied at the waist by a belt. The front of the dress serves as handbag.

The men wear the Gho which is something between a kilt and a kimono, made of hand woven tartan fabric. The gown is tied at the waist by a belt or Kera. Within its folds, the men will carry a basket of food, a gourd of water and a large knife.

There is a special addition when entering a dzong or at public functions. As far as men are concerned, common folk drape a white scarf or Kamne, while nobility dons a red scarf. Ministers have orange scarves, while members of the National Assembly wear blue. Only the King and the Je Khenpo may wear yellow. Women all wear a red-striped scarf whatever their rank.

 A BHUTANESE FAMİLY

WOMEN İN KİRA

MAN İN GHO AND WHİTE KAMNE.

The next morning we are going to visit one of the most venerated sites of the Himalayan world, Taktsang Lakhang (Tiger's Nest) monastery. According to legend, in the 8th century, Guru Rimpoche came to Taktsang in a miraculous manner, flying on the back of a tigress to subdue a local demon. He meditated there for three months and then converted Bhutan to Buddhism. So Takstang Lakhang is a holy place which Buddhist pilgrims come from all over the country to visit.  But there is a problem today. It is raining cats and dogs and the monastery is hanging on a cliff at an altitude of 3.120 meters, nesting in the middle of steep rocks that are almost vertically sloped. The climb takes two hours on foot. A bit less on horse back since you can do the first 800 meters on them. So here we are on our horses who have great difficulty walking since the wet mud keeps sliding. After the 800 meters and the heavy fog which does not allow me to see anything , I try a bit on foot but it could be easier skating on an ice ring. So some continue, others, among which me, give up  and start coming down. It is only when the rain stopped and the fog lifted, that I could see where I was supposed to go. Way too far and too high. I will not see Taktsang. 

WE ARE ON OUR HORSES

I AM ALREADY SOAKED

WHERE  İS THE MONASTERY ?

THE FOG HAS LİFTED BUT TOO LATE.
IF YOU LOOK CAREFULLY TO THE PEAK İN THE MİDDLE
YOU MİGHT SEE THE MONASTERY. 

PEOPLE I MET ON THE WAY BACK

We then depart for Thimpu, the capital city. Not one stretch of straight road on the way. We keep on winding up and down through another sort of entertainment. Instead of giving clear, specific instructions like ''slow down'' or ''steep curve ahead'', the road signs are more philosophical and poetic in nature. They read as follows : ''Keep your nerves on sharp curves'' or ''Life is a journey, complete it '' or ''Don't be gama in the land of the lama''.

A HOLY PLACE ON THE WAY - THE POİNT WHERE THREE RİVERS MEET.
YOU HAVE TO İMAGİNE THE THİRD RİVER SİNCE ONLY TWO MEET HERE
BUT BHUTANESE BELİEVE İT EXİSTS AND HAVE EVEN BUİLT SHRİNES .

A RELİGİOUS ART SCHOOL

STUDENTS WATCH US AS WE WATCH THEM

TWO STUDENTS PROUDLY SHOWİNG THEİR ART

THE THİMPU LİBRARY

THİMPU - A BİT BİGGER THAN PARO WİTH
TWO-THREE STREETS İNSTEAD OF ONE

LET US FİRST VİSİT THİMPU MARKET

Then we go to Tashichoed Dzong, built in 1641 and the seat of the Bhutan government. To this day (in 1999) the King combines both temporal and religious powers since the royal dynasty traces its ancestry to Guru Rimpoche; despite this,  religious affairs are more the preserve of the Je Khenpo or Head Priest.

GOVERNMENT OFFİCES AND MONASTERY
RESİDE İN A SHARED COMPOUND.

THE SEAT OF THE GOVERNMENT

THE SEAT OF THE JE KHENPO

                                               THE PALACE OF THE KİNG

                                                     QUİTE MODEST, NO ?

Next stop the memorial Chorten of King Jigme Dorje, grand-father of the actual king, who died in 1974. A chorten is a memorial stupa erected in memory of an eminent lama and represents Buddha's mind. As King Jigme Dorje was loved by his people, this chorten has become a place of worship. 

BELİEVERS TURNİNG THE PRAYER WHEEL .
THE MANTRA OM MANİ PADME HUM
İS WRİTTEN İN SANSKRİT ON THE OUTSİDE OF THE WHEEL.
SPİNNİNG SUCH A WHEEL WİLL HAVE MUCH THE SAME MERİT
AS ORALLY RECİTİNG ALL THE BUDDHİST PRAYERS.

PİCNİC ON CHORTEN GROUNDS.

TWO SWEET BELİEVERS

Very interestingly, Thimpu is one of two national capitals in Asia that does not have traffic lights. Local authorities had put up such lights but they were removed when people complained they were too impersonal, hence very unnatural to Bhutanese culture. So, instead of traffic lights, the city takes pride in its traffic police who direct the traffic as if dancing, with very gracious movements of their arms and hands. Unique again.

The next day we are again on continuously winding roads to reach Punakha, the old capital of Bhutan. But the surroundings are beautiful, all green with villages dotting the scenery. After quite some climbing we reach 3.140 meters at Dochu La pass, the highest point on the road, separating Thimpu from the low-lying and lush Punakha valley. And we get soaked in fog. 

 We are in Punakha to visit the Wangdi Phodrank Dzong which was the seat of Bhutan's government until Thimpu was established as the new capital in 1961. This Dzong is very important to Bhutanese people since its construction was foretold by Guru Rimpoche in the 8th century. Actual construction began in 1637 to celebrate victory over the invading Tibetan army.

BEAUTİFUL SCENERY

A VİLLAGE İN THE VALLEY

A MONASTERY

DOCHU LA PASS UNDER FOG

                                        PRAYER FLAGS AT DOCHU LA

ENTRANCE TO THE DZONG

MAİN BUİLDİNG

 You cannot go through the country without seeing some men with bows in their hands. Archery is a social event in Bhutan and competitions are organised between villages, towns and amateur teams. There is usually plenty of food and drink complete with singing and dancing. The archery range is a long strip of land (140 m) and the archers perform kind of a ceremonial dance before throwing their arrow. The game has roots in Bhutanese identity itself. There are several legends describing how bows and arrows were used as primary weapons to destroy the forces of evil. Gods in both their wrathful and serene forms are depicted holding bows and arrows. So archery, the only sport with which Bhutan participates to the Olympic Games , is considered an auspicious sport with a divine mandate.

ALL HAVE VERY NİCE SHOES AND SOCKS.
İT SEEMS THEY ARE İMPORTED FROM THE
USA. 

It might be bizarre in most places in the world to see a building painted with a huge phallus but in Bhutan, it is common to find mythical penises painted on walls since the penis brings luck. 

VERY FUNNY, İSN'T İT ?

A trip to Bhutan is an experience in itself. I liked this ''toy'' country where 800.000 people live happily, where there is no industry, where the only source of foreign currency is a hydro-electrical power plant built by the Indian Government and which exports 70% of its production to India, whose natural beauty is breathtaking, whose nice and warm people  and have a different way of life, a way of life that is simple. Despite having a low per capita income, there are no beggars in Bhutan. People live a dignified and contended life.  Could Gross National Happiness really be more important than  Gross National Product ? Bhutan seems to prove it is. 

Tashi Delek - thanks for reading.