Golden Mahseer- The Fish That Brought Terao Back to Bhutan

From Fly-Fishing in Haa to the Promise of the Golden Mahseer

In June 2024, my Japanese friend Sara and I found ourselves in a familiar but difficult situation. We were trying to convince our philanthropist friend Terao to visit Bhutan again. It was not an easy task. Terao is a busy man, and Bhutan was not new to him. He had already visited several times and had even donated six Johkasou wastewater treatment tanks from Japan to be piloted in Bhutanese conditions. Yet the project had moved painfully slowly. From his perspective, another trip to Bhutan might simply mean a few polite meetings, some good intentions, and very little progress.

He was not particularly enthusiastic about repeating that experience.

That was when Sara and I had to resort to a strategy that felt slightly mischievous but entirely justified. We decided to exploit his greatest weakness — fishing.

Terao- the Angler

Terao is not a casual angler. He is the kind of fisherman who travels across continents chasing legendary species. Rivers in Alaska, lakes in Scandinavia, deep waters in Southeast Asia — he has cast his line in many of them. So we dangled before him something that is irresistible to serious anglers.

Golden Mahseer fishing in Bhutan.

The Golden Mahseer is often called the “tiger of Himalayan rivers.” It is one of the largest freshwater game fish in the world and a prized catch among anglers. Found in the fast-flowing rivers of the Himalayan foothills, this magnificent fish can grow over 2 meters in length and weigh more than 40 kilograms. Catching one is not simply fishing; it is a lifelong achievement for many anglers.

As expected, Terao took the bait.

Look at the man's shirt

Once he agreed to come, I made the plans carefully. We secured fishing permits and arranged for one of the best fishing guides in Bhutan, Mr Kinley Dorji Gabu, to lead the expedition. Everything was set for a trip to Jigmechhu, a river known for Mahseer.

The evening before the journey, we even met fellow angler and blogger Yeshey Dorji, who shared stories of landing a massive 27-kilogram Mahseer and proudly showed us his fishing gear. Listening to him only increased the anticipation.

With Gabu and Yeshey Dorji

But fishing — like life — has its own plans.

On the day of our departure, our advance team headed toward Jigmechhu ahead of us. However, somewhere around Gedu they were stopped by forestry officials who informed them that it was the Mahseer breeding season. Fishing was not permitted.

Our plans dissolved right there on the road.

After some discussion, the team suggested an alternative: we could change our route and head to Haa Valley instead, where we could try fly-fishing for brown trout in Haa Chhu.

Terao might have been disappointed, but if he was, he did not show it. A true angler adapts to the river he is given. He was just as excited to try fly-fishing.

So our advance team turned back from Gedu and drove toward Haa while we were just beginning our journey from Thimphu. Instead of the southern rivers, we headed west over the dramatic slopes of Chelela Pass, the highest motorable road in Bhutan. Sara and Terao enjoyed the sweeping mountain views as clouds drifted across the alpine ridges.

Haa Valley welcomed us with its quiet charm.

Once there, fortune smiled on us. Our guide Gabu happened to meet two of his close friends — Singye and Sangay — both highly respected fly-fishing guides. Among anglers in Bhutan, the trio is often regarded as the three best fly-fishing guides in the country. So, at the cost of hiring one guide, we ended up with all three.

That alone felt like a good omen.

Terao is an experienced fisherman, but fly-fishing was new territory for him. We began our fishing day near Dumcho Bridge and slowly worked our way downstream. Initially he used his regular rod and within an hour had landed several brown trout and two rainbow trout — probably escapees from the nearby Haa Cold Water Fishery.

At one point he landed a particularly good trout weighing close to two kilograms. In many rivers that might not sound spectacular, but in that stretch of the river it was a handsome catch and the biggest we saw that day.

Terao with the catch of the day

As we continued downstream, we arrived at a promising pool where Terao decided it was time to learn fly-fishing.

That's me!

I took over his regular equipment and wandered along the riverbank while he stood with the guide learning the rhythm of casting. From a distance, I watched them for a long time. Fly-fishing has a certain poetry to it — the line swinging in graceful arcs through the air before settling lightly on the water. In the afternoon light, the fluorescent thread danced like a small dragon above the river.

