Blogs from Bhutan, Asia - page 20

We have just one week left of "work" before traveling east a little into Bhutan for about a week. The quotation marks are necessary for several reasons. Similar to previous locations, "work days" are typically from 9 to 3. This is not unexpected and, now, not a novelty. I'm at the point where, if we finish at 3:15, I feel entitled to reward myself for all my hard work. I'm sure this newly embraced work ethic will translate well to my fellowship next year. Secondly, unlike previous locations, I have not touched a patient operatively. The design in Bhutan is for the volunteers to purely observe and make suggestions when appropriate. It has been fine, but it would get pretty old if this were longer than a month. Lastly, and most significantly, we have come at ... read more

It seems reasonable to keep this as an apolitical assessment of my experiences. Sometimes, however, events are too large for reason. Noor and I spent the morning watching the election results come in, trying to share in the excitement evident all over the country. I have never seen anything like this. Of course, the real work is yet to begin, but this is truly an amazing day. The one insight I may be able to add is that essentially everyone that I have come into contact with outside of America, both locals and travelers alike, have been hoping for an Obama presidency. I'm sure I will remain with a large smile and renewed pride in America for the foreseeable future. Also, I have been getting daily personal emails from Barack, Michelle, Joe Biden, and Obama's election ... read more

I could easily spend whole days in the Dzongs of Bhutan. Watching the apprentice monks during prayer time, or as they innocently play hopscotch in the courtyard... One lazy afternoon in these majestic and spiritual sanctuaries will invigorate the soul and purify your body from decades of hedonistic city life. Bhutan is the only country that I have felt honoured to visit. It is the same feeling I got when a dolphin showed me his underbelly and then pee'd on me, but that is another story. If you ever have the honour of visiting Bhutan, do keep aside time to spend a couple of hours in each Dzong you will no doubt visit.... read more

By the way, I left Ladakh about two weeks ago. Ever since I arrived in Ladakh I had a nagging feeling that I wanted to return to Bhutan. Throughout my visit there I often thought about ways to return. So, once I got permission to return and volunteer with Tarayana, I moved quickly and left sort of suddenly. When I arrived in Bhutan, I looked out my window and absorbed the peacefulness and had that certain feeling that happens when things are on track. It’s somewhere between sorrow and joy. Before I left Ladakh I was in Leh, continuing the volunteer work with SECMOL. However, I noticed how damaged the organization was. It seems they were picking up the pieces after a year or so in conflict with the regional government. Their operations in education reform ... read more

Bhutan: Chapter One As I think I mentioned previously, arrival in Bhutan was delayed by almost a whole day due to a flight change. This affected those of us coming from Delhi and from Kathmandu - which proved to be 6 out of 8 of us. As a result, day one was anything but a "rest day" as we were picked up at the airport, given a welcome cup of tea, threw our stuff in our hotel room and rushed off to go to the Tiger's Nest Monastery. The walk up to Tiger's Nest was part of our preparation for the trek ahead, and was pretty challenging - about 1000M ascent almost straight up. But the walk was so worth while. The Monastery somehow clings to the side of a steep cliff and seems to dangle ... read more