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Bhutan Travel Blogs

In 1865, Britain and Bhutan signed the Treaty of Sinchulu, under which Bhutan would receive an annual subsidy in exchange for ceding some border land. Under British influence, a monarchy was set up in 1907; three years later, a treaty was signed whereby the British agreed not to interfere in Bhutanese internal affairs and Bhutan allowed Britain to direct its foreign affairs. This role was assumed by independent India after 1947. Two years later, a formal Indo-Bhutanese accord returned the areas of Bhutan annexed by the British, formalized the annual subsidies the country received, and defined India's responsibilities in defense and foreign relations. A refugee issue of some 100,000 Bhutanese in Nepal remains unresolved; 90% of the refugees are housed in seven United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) camps. To be updated

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By MJJM
November 3rd 2009

Only Two Months Left Asia » Bhutan » Trashigang

This year has travelled more than I have, and faster. Only two months left for the Raffle Quiz. Here's are new RQs: 11.1: What is the national bird of Bhutan? 11.2: What year were USA advisors first sent to Vietnam? 11.3: Lo Muthang: where? [View Full Entry]

By smkwan
October 20th 2009

Chilli Obsession Asia

Ema Datsi
The national dish

Bhutanese love their food spicy! So do I :) Ema Datsi, chilli cooked with cheese sauce, is the national dish. They serve this dish for almost every meal. Was a bit apprehensive when I first tried it... does chilli go with cheese at all? But once I tasted it, I simply love the dish. It goes absolutely well with plain rice yumz... I'm gonna gind the recipe for this dish when I get home. At every market we went, every vegetable stall seems to be selling chillis. Every town we went, we could see chillis hung on the window or left [View Full Entry]

By smkwan
October 19th 2009

Bhutanese Cultural Immersion Asia » Bhutan » Paro

Lovely family at Phobjikha

Atypical tour. It's not about tourist attractions, shopping, souvenir shops etc... It's all about the simplicity of life, the warmth of the people, the unspoilt nature and the colourful culture. We were lucky to have a wonderful guide who included little "side programmes" to enhance our overall experience. It was like visiting friends' friends, feeling very relaxed and safe. We visited the weekend market at Thimphu. There weren't any tourists around. The locals just got on to their own business, with absolutely no touting to us. They welcomed us to take all the photos we wanted. [View Full Entry]

By smkwan
October 19th 2009

Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder Asia » Bhutan » Thimphu

Yeewong!

While we were changing money currency at the bank, we noticed that one of the tellers had rather dramatic eyes with ultra thick eyeliner. Mmm.... we were pretty curious on the "standard" of beauty in Bhutan. Then in Thimphu, we saw Sonam reading a copy of Yeewong. We kaypoh lor, borrowed his copy to browse. The magazine contained pictures of Miss Bhutan 2008 contestants and write-up about them. Being the bimbo us, we screeched and bitched about how these women looked. "My god, look at their eye-liner (they outlined the entire eye with thick black ink)..... Goodness, look at their hair. [View Full Entry]

By smkwan
October 17th 2009

Trekking in Bhutan Asia » Bhutan » Phobjika Valley

Campsite

Planned for a 3 days not-too-difficult trek, starting from Phobjika Valley to Wangdue. My 2 travel mates were most worried about, what to wear and how to go toilet... I was extremely shocked to hear that Mich wore her pyjamas pants beneath her Columbia pants (to keep warm)!! So hilarious... glad she finally decided to take it off before we embark on the journey. Our entourage was impressive! For just 3 trekkers, we had a guide, Sonam, 1 cook, 1 asst cook, horseman + wife together with their 6 horses! First day was pretty easy, we walked on road, some trails [View Full Entry]

By smkwan
October 10th 2009

The Wheel of Life Asia » Bhutan » Punakha

Learnt about the Wheel of Life at Punakha Dzong today. In summary, the Wheel of Life is driven by the hub of 3 poisons, snake depicting jealousy and hatred, cock depicting greed and pig depicting Ignorance. These corrupt us from within, which determines the cause and effect of lives. The 3 poisons are surrounded by the six world which sentient beings take rebirth. They comprises of god, demi-god, humans, animals, hungry ghosts and demons. The wheel reminds us that everyone is responsible for their own fate, dependant on their karma, the effect of their own deeds. I'm sure there are m [View Full Entry]

By Alibman
September 28th 2009

The Windiest Road in the World !!!! Asia » Bhutan » Trashigang

Hello Everyone Well here we are in Trashigang, Eastern Bhutan. Since I last "blogged" in Thimphu we have travelled approx 600km across the country, on what must be the windiest, narrowest but most beautiful road in the world..... The No 1 highway basically runs through the middle of the country from Thimphu (the capital) to Trashigang (where we are now). As I think I may have already mentioned Bhutan is made up of a series of very steep valleys, so the road winds it's way up, down & around the mountains. Progress is very slow as the road is cut into [View Full Entry]

By Alibman
September 21st 2009

Thimphu - The Capital City without Traffic Lights Asia » Bhutan » Thimphu

Hi everyone We are now in Thimphu the capital of Bhutan, and yes I have access to the internet. However I think this may be the last time, as we head East tomorrow and things will be a little less civilised. We drove from Paro to Thimphu on Sunday through a series of magnificient valleys. The scenery was spectacular, as the road winds it's way along the side of the mountains, and everything was very green. There is a point were the Paro & Thimphu valleys meet at the conflux of two rivers. There was a security check point, about a [View Full Entry]

By tinainnepal
July 24th 2009

some impressions of Bhutan Asia » Bhutan

der Kanchenjunga
= dritthoechster berg der welt, vom flugzeug aus

kulturschock im positiven sinn... ich wollte es siegfried nicht glauben, als er mir das vor dem abflug nach bhutan prophezeite, aber er hatte recht behalten. bhutan ist ein echtes kontrastprogramm zu nepal und insbesondere kathmandu! es ist so friedlich, so schoen, das klima so angenehm, so sauber, die luft so klar, die menschen total nett (die wohl einzige aehnlichkeit mit nepal), das essen reichhaltig und gut... von der armut, die es ja irgendwo geben muss (umsonst ist bhutan kein entwicklungsland und nur am 133. platz des human development index (von 177 laendern), bekommt man als tou [View Full Entry]

By ADJ
June 3rd 2009

Bhutan Asia » Bhutan

I entered Bhutan by land from the Indian border. I was a bit nervous going in as to whether it would work because everyone in India, from the tour agency employees to government immigration folks, insisted that I needed to meet either a travel agent or my host at the border, who would bring a copy of the visa. This sounded bogus to me, but it did make me wary. To cross between the countries, you walk through an archway - Indians and Bhutanese just get to go through, Indians can visit for a day without a visa as long as [View Full Entry]

Travel Blog » Asia » Bhutan