I'm back to Bhutan...

Back to Bhutan. Stunning landing, enjoying the aftershock of Thimphu Tsechu, eating tear-making ema datshi and meeting friends not seen for a year...

Leaving behind a footprint

My unforgettable stay in Bhutan has come to an end after nine amazing weeks of volunteering at the Loden Foundation and discovering new faces, stories and dreams. It is time to get back to my life, family and friends in Europe. However, I have become a forever friend of Bhutan and its beautiful lands, minds and hearts.

I aim to keep in touch with people I met at the Loden Foundation : Ashe Kunzang Choden, Dasho Mehgraj Gurung, Aum Dago Beda, Dr Karma Phuntsho, Dawa Dem, Gerard and Anne Tardy, Dorji Tashi and Rinzin Dema; many of their beneficiaries, young entrepreneurs and kids in need; and numerous locals and chilips (foreigners) as well.

Going home from Bhutan, most visitors fly out from Paro airport. I also stayed here for a day before my departure. I walked around, visited the National Museum and had my last hot stone bath.

Driven by human desire to leave something permanent behind, I hid Bhutan's 9th geocache on the left side of the river, not far from Jangtsa Dumtseg Lhakhang, an ancient temple. If you want to find it, here are the GPS coordinates: N 27° 26.128, E 089° 24.795. Do not forget to leave a note in the logbook, put the box back where it was, and leave another small gift for others to come. I will surely come back one day to check...

During my nine weeks in the kingdom I didn't have time to write about everything I was doing. Among other things, I didn't cover my visit and treatment at the traditional medicine center; my horse ride with a member of the National Council; my visit to a rehab center and the great social work a Welsh lama does in Thimphu; I didn't write about my conversation with monks who left he monastery to start a new life; the world's smallest political opposition; or my visit to Chimi Lhakhang for a phallos blessing.

Given all the unpublished stories and pictures, I will keep writing this blog for some more time to benefit all my readers in numerous countries from the US to Europe, from Russia to China, from India to Australia and from Afghanistan to Thailand. Later, this blog may become a permanent site on Bhutan and I also plan to write down my stories in more details in a book with several unpublished photos. Stay tuned.


In the meantime, please feel free to contact me at valcsicsak.zoltan@gmail.com in case you have questions, comments or anything to discuss.

Tashi Delek !

What links a Buddhist monastery to an American university?

In 1907 John Claude White, a British political officer, visited Bhutan to attend the coronation ceremony of the king. During his stay, White took several pictures in the country including one of Drukgyel Dzong (dzong = fort-monastery) located 14 km from Paro city towards the Tibetan border. This photo later became famous worldwide when it was issued in the US National Geographic magazine in April 1914.

"I hope it will not be my last visit, as I look forward to meeting Sir Ugyen and his sister again, as well as all the Bhutan officials, and to revisit the country in which I have spent so many pleasant months." - said White, but it was in fact to be his last visit.

Reading the National Geographic magazine, Kathleen Worrell, the dean's wife got the idea of copying Bhutanese architecture when constructing new buildings for the University of Texas at El Paso, US. New university buildings were needed due to a devastating fire. Influenced by Ms. Worrell and her husband, the architect indeed took the distinctive style of the dzongs as a good example in his plans. However, there were two Bhutanese specialities he more likely didn't follow : complete lack of plans and nails when constructing a dzong.

In 1951, a fire started by a butter lamp destroyed Drukgyel Dzong which is still in ruins today. Yesterday, I had the chance to visit the beautiful place from where I could see the snow-covered 7314m Jhomolhari peak, Bhutan's most sacred mountain.

If you arrive in Paro airport you are greeted by Bhutan's five kings. The black and white picture of the first king, Ugyen Wangchuck, was actually taken by Mr. White. Then, you can stop for a second lamenting about fires destroying buildings; globalization and the power of the media; and funny similarities in names : see Paro vs. Paso.

Drukgyel Dzong as showed in the National Geographic in 1914

Drukgyel Dzong today

Year 1907

Year 2011

University of Texas at El Paso in 1919

The University today

 The five kings of Bhutan. The left photo of Ugyen Wangchuck was taken by Mr. White.

DAY ONE: Flying from Nepal to Bhutan one can see the Mount Everest

The Mount Everest (Chomolungma) is covered by clouds rather than snow

 
 


Paro Airport is located in a valley at about 2300m altitude. On the billboard, there are the five kings of Bhutan (previous and current) welcoming visitors. Landing video will be uploaded soon!



Building roads is a hard job of Indian companies in Bhutan. The best one links Paro with Thimphu, the capital. Landslides and blocks are common. This one here is due to roadwork and did not slow us down too much.