Observations on Bhutan
Bhutan always seemed to be an mysterious place whose history was filled with legend and lore. I found Bhutan to be a fascinating country to visit, a mix of contradictions and a country working to seamlessly integrate the old and the new in order to develop its presence on the world stage.
Below is random array of observations and learnings shared by my tour guides that I thought would be interesting to share, especially since it’s not an easy destination to access.
Some history
Tatksang Monastery
8th century - Guru Rimpoche, a revered religious leader born in India, traveled from Tibet to Bhutan and introduced Buddhism to Bhutan. He is highly regarded in Bhutan, almost as much as Siddhartha Gautama Buddha (usually whom we mean when we say“Buddha” although technically the word Buddha refers to someone who has attained enlightenment). Taktsang Monastery, the famous monastery typically featured on Bhutan travel brochures, is where Guru Rimpoche conquered demon spirits that were preventing the spread of Buddhism in Bhutan. It is said that he flew to Taktsang Monastery on the back of a tiger, which is how the monastery got its name (Taktsang literally translates to “Tiger’s Nest”).
17th century - The current and most prevailing version of Buddhism in Bhutan, Drukpa Buddhism is formed by Ngawang Namgya, a Tibetan lama. He is highly revered as he unified Bhutan into a nation-state and was both a secular and spiritual leader of Bhutan.
1907 - Bhutan as we know it is formed - it becomes a monarchy and the first king is enthroned.
1960s - Bhutan opens up from isolation.
What’s fascinating about Bhutanese history is that to a foreigner, it seems to be composed primarily of myth and legend, stories that seem quite fantastical in nature (e.g. story of Guru Rimpoche) but are regarded as truth by the Bhutanese. I think it’ll be interesting to see if newer generations of Bhutanese continue to accept these teachings as they get more exposure to the outside world.
While Bhutan brands itself as a peaceful Buddhist kingdom and is widely perceived as such (I find this so interesting from a branding perspective!), it is not without its controversies. Several Nepalese people I spoke with are opposed to Bhutan as the King exiled most ethnic Nepalese living in Bhutan without any reason, and these people are now refugees spread across India and Nepal. According to my Bhutanese guides, the King mandated that any Nepalese who wanted to stay permanently in Bhutan needed to adopt Bhutanese culture by learning the language and adopting the traditional dress (I’m not sure if this applies to any foreigner as well). However some Nepalese refused to adopt the Bhutanese culture and rioted against the King. These Nepalese were branded as terrorists and they and their families were exiled. I don’t know what the truth is - I only heard two sides of the story.
Government
Up until now there have been four kings, and the present ruler Druk Gyalpo (Bhutanese honorific for king) Jigme Wangchuck is the fifth king of Bhutan. His father, the fourth king, created a constitution that mandates the king must leave throne by age 60 and pass power to his son.
So far there have only been male rulers of Bhutan. The fourth king’s daughter was the eldest sibling, but there was a prophecy that said that the son, the current king, would be king. My guides have said that Bhutan believes in equal rights for men and women and thus if there is a prophecy that an upcoming ruler should be female, the government will respect that. The cynic in me wonders if there would ever be a female ruler of Bhutan as those delivering the prophecies are male (monks) and the Chief Abbot (most senior religious leader) has always been male.
While Bhutan has a military, it is not mandatory for people to join given the country’s Buddhist beliefs and desire to live in peace and harmony.
Bhutan is famous for focusing on Gross National Happiness rather than GDP. Gross National Happiness (GNH) is used to guide Bhutan’s policymaking. According to my tour guides, GNH was mostly at 90%. This was confirmed by my research; according to the Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative, 93.6% of the Bhutanese population scored as “happy” in the 2022 GNH index: 9.5% were “deeply happy”, 38.6% were “extensively happy”, 45.5% were “narrowly happy”, and 6.4% were “unhappy”. According to my guides, the methodology for gathering this information is by government officials going door-to-door to assess GNH. I’m not quite sure if this is actually true (more on the calculation of GNH is here if you’re interested, but if that is the case I wonder about the quality of the data, especially because it is illegal to critique the king and royal family.
