Bhutan: Keeping its secrets among the mountains

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Bhutan is fascinating for numerous reasons, which I will try to briefly explain, as it is a rarely visited destination. People tend to be prejudiced towards the country due to its very strict policy for tourists and unusual political order with an "elected king".  I do think, however, that the approach towards tourists is genius - the government makes sure that only real enthusiasts (like myself!) would visit the country and will be respectful towards its culture, nature and specifics. It is also ensured that the prices locally will not jump due to the incoming (since recently) tourists because the tourists are charged for all their expenses before they even enter the country - so the government is sure that the tourists will spend a certain minimum and the life expenses of their people will not be impacted.

The people are loyal to their king and his face is all over the place - men and women worship him, his deeds and his beauty (he is indeed, like most Bhutanese men quite a good looking gentleman!) . His policies and approaches are obviously very socially friendly and he does stick to his strategy for creating high Gross National Happiness (GNH is the main economic indicator in Bhutan). I tend to be supportive of the idea and find it a kind of social innovation, from which we can learn.
I really like this TED talk dedicated to the topic:


Some aspects of Bhutanese culture remained under cover for me, mainly referring to Bhutan's attitude towards ethnical (Hindu & Tibetan) and social (homosexual) minorities. Also, since it is a country so small in size and population, there are extremely strict policies regarding marriage, for example, ensuring the "purity" and continuation of the Bhutanese ethnos.

Like any other - Bhutan is a fascinating country with many faces.


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