Bhutan
by Chris Thompson
The mythical land of Shangri-La was originally set in Tibet. Hollywood turned James Hilton's novel into a movie and the name Shangri-La came to mean a lost paradise. Sadly nowadays due to politics Tibet is no longer a lost paradise, however, I have found a worthy substitute - The Kingdom of Bhutan.
My discovery was made following a hair-raising flight from Kathmandu to Paro in Bhutan. This tiny kingdom northeast of India in the foothills of the Himalayas appears to be suspended in time circa the 15th century. The national sport is archery, it has the improbable looking Takin as it's national animal and most of the time the 700,000 population look like costumed players. The traditional dress of long robes or kira for the women and the men in knee-length tunics, the gho are woven locally and worn with great pride. Machine made clothes being a source of amusement and concern!
During my visit I stayed for five nights in the Paro Valley. Based at the wonderful Uma Paro the plan was to enjoy four days trekking and mountain biking in the valley. The first day was warm and sunny in January, perfect for some gentle trekking to prepare us for the following days. My fellow walkers and I visited a number of Dzongs in the valley - I really like that word! A Dzong is a castle-like stronghold; traditionally it mixed the role of military, administrative and religious functions, very decorative and homes to a number of monks. Most families feel it is an honour for a son to become a monk; we encountered many over the next few days most under the age of twelve, full of mischief and fun.
The second day I awoke in my villa in the grounds of Uma Paro to discover some four inches of snow had fallen overnight - the first time in three years! If I loved the scenery on the first day it became an enchanted wonderland after the snow. Despite non-stop snow we again trekked for the day, enjoying snowball fights with young monks we encountered on our way to another Dzong and taking tea in the house of a local villager (arranged within ten minutes by our guide). My highlight was the final days trek to Taktsang (Tigers Nest) Bhutan's most famous monastery situated on a sheer cliff above the Paro valley. We walked in brilliant sunshine; blue skies highlighted the many prayer flags as they waved in the breeze among the forest of moss-hung trees. By this time the snow was eight inches deep and dazzling, highlighting the crimson robes of yet more monks intent on a snowball fight! As with all the Dzongs we visited the altars groaned under the weight of offerings, biscuits, rice, wine, crackers even whiskey. This is the monastery all Bhutanese wish to visit once in their lifetime, the huge images and magical atmosphere made me feel very humble and privileged to experience this extraordinary place.
I can tell you more about my hotel and the Aman in more detail personally as they are very different in design and setting.
My final night was spent in the capital of Thimpu staying at the newly opened Tashi Thimpu. This is the first hotel to be built merging all aspects of Bhutanese art, culture and cuisine alongside first class contemporary design - it really did work! One of the main attractions to the townspeople of Thimpu is the first lift in the country. Thimpu did not even have a set of traffic lights at the time of my visit.
It is hard for me to convey the fabulous experience I had, everyone we met was a delight, a large number spoke English, everyone wanted to chat and would engage us in conversation with a big smile. The country had a new king (27 years old) waiting to be crowned on a yet to be decided auspicious date and its first democratic elections the following month - big changes. Yet, not one person felt strongly about politics, everyone was excited about the coronation and people were ..........happy. Very much how I felt during my stay.