Bhutan- random notes

After almost 2 months living in Bhutan,  we have only just begun to understand this unique and fascinating country.  Here is a random list of things that we have found interesting:

On the road:

Thimphu is the world’s only capital city without a single traffic light- white-gloved police direct traffic.  The country has one “major highway” that runs east-west and is really a winding, mostly paved, single lane road. Bhutan’s only airport opened in 1983 ( plans to open 2 additional airports linking the eastern side of the country are underway)

 Fun and games:

The national favorite sport is archery, closely followed by kuru (huge darts thrown at distant targets). Generally, large amounts of alcohol are consumed. If the number of patients with arrows through body parts is any indication- this is a bad combination.

The girls spent endless hours playing "stone game" (akou) similar to jacks but played with 5 stones and very complicated rules.

We also learned to play karum with the housekeepers of the hotel we stayed in before our trek in central Bhutan (we were the only guests and they rarely get children, so the girls had a dozen big sisters to play with).

Lost in Bhutan:

There are no street addresses for homes, mail is delivered to the main post office and a PO Box is required to receive mail ( international packages can take 2-3 months to arrive).  Directions to  a person’s home consist mostly of landmarks, as many streets are unnamed. There is a restaurant that advertises “pizza” delivery but you need to run up and down your street waving the delivery car down in order to get your meal.

Name confusion:

Children are named by a monk a few weeks after birth and no family names are used. There are a limited number of Bhutanese names, so many  people have the same name (Tashi , Karma, Wangdue…). This can make phone conversations interesting as it can take some time to identify which Dorgi you are speaking with.

Getting hitched:

The minimum age to marry is 16 for women and 21 for men. It is not uncommon for a women to have multiple husbands or a man multiple wives. The 4^th King married 4 sisters on the same day in a royal wedding ceremony in 1988. Last week, we joined the kingdom in celebration of  the royal wedding ceremony of his son, the 5^th King.  The entire country enjoyed a 4 day holiday and streets were decorated with lights and ribbons. The King and his new bride walked through the streets greeting people and accepting well wishes.

The 5th King of Bhutan and his new bride.

Compassion over Capitalism:

After centuries of isolation, the 4^th King introduced Bhutan to the world by allowing television and internet in 1999. His policy of measuring success by GNH (Gross National Happiness) instead of GDP has been embraced by the country.  All development projects including business, health, and  environmental programs are measured in terms of society’s greater good. Our favorite Bhutan fact:  There are more monks in Bhutan (>10,000) than members of the army (7,000).

Government in transition:

Buddhism forms the base of Bhutan’s legal code.  Traditionally an absolute monarchy, the 4^th King introduced the country’s first constitution in 2008 and the first democratic elections were held the same year. The government is now officially a democratic constitutional monarchy.

No smoking:

Bhutan is the first country to completely ban smoking and the sale of tobacco. The aim is to avoid smoking related illness and continue to be able to provide free health care to all citizens.  Ironically, marijuana is literally a weed here, growing on roadsides and untended fields. There isn’t much interest in it except for feeding to livestock (only real drugs of abuse seem to be pharmaceuticals brought in from India). Though, it is only a matter of time before some enterprising youth begins baking up huge batches of brownies.

We have had a wonderful experience getting to know the people of this remote land. We will miss them all dearly and hope to return someday to find it the same delightful, innocent and slightly odd place.