Terao lost in the poetry of Flyfishing

Terao seemed completely absorbed in the process. Casting, adjusting, casting again. Each movement smoother than the last.

Meanwhile Sara, who had absolutely no interest in fishing, stretched out on the riverbank and promptly fell asleep. It was, after all, the price she paid for helping me plot this entire fishing conspiracy.

With our side of the bargain fulfilled — a memorable day of fishing — we returned to Thimphu and spent the next two days meeting officials from Thromde and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport to push forward our wastewater treatment initiative.

Sara and Terao are simply trying to help Bhutan introduce one of Japan’s most effective wastewater treatment technologies. If implemented properly, it could transform sanitation systems in our growing towns. Bhutan stands to gain enormously.

Yet, as often happens here, progress moves slowly.

Without visible movement on the ground, I find it difficult to invite them back again and take further advantage of their generosity. And yet I owe Terao something.

I promised him Golden Mahseer.

Next time, I intend to keep that promise — properly.

The rivers of southern Bhutan still hold the legendary Golden Mahseer, and for anglers around the world it remains one of the most thrilling freshwater fishing experiences available. At the same time, Bhutan’s quieter valleys like Haa offer something equally special: peaceful rivers, pristine mountain landscapes and world-class fly-fishing for trout.

For anglers, Bhutan is still one of the least explored fishing destinations in the Himalayas.

Perhaps that is exactly why it remains magical.

And who knows — the next great Mahseer story might begin with a cast in one of our rivers.

Fisherman and his guide in Haa

For fishing trips, travel planning, or fly-fishing experiences in Bhutan, you can write to travel@passudiary.com.

Travel With Purpose: How Your Visit to Bhutan Can Quietly Change a Life

A group of trekkers arrived in Bhutan with backpacks, hiking poles and the usual excitement of people about to explore the Himalayas. They came for the mountains, for the thin crisp air, for the stories they would carry home. But when they left, they left something behind — a toilet for the little monks of Paro Gorina. Not just a structure of bricks and tiles, but dignity, comfort and better health for young boys who will now grow up with proper sanitation. Watching that moment — when the trekkers stood beside the monks during the inauguration — I realised something important. Travel can do more than create memories. It can create impact.

Bhutan is often described as a dream destination. People come for the climb to Paro Taktsang, for the monasteries perched on cliffs, for the festivals, for the philosophy of Gross National Happiness. They come seeking silence, authenticity, something untouched. But Bhutan is also a living, breathing country of small communities with real challenges. Rural schools still struggle with infrastructure. Families navigate disability with limited support systems. Environmental groups work tirelessly to protect fragile ecosystems. Patients battle kidney disease, cancer and stroke with courage but limited resources. Animal welfare groups care for strays in a harsh climate. These realities exist quietly behind the postcard images.

When Trekking for Kids, brought to Bhutan through DAJ Expedition, chose to fund the Gorina toilet project, they did not simply transfer money and move on. They visited the site. They saw the progress. They stood with the monks. The generosity became personal. And that is what made it powerful. In a small country like Bhutan, gestures are not diluted by scale. Even modest contributions ripple outward. A single facility can serve generations of students. A wheelchair can restore independence. A small fund can sustain therapy for months. The radius of kindness expands quickly here.

This is why I believe travellers to Bhutan have a rare opportunity — one that many destinations cannot offer in the same way. You are already investing in flights, accommodation, guides and the Sustainable Development Fee. What if you also invested intention? Perhaps you spend a day visiting a community initiative aligned with your interests. Perhaps you organise a small fundraising effort among friends before you arrive. Perhaps you share a skill — teaching, photography, health expertise, design thinking. Or perhaps you simply make a well-directed contribution through a registered Civil Society Organization working in sanitation, disability inclusion, environmental protection, animal welfare, healthcare support, youth empowerment or women’s leadership.

Bhutan currently has 52 registered CSOs working across diverse social and environmental causes. Each one operates within a framework of accountability and local understanding. The key, however, is coordination. Good intentions must be handled responsibly. Community engagement should be respectful, ethical and aligned with actual needs rather than assumptions. Charity should never become performance. It should become partnership.