Government benefits:
All Bhutanese have free education up to 10th grade. If you perform well in your exams then the king will pay for you to study abroad at university.
New maternal leave policies were created by the current government in Oct 2023. These include an 1000 days government stipend that beings from date of conception, a minimum of six months maternal leave and 10 days paternal leave. If the mother experiences a miscarriage then she receives one month leave and if the newborn dies then she receives three months leave to grieve. If the mother dies while giving birth then the father receives six months leave. Hospitals have maternity classes for moms, and they also send out groups to the villages to teach them about maternity care and maternal care.
Economy & infrastructure
In addition to the traditional road signs, there are often road signs to remind drivers to drive safely and avoid accidents.
The number one contributor to the economy is hydropower. Second is tourism, so Bhutan greatly suffered during COVID.
Bhutan previously exported goods to Tibet prior to its invasion by China. They were closely tied given their history and shared beliefs, and as a result Bhutan does not have diplomatic relations with China. Bhutan shares a border with China via Tibet and via the Arunachal Pradesh state (claimed by Indian but a territory dispute between India and China).
All road signs are in English but not all are in Dzongkha, the Bhutanese language. Western-style advertisements and billboards are banned so it was quite nice to go for a drive and only have nature and the towns to look at - it definitely lended credence to Bhutan’s brand of being a peaceful retreat from the outside world. The maximum highway speed is 50-60 kph (30-38mph) which seems so slow! Most of the roads are quiet windy and in mountainous areas, but it still seems like a very low speed limit.
Currently Bhutan has one international airport in Paro. The primary mode of transportation across the country is by car due to accessibility, although those who can afford it can fly between the smaller regional domestic airports. Bhutan is building a second international airport in the south, as well as its first ever train station. Currently airplanes flying out of Paro can only fly to a limited number of places due to the length of the runway, but the new airport under construction in the south is supposed to expand the scope of available destinations. Both the new airport and train station are being funded by the Indian government, but they will be run by the Bhutanese government, who will pay back the loan from India.
Bhutan has some historic ties with Great Britain although they were (proudly) never colonized by the British. The British intervened when China invaded Tibet and Bhutan in the early 1700s and forced Bhutan to sign a treaty that accepted British meditation for any future disagreements between Bhutan and foreign countries. While Bhutan and Great Britain don’t have an official diplomatic relationship, they have a friendly informal relationship (both the king and queen of Bhutan were invited to and attended Queen Elizabeth’s funeral).
The Bhutanese government has a strong relationship with India given its position as a former British colony, but in my opinion there is an over reliance on India. Much is imported from India and the Indian government is the primary lender when it comes to Bhutan’s investments in infrastructure. India also has a This will be an interesting political dynamic to watch as Bhutan continues to increase its presence on the world stage: How will this impact or influence Bhutan’s decisions on building and nurturing diplomatic relationships with other countries? What happens to Bhutan if this relationship suddenly goes sour - who else can they turn to?
COVID
One of the regional sites of the Orange Army, named such for their orange uniforms.
Bhutan was one of the last countries to be affected by COVID given its relative isolation from the rest of the world. As a result it could learn from other countries’ responses to the pandemic and take away various best practices.
COVID had a really big hit on the economy as tourism is the second largest industry in Bhutan. During the pandemic, the king provided people with a monthly stipend for a period of 15 months. After the pandemic around March/April 2023 the government increased its Sustainable Development Fund (the foreign tourist fee, also known as SDF) from $65USD to $200USD per night to make up for the gap in the economy. However Bhutan didn’t see a large influx of tourists as they found the SDF to be too high, so the government reduced the SDF to $100USD in September 2023 to encourage more tourists to visit.
During the pandemic there was a large amount of unemployment among youth. As a result the King created the Orange Army to give youth purpose after graduating from high school. After graduation, youth were required to join the Orange Army for three months and perform acts of service for the country. These included creating new hiking trails in the Bhutanese Himalayas, creating safer pathways to monasteries (including a guardrail for the famous Taktsang Monastery), and repairing historical buildings. Now post-pandemic it is only mandatory to participate for three weeks.
