GOURMET TRAVELLER 141L
ikemanygoodjokes,theoneaboutParo’sairport
runwaybeingthelongestbitofstraightroadin
Bhutanis seasonedwithtruth.Thecountlessvalleys
ofthetinyHimalayankingdomareknittedtogether
witha dizzyingnetworkofhairpinbendslikea road
mandala.Eventhedescenttotheonlyinternational
airportoffersadventureworthyofBiggles.Totheleft,Mount
Everestspearsthroughthecloudlinelikea monsterfromthedeep
(thenationalcarrier,Drukair,sitsnewcomersonthatsideforthe
bestview),beforetheplanebanksdramaticallyleft,thenright
throughthecoinslotoftheParoValley.It’sa white-knuckleride
featuredonanylistoftheworld’smostterrifyinglandings.
Asthefirstlessonina kingdomsteepedina deeplylived
spirituality,it’sa goodone.The825,000peopleinthisdevoutly
Buddhistnationbelieveinkarma,butit’salsoworthgivingkudos
tothe20-oddpilotslicensedtoflythisroute,eachtrainedto
ignorewarningsignalsabouttheclosenessofthesurrounding
mountains.Thistravellerloreis dulyconfirmedwithourpilotas
wemakeourwayintothebracingcrispnessofthehigh-altitudeair.
“It’sfineona clearday,”hesayswithtwinkle-eyed
understatement.“Itbecomesmoreinterestingwhenit’sfoggy.”
Nearlyfivedecadesafteropeninguptoitsfirsttrickleof
foreigntourists,theglobalopticsonBhutanhaven’tshiftedall
thatfar.Tooutsideeyes,it’sa countrystillweddedtotheexotic.
Dzongkhais thenationallanguage;ngultrumis thecurrency.
“Druk”means“dragon”(yes,you’vejustarrivedbydragonair).
Thetout-freestreetsofthecapital,Thimphu,arecrowdedwith
localsinnationaldress.Mostmenweara gho,a drapedwoollen
tunicworthyofCommedesGarçons,withvoluminoussleeves
hemmedindazzlingwhite;womenanankle-grazingdress(kira)
andsmartlycroppedjacket.Karaokebarsandsmartphones
areubiquitous,butadvertisingsignsarenot.There’splenty
ofdevelopmentgoingon,buta governmentdecreehaskept
buildingstoa six-floormaximum,aswellasa uniformdesign
bestdescribedasSwisschaletmeetsChinesepagoda.Rare
is thebuildingthatisn’tembellishedwithsomeoftheeight
auspiciousBuddhistsymbolssuchasthelotusflower,golden
fish,whiteconchandtheendlessknot.
TheLandoftheThunderDragoncertainlydoesgood
windowdressing.Withthesnow-cappedpeaksoftheHimalayas
as broodingbackup,whatimmediatelygrabsyouis thesense
ofa placejealouslyguardingitselfagainstoutsideinfluence.
SandwichedbetweenChinaandIndia– itsmaintrading
partner,protectorandrecipientofitsabundanthydropower- Bhutanstillmarchestothebeatofitsowndrum.Theworld’s
onlycarbon-negativecountry,thanksinparttoa lawthatat least
60 percentofitsterritorybecoveredinforest,it wasthelast
nationtointroducetelevisionandthefirsttobanplasticbags
andsmoking.It is a placesodeeply(andfamously)focused
onthewellbeingofitspopulationthatit is weddedtothe
unorthodoxsocialandeconomicmetricsofGrossNational
Happiness,a conceptfirstfloatedin 1972 bythefourthDragon
King(hehassinceabdicatedinfavourofhisequallypopular,
Elvis-quiffedson)andnowenshrinedintheconstitution.
Thetightlyregulatedrulesofengagementfortouristsare
an example of Gross National Happiness in action. The➤
Clockwisefromleft:
theviewfromthe
poolatAmankora
Punakha;farmers
gatherfallen
leaves;a view
overthecityofParo;
PREVIOUSPAGES
Left:a Buddhistmonk
atDodeydrak
Monastery’sBuddhist
Institute.Right:prayer
flagsstrunghighin
themountains above
Thimphu.