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Land of the Thunder Dragon (Or, less mythical, "Land of the Friendly Dogs")

Visiting Bhutan

Annette
2005-08-29 18:40:32

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remits 30% back to the Bhutanese travel agency in local currency. This income is the only source of hard currency for Bhutan, the other major source (but not in hard currency) is power generated and sold to India by Bhutan's hydro-electric plants.

It all worked out beautifully - as I soon learned, Bhutanese business people were so reliable and punctual that I soon dubbed them the "Swiss of Asia." The parallel is not so far-fetched, as anyone would be able to tell who has visited Switzerland. It might be worthwhile for anyone thinking of traveling in Bhutan to consider a one or two person " tour". It has to be a designated "tour"; in other words, independent travel is not permitted in the country. The fixed per diem charges cover the cost of a personal guide who will accompany the "tour" everywhere, a driver and vehicle, hotel and all meals. The guides are employees of recognized agencies and are certified. They organize every aspect of the trip, down to making arrangements for meals at the next stop and securing travel permits at the various check points on major roads. The itinerary outlined and agreed upon has to be observed and cannot be changed without a really good reason (like a mudslide caused by monsoon rains), as the checkpoints keep track of all movements. For travelers who are used to much independence and spur-of-the-moment changes of plans, Bhutan may feel just a tad restrictive. However, it is made up for with much goodwill on the part of the tour guides.

"Better to possess one virtue than a hundred nuggets of gold"

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"If you walk slowly, even the donkey will reach Llasa"

Traveling the treacherous mountain roads is an experience by itself. The narrow road from the border at Phuntsholing to the capitol Thimpu winds through beautiful country. It snakes around blind turns, against trucks coming from the opposite direction every few minutes, with sheer abyss-like ...