Paro, Bhutan (11/22/2013-11/23/2013; 11/26/2013-11/27/2013)

Wow.. Bhutan. Where do I even begin, to give this place any justice with mere words. 

Bhutan is really a different place. Landlocked in the Himalayas, with a population of ~700,000 people, run by a benevolent king, isolated for hundreds of years, it is one of these rare places where you feel time has just stopped, and life is simpler.  

It is a place where you really feel a strong sense of community and spirit, where the material world is in a much healthier balance (a means, vs an end), where people are genuinely warm, and where you can wake up, look around and find yourself immersed in some of the most beautiful natural scenery imaginable.  

Thanks to our local guide, Pila (who runs Yelha Bhutan Tours & Travels), we saw a glimpse into the life of what it really means to be Bhutanese, how it’s adapting to opening itself to the world, as well as a deep appreciation for the rich history and culture behind this unique place.  

We saw the old Bhutan – monasteries, temples, fortresses – and basked in the mythology around each. We saw the ancient Bhutan – beautiful valleys, unique wildlife, and the formidable Himalayas themselves.  We also saw the new Bhutan – young people at live music bars, the impact of social networks, and an example of great governance in a constitutional monarchy that we can all learn from.  There will be changes, and while one can never stay the same, we sincerely hope that Bhutan will retain its strong cultural identity in light of equally strong pressures from globalization.

Our first and last stop (combined into one post here) was in Paro, host city to the international airport - whose location is so challenging that less than 10 pilots worldwide are trained to descend into it (and I believe it - never thought a large A320 could navigate so deftly between peaks and through valleys - to the point where hundreds of feet laterally could mean life or death).   It was here we had our first taste of Bhutanese cooking, sports, households, and their famous hot stone baths in the countryside.