In traditional Bhutanese dress with my guides
People & culture
It is mandatory by law to wear the national dress (gho for men, kira for women) to school and to work. Additionally, people are required to wear the national dress when visiting temple and government buildings, and certain places require an additional ceremonial scarf to be worn out of respect.
Gay marriage isn’t legal but it also isn’t illegal. The current king signed in a law banning anti-homosexuality which was seen as step forward for gay rights.
Sex and birth control
Birth control and condoms are readily available but apparently Bhutanese are shy about these matters
During COVID there were a lot of unplanned pregnancies because of the lack of birth control; Bhutan’s birth control pills are imported from India (non are produced in Bhutan) so they didn’t have access to birth control when borders were closed due to the pandemic
By law you cannot tie your tubes or get a vasectomy until you have three children. This is because Bhutan has an underpopulation problem
Most get married young, around 19. They have sex education starting from 7th grade as part of science class and have this curriculum every year until they graduate
Dating
There are no dating apps in Bhutan. People use WeChat and Telegram (two messaging apps) as there is a “Discover” function where you can find nearby people to interact with (and look at their photos!).
Prior to WeChat, they would dial random phone numbers to find people. Haha!
Karaoke and night clubs have made their way into Bhutan! In Paro they are open late until 3AM. Restaurants can stay open until midnight.
Most Bhutanese lean towards a vegetarian diet given the country’s Buddhist background. As a result of Bhutan adhering to and practicing Buddhist principles, all meat and fish is imported and primarily imported from India. No killing, no hunting, and no fishing is allowed. It’s kind of crazy to think that none of the meat served in Bhutan is actually from the country. I leaned towards eating vegetarian once I learned this, but the vegetarian dishes are all quite delicious as well!
Modernization
Bhutan opened up to the world during the 1960s and has since modernized quite rapidly.
Once they were exposed to modern technology, they quickly adapted, adopting the internet, mobile phones, and computers. In fact there is no mail in Bhutan -everything is digital! The exception is that there are still package deliveries within the country. There are only two post offices in the country in Thimphu and Paro whose primary purpose is to serve tourists who want to mail postcards. After 2008 most post offices with demolished because of the switch to mobile technology. All communication, including government correspondence, is done through email.
Most people have smartphones and every household is equipped with internet and either a phone or computer. Many Bhutanese use WeChat groups for community-level talks and gatherings. After the pandemic the government turned to QR codes and digital wallets. In this way, Bhutan is a lot more modernized than some western countries!
Even though Bhutan had closed borders prior to 1960, they will imported and exported goods and as a result did have access to cars.
One of the benefits of not opening their borders until recently is that as a result, Bhutan was able to learn from other countries’ mistakes when it came to building their modern infrastructure (e.g. city planning, road development) and creating sustainable tourism.
Many of the buildings in their major cities, filled with apartment buildings and hotels, look and are quite new having been built after the 1960s. However new construction isn’t just limited to the cities - many of the temples, stupas, and historical buildings I visited on my tour were built after the 1960s which made me wonder how we define something as “authentic”. I did get to visit older temples from the 8th and 16th century, and it was impressive at how well-preserved they were. Part of this is likely due to the prohibition of indoor photography, which limits exposure to light and knowledge of the temples’ valuables to thieves.
Most of what I saw on my tour is from the 17-20th century; not much was between the 8th-16th century in terms of sites and history that is told by the guides.
I’m very curious as to how Bhutan came up with the Drongska (name of the Bhutanese language) words for modern items, such as computers and smartphones, that they encountered after the 1960s.
It’s not just technological advancements that come with modernization and globalization - reality TV shows such as The Bachelor and Love is Blind have made their way to Bhutan! Fast food chains like McDonalds have not yet appeared, but I wouldn’t be surprised if similar businesses start popping up and introduce this way of preparing and cooking food.
Bhutan is an interesting place of contradictions trying to work in harmony together. It’s a relatively young country and still in its early days, so it’ll be fascinating to see how it will evolve over time and whether or not it’ll be able to preserve its unique heritage as it navigates the market forces shaping the modern world. One of the biggest fears Bhutanese have for their country’s future is whether the upcoming generations will leave behind their Buddhist culture in exchange for the modern world, especially since so much of a Bhutanese’s daily life is embedded with Buddhist religion and tradition.