Another side to Bhutan, and six things to do in the Himalayan Buddhist kingdom – land of archers in knee socks, ‘solar dogs’, and genuine warmth
While planning the route for a 200km mountain ultra-marathon, Pavel Toropov gets first-hand experience of life in Bhutan, where roads are few and far between, monks are demons at soccer, and Chinese tourists still a minority
Bhutan, or the Kingdom of Thunder Dragon, is nestled between China and India. The size of Switzerland, but home to just 800,000 people, the country jealously guards its nature and traditions, as well as the state religion – Buddhism – against outside influence.
Every visitor to the country must pay a US$250 fee and travel along a prearranged itinerary.
My Bhutan trip was different – while planning a route for a 200km mountain ultra-marathon, I got to experience a different side to Bhutan, working side by side with Bhutanese, and staying overnight with them in farmhouses and monasteries.
Reading a local newspaper always tells you a lot about a country. Headlines in the English-language Kuensel, given out on flights to Bhutan, suggest that the place is small, mysterious, but striving for self-improvement. Headlines I read included, “Graduates start online vegetable shopping”, and “All gewogs in the country connected with internet”, while a cartoon caption reading “Pedal past period prejudice!” aimed at breaking stereotypes of menstruation.
While I was wondering what the gewogs would do with their new internet connections (I imagined these to be solitary, troll-like giants, but gewog turned out to be an administrative unit), the plane started its descent into Paro airport.
The take-off and landing at Paro airport are one of the official attractions of a visit here. On the approach, the plane dives into a mountain valley, following its bends and turns. Tourist information tells you that just 10 pilots in the world are qualified for this aerobatic feat.