Many visitors ask me what they should buy in Bhutan. Handwoven textiles, handcrafted pieces, prayer beads, photographs. These are beautiful keepsakes. But there is another kind of souvenir — the quiet knowledge that your visit left something meaningful behind. A drinking water tap for a village. A wheelchair for a family. A shelter a animal. A toilet for a remote monastary. You may never see it again, but it will exist. And that changes the nature of your journey.

Bhutan does not measure success only in economic terms. We speak often of happiness, but happiness is not abstract. It grows when dignity is protected, when communities are supported, when visitors become friends. If you are planning a trip to Bhutan, I invite you to pause and ask yourself what matters to you. Whatever cause moves your heart, there is likely an organisation here working quietly in that space. With the right connection, your holiday can become something deeper — not just a visit to Bhutan, but a relationship with it.

Write to travel@passudiary.com 

Is Bhutan Still Expensive? Understanding the New SDF, Real Costs & How to Plan Your Trip (2026 Guide)

For years, Bhutan carried a reputation — “the most expensive destination in the world.”

And honestly, it wasn’t entirely wrong.

There was a time when every tourist (except our friends from India) had to pay a fixed US$250 per person per day. That package covered your hotel, guide, car, meals and a US$60 Sustainable Development Fee (SDF) built into it.

Simple. Predictable. And yes — expensive.

But Bhutan has changed.

And if you are planning your trip now, you deserve to understand how.

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The Big Shift After 2022

When Bhutan reopened in 2022 after the pandemic, the Government scrapped the all-inclusive package system.

Instead:

• The Sustainable Development Fee (SDF) was raised from US$60 to US$200 per day.

• Hotels, guides, transport and meals were no longer bundled.

• The market was allowed to decide the cost of services.

The intention was clear — fewer tourists, higher value, stronger sustainability.

But the sudden jump created resistance from the tourism industry and confusion among travellers.

So Bhutan adjusted.

Today, the SDF stands at US$100 per person per day.

And that changes everything.

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What This Means for You as a Traveller

You now have flexibility.

You can:

• Book your own hotel.

• Hire your own guide.

• Arrange your own transport.

• Choose your dining experiences.

The rigid package model is gone.

Bhutan is no longer “one price fits all.”

Your trip can now be:

• Luxury and indulgent.

• Comfortable and mid-range.

• Or thoughtfully budgeted (within Bhutan’s standards).

The SDF remains mandatory — it supports free healthcare, education, infrastructure and environmental conservation — but your experience beyond that is now customizable.

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Special Note for Indian Travellers

Travellers from India pay a much lower SDF — currently Nu. 1200 per day (approximately the same in INR).

This makes Bhutan one of the most accessible international destinations for Indian visitors.

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So… Is Bhutan Still Expensive?

It depends on how you design your trip.

Let’s be honest.

Bhutan will never be a backpacker’s $20-a-day destination. That is not our model.

But it is no longer the rigid US$250-per-day country it once was.

Now, you decide your comfort level.

And that is a major shift.

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Should You Book Independently or Through a Travel Agent?

Technically, you can arrange everything yourself.

But here is my honest advice.

Let a local travel agent handle your logistics.

Not because you cannot do it.
But because Bhutan runs on relationships.

A good local agent:

• Knows which hotel suits your personality, not just your budget.

• Knows which guide fits your interest — culture, photography, trekking, spirituality.

• Knows road conditions, festival dates, quiet valleys.

• Fixes problems before you even know they exist.

And here is something I have observed quietly over the years.

My Little Secret About Choosing a Tour Operator

Go with a small travel company.

The big ones are excellent — but they are handling hundreds of guests.

You may become one more booking number.

A small company?
You become their guest.

They give you attention.
They customise.
They care deeply because your experience is their reputation.

In Bhutan, reputation is everything.

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How to Choose the Right Travel Partner

An official list of certified tour operators is available online.

Once you shortlist a few:

• Speak to them.

• Share your interests.

• Ask how they would design your trip.

• Notice how quickly and thoughtfully they respond.

A good agent will not sell you a package.

They will design a journey.

