From the Land of Dragons (Druk Yul)

So here I am at the restaurant/hookah bar/ place across my house in Kathmandu that I steal wifi from…and boy I miss Bhutan. No doubt about it—Buhtan and Nepal are WORLDS different. Its basically like trying to compare Vermont with Texas…they are DIFFERENT. But let me explain what this “Bhutan” place is.

Our plane ride over was a KILLER view
Mt. Everest on the left Mt. Makalu on the right

Bhutanese Terrain 

Bhutan is an incredibly amazing, friendly, clean, and beautiful country that has about 700,000 people. (Which according to Wikipedia is the size of Kathmandu, Nepal…however I would beg to say that Kathmandu is bigger than that…but I digress). Regardless of how small it is the country, while it is landlocked, it is just mountains and rolling hills and everywhere you look you can see the Himalayas! It is simply just too picturesque. For example: we played soccer with some of the college students we stayed with (explained below) and at times I got so distracted by the blue hills and snow capped mountains that I forgot I was playing a game. (Spoiler alert…we lost the game!) Along with being an extremely small and beautiful country they are also one of the most difficult countries to gain access to. A “tourist visa” costs $250 PER A DAY to just enter the country. (I will allow you to do the math...but if you stay for at least one week that is 250X7= $1750.) This is one of the reasons why over 80% of those who come to visit over the age of 60. On top of being pricy you also have to hire a guide for the entirety of your stay and you have to get a route permit wherever you go. The Bhutanese government became a monarchy-democracy in 2008 and under their new constitution they began to allow more tourists into their country but only under those conditions mentioned. Bhutan has a very strong bond with India (their neighbor to the left) and so Indian citizens can enter the country however they so please with little of the restrictions that other tourists have. Out of the 100,000 travelers to Bhutan a year about HALF of them are Indian (so said one of the professors we spoke with). Mind blowing.

Free taste test at the Red Panda Brewery (Bumthang, Bhutan)

Wandering around and stumbled upon this amazing view

There are Yaks in the Himalayas 

Slightly off on my grasp of the mountains...oops!

Boys at the chili farm (Wokuna Valley, Punakha, Bhutan)

Throwing Darts

Rice fields (Wokuna Valley, Punakha, Bhutan)

Farmers riding of bugs 

Building a traditional house. This is a very extensive process--but songs and games are done throughout the process. 

Along with the strict guidelines as a traveler we, as students staying in Bhutan for three weeks, had to stay in the various affiliated colleges and institutions under the one Royal University of Bhutan. Our first stay was at the Institute of Language and Culture Studies (ILCS), which is in the most Eastern part of Bhutan: Taktse, Bhutan. The institute was way up in the mountains (about 9,000 ft. high) and was remote. We spent 5 nights at the institute and had lectures every day. By the name of the institute you could tell that they were mainly focused around Bhutanese culture, religion and Language.

Playing darts with the students at ILCS

The darts they use

Josh playing darts

"Betel nut" is a VERY commonly chewed nut. Not very good for you. Check out the link.

Mark sporting my sneaks for the soccer match against ILCS

The very distracting view 

Lulu getting all dressed up in her Kyra (traditional mandatory Bhutanese dress for women)

"Cultural dances" by the ILCS students

Then we sang the Moose Song. "There was a great big moose..."

After ILCS we then went to Lobesa, Bhutan where the College of Natural Resources (CNR) was. This was more in central Bhutan. The bus ride over was something else…for lack of a better word. At specific parts of the day (I swear they are random though) the roads close down due to maintenance so cars just stop and wait in one looooooong traffic line until the road re-opens. This was the reason why a 5 hour ride took about 10 hours. Similar to my post about “Africa time” (refer to my Kenya portion of the blog) Bhutan also has what they call “Bhutanese time” which is a stretching of time; so by the end of our trip we learned not to ask how long the bus rides were because in reality they could be anywhere from 1-12 hours. CNR was beautiful and over looked the largest river in Bhutan! One of our “free days” a group of us had a picnic lunch on the “only beach in Bhutan”…aka along the river! It was great.

