Ten Things I Love About Bhutan-Number Nine: Dzongs/Stupas/Chortens

 Chimi Lhakhang (the Divine Madman or Lama Drukpa Kinley Temple)

 Paro Taktsang (Tiger's Nest) Temple

 The National Memorial Chorten, Thimphu

Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten, Punakha

Paro Dzong



Punakha Dzong between the twin rivers built around 1637

Dzongs or fortresses serve as the religious, military, administrative, and social centers of a specific district. They are often the site of an annual tsechu or religious festival in Bhutan.

Stupas or chortens is a mound-like structure containing Bhudhist relics particularly remains of Budha and used by Budhists as a place for worship.

Ten Things I Love About Bhutan: Number Eight- National Philiosophy

Gross National Happiness is better than gross national product is the nation's guiding philosophy. GNH was established in an attempt to develop an indicator of quality of life and social development in a more holistic and psychological terms than the gross national product.

It was initiated by the then forth king in 1972, King Jigme Singye Wangchuk who opened Bhutan to the world in the age of globalization. This concept was organised to build an economy to serve Bhutan's unique culture based on Buddhist spiritual values. There were four pillars of GNH. Promotion of sustainanle development, Preservation and promotion of cultural values, Conservation of natural environment, and establishment of good governance.

Ten Things I Love About Bhutan: Number Seven: Postage Stamps

I was introduced in the wonderful world of philately as a child when i discovered my sister's collections in her old cabinet. She was into the hobby as a teen ager and i remembered her excitement when she would write and receive  letters to or from her pen pals all over the world just to acquire worlwide stamps. I would sneak in her room and secretly get hold of her stamp albums. In my childhood innocence grew a love for those tiny work of art depicting the culture, traditions, landscapes, flora and fauna and famous peoples of a specific nation. It seems odd but when i study each stamp details, i would feel i have been in that specific place where the stamp came from. It was from those stamps where i learned the different odd-sounding names, and currencies of the different countries-from Magyar of Hungary, Sverige of Sweden, Hellas of Greece, to Russian name in Russian alphabets or the Spanish peseta, Macau patacas, and Bhutanese ngultrum. But those were years ago. After acquiring a great number of stamps, i stopped for a while when i started becoming serious with my studies. I am sure the love was still there. Until when i saw the Bhutanese postage stamps. My love for philately was rekindled. I have discovered there were stamps in shapes other than rectangular, square or trangular. There were already round shaped stamps, stamps in 3-D, and stamps in khadi cloth (Indian).

In 2008, Bhutan just released the first CD rom stamps which features their monarchy and their traditions.Quite unusual but it was a brilliant idea to introduce something which brings global appeal in the age of yahoo and facebook. It was not very expensive when i bought it at Thimphu Central Post Office. It costs 250 ngultrum/CD.

Now, i am again seduced into rekindling my old original hobby, that is, stamp collecting.

Ten Things I Love About Bhutan: Number Six- Arts and Crafts

The most exciting and vital aspects of the Bhutanese tradittion and heritage are found in its arts and crafts. Bhutan is well known for its Zorig Chosum, the thirteen traditional arts and crafts. Art is usually religious in thematic content and usually follow a strict iconographic rules

Lhazo (painting) Four Harmonious Friends is a very popular Bhutanese art theme.The symbol is widely used in homes and work places, as it attracts harmony to the environment and a reminder to respect to elders 

thangka painting

Shingzo or woodwork

Jingzo or Claywork

Tsemzho or tailoring

Dozo or stonework

 

thagzo or weaving

 

Ten Thing I Love About Bhutan: Number Five-Culture and Traditions

 traditional dress in men known as Gho

traditional dancers at a religious-themed festival in Paro

 traditional dress worn by school-aged children

 phallic symbol is a common spectacle in every Bhutanese households

 as a sign of fertility and to ward off evil spirits

Textiles is  Bhutan's premier art. Its the product of centuries of individual creativity in fiber preparation, dyeing, weaving, cutting, stitching and embroidery.The vibrant fabrics and intricate weaves and designs are an inseperable part of Bhutan's rich culture that has evolved over the centuries.

