“Welcome to the home of the Thunder Dragon…” announced the flight attendant as we descended towards Paro Airport.
We glided down between the mountains into one of the world’s most challenging airports. Drukair — Royal Bhutan Airlines — was unexpectedly good. Even on this short flight, there was food and tea, and everyone was smiling.
We are at 2,300 metres. We are in Paro.
Traffic drives on the left, following the British system.
There are four seasons, but almost the entire country is mountainous. Paro Valley is one of its widest, flattest valleys, which helps explain the airport’s location. The capital, Thimphu, has no airport of its own; Paro is the international gateway.
It is red-rice harvest time. There is a brewery here, and they even make beer from red rice.
People eat plenty of chilli. Peppers dry on rooftops.
Older houses are mainly made of earth, stone and timber, usually with two or three storeys. Animals traditionally occupied the ground floor, people the next floor, and provisions were stored and dried above. Special openings provide ventilation.
Bhutan lived largely closed to the outside world for a long time. It joined the United Nations on 21 September 1971. Its population is now around 800,000. Hydropower is crucial to the economy, with much of the electricity exported to India.
Hydropower, tourism and agriculture are all important sources of income today.
Prayer flags are everywhere.
When you see 108 white flags, they are generally for someone who has died. The body is cremated, and the ashes are often released into water.
Coloured prayer flags use five main colours: blue, white, red, green and yellow. In Tibetan Buddhist tradition, they represent the elements: sky or space, air, fire, water and earth.
Prayers and mantras are printed on them. They hang in high places because the wind is believed to carry those prayers across the world. The flags flutter, carrying prayers into the universe.
Our guide also described intentions associated with the colours:
* Blue: health and long life * White: purification of karma * Green: faith and compassion * Red: wishes * Yellow: overcoming difficulties
Each has its purpose and mantra.
A shopping note: yak-wool scarves, honey and mushrooms are worth remembering.
Within Bhutanese Buddhist tradition, a monk may name a child after birth. Surnames do not work as we are used to; people usually have one or two given names. Our guide also described a distinction between everyday and spiritual names, with the latter becoming important in funeral rituals.
“Elsewhere in Asia, people spend a lot on weddings; here, we spend it on funerals,” our guide said.
Funeral rituals may continue for up to 49 days. The person is cremated, monks are invited and prayers offered to help the soul’s journey through karma and rebirth.
We see tiny objects on the ground. They are called tsa-tsa: small clay stupas or sacred reliefs that can be blessed by a monk. Some are left beside roads for fulfilled wishes, good karma or safe travel.
China to the north, India to the south…
A country tucked between the world’s two most populous nations, yet never colonised.
Citizenship rules are strict. We were told, “You can be Bhutanese if both your parents are Bhutanese.” Parentage is indeed central, although the legal details are more complicated.
Thimphu is the largest city. Bhutan has 20 administrative districts, or dzongkhags.
They told us that about 20,000 Bhutanese live in Australia.
Even the number plates differ:
* Green: electric vehicles * Yellow: taxis * BP: private vehicles * BG: government vehicles * Red: police * The army and king have separate plates.
We saw a mongoose on the road, a small mammal resembling a weasel.
Bhutan’s first modern roads began to be built in the 1960s. Much of the population still works in agriculture.
1999 is a significant year: television and the internet officially arrived.
It is hard to believe that a country so long closed to the world encountered television and the internet only in 1999.
The languages are fascinating too. Around 19 are spoken. Dzongkha is official; English is widely used in education. There are Nepali-origin Lhotshampa communities in the south, Tshangla communities in the east and Ngalop communities in the west.
Speaking three or four languages is perfectly normal: Dzongkha, English, Nepali and Hindi, for example.
Bhutan’s present monarchy began in 1907, when Ugyen Wangchuck was chosen as the first Druk Gyalpo, or Dragon King.
The monarchy did not end in 2008; the country became a democratic constitutional monarchy, established a parliament and held its first democratic elections.
First impressions
Wonderful nature. Green everywhere.
Clean and well cared for.
Beautiful houses, with a distinct architectural style.
Flowers look as though they have sprung up naturally everywhere.
A country like a painting. It reminds me of Turkey’s eastern Black Sea region: separate houses, mountains and endless greenery.
Huge phallus paintings decorate houses. These are particularly associated with Drukpa Kunley, the “Divine Madman”, and symbolise abundance, fertility and protection against evil spirits. Our guide also explained it as “the earth is female; the rain is male.”
And then there are cows lying comfortably in the roads…