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Bhutan has always been about balance — between tradition and progress, protection and openness.

Our tourism model is evolving the same way.

And if you understand how it works, you will realise something important:

Bhutan is not expensive.

It is intentional.

And intentional travel is always worth it.

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If you are considering visiting Bhutan and want guidance on designing a meaningful journey — whether cultural, spiritual, adventurous or slow — write to me travel@passudiary.com

After all, Passu Diary has always been about stories.

Now, perhaps it is time to help you live one.

The Window – A Review

In a world where entertainment has been swallowed by quick-fix reels and TikTok trends, The Window dares to open a door to something deeper—a piece of theatre that breathes the air of our fading past and touches the threads of what it means to be Bhutanese. This one-and-a-half-hour musical comedy, directed by Charmi Cheda, doesn't just entertain; it pulls its audience back to a time when art was real, unedited, and alive.

For many, theatre is a distant memory, but Charmi captures perfectly why it’s still essential: "Theatre is a live experience, it works on energy. The power of collective silence." This is something a screen can never replicate. When the lights dimmed and the first scene unfolded, I was captivated, sharing this silence with a room full of friends and strangers, all drawn into the same flow of laughter, melancholy, and nostalgia. There’s magic in this unity, in the collective gasp and the held breath that only theatre can invoke.

The play stirs up conversations on the forgotten, often controversial practice of "Night Hunting," a theme that takes courage to handle. But The Window balances the cultural critique with humor and warmth, bringing Ap Jatshola, played by actor and musician Kunga Tenzin Dorji (Supe), and Aum Wangmo, played by the famed Tandin Bidha, to life as a couple whose quirks and tussles hit close to home for many of us. Jatshola’s cheeky “I am hungry, Wangmo,” delivered with a naughty glint, had me smothering laughter, and the next moment I was hiding my tears as little Lemo showed her father her mother’s diary—a heartbreaking reveal of dreams left behind. I was suddenly laughing and tearing up, thankful for the darkness around me that let me be honest with my emotions.

The play, staged as an initiative by the Department of Media, Creative Industry, and Intellectual Property (DoMCIIP), is as much a tribute to the art form as it is a statement of hope. Mr. Sonam Penjor, the director of DoMCIIP, spoke passionately about how theatre could be a source of employment, a new platform for expression, and even a unique experience for tourists. It’s a bold aspiration, one that reminds us of the creative industry’s potential in Bhutan—a way to preserve our heritage while creating new spaces for livelihood and community.

For me, beyond the storyline, what stole the show was the production's attention to detail. The stage set was a visual homage to Bhutanese architecture, a well-loved Bhutanese home where every corner seemed familiar. The actors didn’t just play their roles; they embodied their characters in a way that was raw and genuine. Kunga Tenzin’s effortless rural accent and Tandin Bidha’s subtle, layered portrayal of Aum Wangmo revealed sides of these actors we rarely see in films. The younger cast members, too, brought a freshness that reminded me of the youthful innocence and aspirations, distinctly portraying the confusion of the different worlds they come from, their unique dreams, and how these converge.

The Window may be a small window, but it’s a bright one, casting light on the potential of live performance to make us pause, reflect, and—if only for a short while—connect in the most human way. Here’s hoping this is just the beginning of a renaissance for Bhutanese theatre.

Top 10 Brand Bhutan Promotors Beyond Borders

The year 2022 has been a tremendous year of transformation and risk-taking for Bhutan. We have finally done many things that we have only thought about or didn't even think about to this day. It's too early to get any sense of where it would take us but what matters is that we have done it. I am optimistic that it will be worth it. 

Of the many things that we braved to change, even though they seemed to be working fine (because just fine isn't enough anymore), is the transformation in the tourism sector. The sudden rise in the SDF from $65 to $200 shocked the sector, but that's where the idea of an exclusive destination gets real. We just have to wait and see if this was a masterstroke. I have reasons to believe it is. But we have to put in some effort to promote Brand Bhutan as an exclusive destination across the world and not just on paper. We must make the world curious as much as we have to make ourselves ready. 

I made a list of the top ten Bhutanese citizens who have managed to create curiosity in parts of the world and made people ask, "Where is Bhutan?"