Culture is becoming a rarity in the West. In Asia where every nation boasts off their own rich culture and traditions is becoming endangered because of globalization.

Ten Things I Love ABout Bhutan: Number four-Architecture

Punakha Dzong

Chorten or stupah, Dochula pass

Punakha Dzong

Bhutan National Museum, Thimphu

Doorway of a house along main road, Thimphu

the Divine madman monastery

Architecture is a significant feature of Bhutan's national identitity. Traditional shapes, colors and patterns of Bhutanese architecture are unique. The wooden surfaces such as beams, windows and doors are normally painted with various floral animal and religious motiffs and colors, each with special significance.

Bhutanese law requires all new buildings, public and private to follow the designs and rules of traditional architecture on the exterior.

Ten Things I Love About Bhutan: Number Two- Its People

Father and son at Punakha Dzong

 spectators at Paro tzechu 

 Traditional dancers at a minor Paro tzechu



Bhutanese festivals are religious-themed 

 Mother and child, Paro valley

the master and his student, the National Institute of Arts and Crafts, Thimphu

The Bhutanese people is gifted with the following traits:

Hospitable

Friendly. Smiling faces. You see people always ready to smile and show some respect.

Conservative.

Traditional. You can see that with the way they dress. The traditional costume known as gho in men and kirah in women is part of their daily lives.

Nationalistic. They love their king.

Lives very simply, you can rarely see forms of public transport and most of the people travel by walking. School-aged children walk several kilometers to go to school. They have their own television program since 1998. They produced their first film in the early 2000.

Speaks the English language fluently. It is the second language, being taught to school as early as childhood.

Ten Things I Love About Bhutan: Number One-The King Himself

He is Jigme Kesar Namgyal. The fifth King of Bhutan who was crowned on its 100th year of monarchial rule in 2008. His father who was then the 4th king abdicated the throne in favour of his son and to give way for a new form of government which is democracy.

The King is still young and well-loved by the people. Our tour guide Ugyen even enthusiastically told us he is a very popular figure in Bangkok when he attended the monarchial anniversary of the Thai King.  A "superstar" who has been targets of Thai teenage crushes.
He exudes power, intelligence, simplicity and vision.
The kingdom may be conservative in many ways but the Bhutanese religious texts is available on-line.

I was given the very rare opportunity to see him walking along the Bangladesh airport while being met by the President and other dignitaries.

I am 40 in Bhutan

I have always dreamed of celebrating my birthday outside of the country. In my 39 years i have spent it in a small house in the squatter's area in Caloocan or in my childhood home in a southern booming rural city where my wonder years were spent mostly or back again in the various restaurants or coffee shops or even hospital wards during my different adventures as a growing adult in the main capital city.

It was my childhood fantasy to reach the Himalayas. What country can best exemplify the fictional place by James Hilton from the 1933 novel, the Lost Horizon labeled as the  last Shangri-la but the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan.

Sandwiched between two most populous countries in the world, north by the Tibetan borders of China and south by the mountainous regions of India, Bhutan has remained hidden from the modern world by choice.

Its my choice to spend my 40th birthday in this wonderful, bewitching, grandiose country which is less than half the size of the southern island in the Philippines but with lesser population than the city of Z. And i have never regretted it ever since.

It was the simplicity, and the hospitality of the people which makes this country one of the best places in the world to live in. Their character was shaped probably by their philosophy of Gross National Happiness being better than gross national product. What would be a simple dinner among the tourist agency's guests (2 German couples plus two Filipino adults in their early forties), turned out to be a surprise chocolate birthday cake and a birthday greetings from our host. I didn't mention anything about my birthday. But Deki the young daughter of Dorji must have seen my passport when i was applying for our visas.

We were offered a Bhutanese hospitality, the experience of a typical Bhutan home, spicy Bhutanese food in the buffet table consisting of pork, chicken and fish cooked the traditional way.

The German couples in their sixties were also delightful dinner companions.

This is definitely one of my unforgettable experiences, even away from my loving family.