Lonely Planet

THE PHOTOGRAPHER’S STORYOctober 2017 Lonely Planet Traveller 101INCENSE IS ONE OF THE CORNERSTONES OF DAILYlife in the Himalayan mountain kingdom of Bhutan.It’s involved in the three most important events in life –birth, marriage and death – and it’s also part of everydayrituals. Most Bhutanese people go to a shrine once a dayand burn incense, and it has a myriad of other purposes, fromtreating health conditions and getting rid of bad spirits to helpingpeople concentrate or overcome their personal weaknesses.It comes in sticks or powder form, and the key ingredient isjuniper, blended with spices, flowers, herbs, barks and wood in aratio that remains a closely guarded secret of each maker. Bhutanhas declared itself to be both a carbon negative country and 100per cent organic. Since the ingredients sourced there are so pure,its incense is considered by many to be the finest produced inthe Himalayas. Despite this, it’s a subject that hasn’t really beencovered in travel stories or photography and, as I researched andtalked to people, I realised that it offered the chance to discoverthe country in a different way. In November, I travelled to thecapital Thimphu and the town of Paro, visiting Bhutan’s oldestand largest handmade incense-stick maker, Nado Poizokhang,staying in a converted monastery and spending time with themonks, just hanging out with them and playing football. It was awonderful experience. The monks were so serene and welcoming;being around them had an incredibly calming effect on me.Everyone I met was very friendly and polite, and Bhutan itselfwas beautiful, with magnificent architecture and a pristine qualityabout it. A big emphasis is placed on preserving traditions, andfrom Monday to Friday, everyone I saw was wearing traditionaldress. The country existed in isolation for a long time, with touristsonly allowed in from 1974 and there was no internet or TV until1999. It was fascinating to explore a place where the influence ofthe outside world was in places still emerging. I found Bhutan tobe an extraordinarily unique place to visit, both as a photographerand also as a traveller.SIMON URWIN is a portrait and travel photographer based in London. See more of his work at simonurwin.com and @simonurwinphoto‘The monks wereserene and welcoming’‘Monks study prayer books at amonastery in the Paro Valley;burning incense helps themconcentrate on their studies.The prayer room is very typicalof the inside of a monastery orplace of worship here – colourfuland extraordinarily beautiful.’