Paro, Bhutan

Bhutan is a startling contrast to Nepal.  A small country near the Himalaya mountains, it is most famously known for pioneering the concept of Gross National Happiness as its most treasured value.

Sparsely populated, Bhutan is a craggy, peaceful place, with glacially cold, crystalline rivers….

The airport appears to be brand-new, with a replica of its historic monastery and the beaming faces of its royal family welcoming visitors.

The political structure is a constitutional monarchy, with both king and legislative body  dedicated to avoiding the rapid growth that could potentially over-tax their resources.  How refreshing!

Most people are Buddhists and many monasteries and temples dot the landscape.

A favorite theme is that of the Four Friends – an elephant, monkey, rabbit and bird who work together to grow trees so they may all enjoy the fruit.  A typical Buddhist lesson about the importance of cooperation among different types of beings……

Monks at one of the monasteries participate in lively debate, while their colleagues look on….

The people are almost uniformly kind, but with a playful sense of humor.  They also have a form of traditional dance.

And yes, members of our group were invited to join in the dancing, an experience we unfortunately missed as we had some pressing business elsewhere…..

Nowhere have we seen such a rich and colorful variety of prayer flags, so we had to have some.  We were cautioned, however, that they must be consecrated by the Buddhist clergy.  Fortunately, a guide knew a shop owner whose brother is the abbott of the local monastery, where we could buy prayer flags that were pre-blessed!

There is a lot to love about Bhutan.  This is a place we would have enjoyed exploring on our own, but National Geographic waits on no one, and we boarded the plane for our next destination – Agra, India.