The film site of "Magicians and Travelers". A movie directed by Khyentse Rinpoche (see previous post about him)

Our visit to the Punakha Zong. Very crowded.

Our "mixer" with the CNR students. My friend named Krishna. 

Women carrying compost in Lobesa, Bhutan. 

Our meeting with the Vice Chancellor of the Royal University of Bhutan 

After CNR we were off to Thimphu, which is the capitol of Bhutan. Unlike just about ANY capitol city in America, Thimphu was small, clean and friendly. Cars stopped when you were jaywalking and when I over paid for dinner they ran down the street to give me my change back! In Thimphu we did a lot of walking around and also visited the biggest Buddha in the world, a paper-making factory and even got to see the national animal of Bhutan…the Tackin (a combination of a Goat and a Cow…WHAT?!)

Watching how Bhutanese paper is made. 

Extremely meticulous work. I loved it! (Ally, get it!)

Mark had 12+ pieces of chewing gum in his mouth. 

Takin--the national animal of Bhutan 

A combination of a goat and a cow

BIGGEST BUDDHA IN THE WORLD (so we have heard).

169 ft. tall 

Max participating in some "Late Night Entertainment" in Thimphu, Bhutan 

So close to "Megan Enterprise"

I swear the goat loved me as much as I loved him. 

...then he rammed me with his horn right on the left cheek... I forgave him though. 

Biiiiiiiiig Buddha, big buddha...oh yeah, big buddha!

From Thimphu we went to Paro College of Education in Paro, Bhutan, which is in Western Bhutan (where the airport is). This college was probably the most beautiful of all the campuses (although it is really unfair for me to choose one because they were all INCREDIBLE). At PCE we stayed in Dorms with some of the students. My roommates who, I’m 86% positive were both named Kezang, were quiet but great. All of the women on my program stayed in the “Self Catering Dorm” which means that the women do not have a meal plan and cook everything for themselves. It was actually pretty nice. St. Lawrence should look into something like this (hint hint). We only had three days in Paro and one of which we went to a Tulken (a fortune teller). IT WAS A CRAZY EXPERIENCE! She pulled a demon out of one of the students in our group and after she did that he told us that he felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. C.R.A.Z.Y. The most incredible thing that we did in Paro was visit to Taktsang Monastery (Tigers Nest), which is the most iconic monastery of Bhutan. Regardless of how popular it is it was just amazing. The way up, SIT treated us to horse back riding, which was really special. We totally could have trekked up the mountain but it was really fun to ride horses. Once you reach the rock part of the trek we got off horseback and walked the rest of the way. The monastery is placed on top of and inside a rock face. It is a complete mystery how any of the supplies were retrieved to build this creation but it is fully appreciated. It if for sure a full day journey and one that you cannot miss if you visit Bhutan.

On our drive from Paro to Thimphu

Drew was "scared" on this incredibly (in)secure bridge 

At first this goat did not want to be photographed. After some time we became friends. I promise. 

Ben frolicking on the bridge!

Bhutanese man chewing the "Betel Nut--see the red lips?

Rob, Mark and Ben conversing outside the bus windows. Long bus rides will make you do the funniest things! 

Our visit/lunch with our lecturers, cousins, brother. His extremely sacred "pecha" (Buddhist text)

Peach Blossoms. B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L

Even when it rains it is amazing.

The house of the Tulken (the fortune teller)

Lulu's pumped to be back on a horse again.

Rob on his horse--he called him Gandolf 

Trekking up the mountain 

Thaktsang, Bhutan "the Tigers Nest".

Drew looking cute as ever 

Prashanta hanging prayer flags to rid of the demon inside him.

Max road a Mule (Hah!)

Our teachers assistant Eben

"Tigers Nest"

"I got the whole Tigers Nest in my hands"

Basketball game at PCE

Spring has sprung!

My dorm stay at PCE

The women at PCE heat up their water with an electric wire. SO UNSAFE! 

Now we are back in Kathmandu and are enjoying the last week and half until we depart for our Independent study projects (ISP). I am not exactly sure what mine will be but I’ll for sure keep you updated! Check out the SIT Facebook Page to see more photos from our journey!