Department of Tourism could use these people as ambassadors in the regions they are popular or at least recognize them in some form because if we are to put a cost on their contributions to the promotion of the brand Bhutan- it's going to be priceless.  

 

1. (Druk Thuksey) Pawo Choyning Dorji: We all know about the Oscars nomination of Pawo's Lunana, a Yak in the Classroom, but we will never know the extent to which his film has promoted Bhutan globally. There is no way we can ever organically reach so many countries, cultures and languages as Lunana did. Therefore, I put him at the top of the list. 

Pawo Choyning Dorji, Filmmaker 

2. Dasho Tshering Tobgay: Dasho's TED Talk captured the attention of millions of people across the globe on our country's extraordinary leadership, environment and culture. That talk alone must have created billions of dollars worth of goodwill, network and climate action.  

Dasho Tshering Tobgay, Motivational Speaker

3. Sangay Tsheltrim: A bodybuilding champion turned actor with a military background fascinated the Bollywood audience, as he played against Bollywood superstars like Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan. He has introduced Bhutan to parts of India where we are hardly known.   

Sangay Tsheltrim, Bodybuilder, Actor

4. Kelly Dorji: Kelly was the only Bhutanese we had in the international film industry for decades. He has shared the silver screen with the biggest names in Indian cinema, and to this day, we see him on TV every few days. His roles in south Indian cinema are particularly glamorous even though they are negative roles.    

Kelly Dorji, Actor

5. Pinda Panda is a celebrated gamer and streamer living in Malaysia. She is living a life that most young people dream of. She has a huge fan following; for them, she is their introduction to Bhutan. She should appear in kira sometimes to fascinate her fan on the big gaming platforms. 

Pinda, Gamer

6. Chencho Gyeltshen: He took Bhutanese football to a whole new level by breaking the glass ceiling and starring in clubs in India. He made the whole country watch Indian premier leagues on TV. He made the commentators shout "Chencho from Bhutan" a hundred times in a match. 

Chencho Gyeltshen, Football Player

7. Phub Zam: Chechey Phub Zam, who emerged from a singing show, found her calling as a different breed of a singer who could touch people's hearts with a special voice for spiritual songs. She tours Buddhist countries across the Himalayan region, singing spiritual songs and spreading happiness. 

Phub Zam, Singer

8. Ryhaan Giri: This young man introduced himself to us from the Voice of Nepal stage. His captivating voice, combined with his sweet nature and good looks, is capturing the imagination of the Nepali population. He is creating an image of Bhutan in Nepal that they haven't known.

Ryhaan Giri, Singer

9. Ugyen Choden: When Ugyen appeared on some foreign TV shows giving interviews, she amused us with her candid remarks. We didn't know she was building a career in Nepali Cinema back then. Now, she is much loved in Nepal with back-to-back projects. If Ryhaan makes the Nepali girls scream out his name, Ugyen will do that for the boy. 

Ugyen Choden, Actor 

10. Tashi Choden: Tashi was into modelling and acting in the last few years, and it seemed like that was it, but the young girl changed it all for a new beginning by contesting for Miss Bhutan 2022 and winning it. The next phase of her life has just started, and she will undoubtedly represent Bhutan on the world stage in vogue. 

Digital Sovereignty of Bhutan

Once upon a time, when the internet was new in Bhutan, and we were trying to create our email account for the first time, we used to select either India or Bangladesh as our country because Bhutan was not on the dropdown list of countries. It was forgivable in the early days.

Over the years, that issue is solved. Finally, Bhutan was added to the list, and it was a moment of pride to choose Bhutan as our country whenever we joined any online platforms. How odd is it that some ignorant tech guys had deprived us of our sovereignty for a long time? Sometimes, I doubt their intentions. How could a big tech company not know that Bhutan is a sovereign country?

Twenty years on, everything has moved on but we still struggle with the same issue of some tech companies refusing to recognize Bhutan or treat us at par with other countries. It's no geographical ignorance anymore. 

For example, 

• In Playstore you are often told, "This item not available in your country.", which means we can't get that app because we are in Bhutan. If we tweak our location a little bit or use VPN then we get the app. Why can't we get it when we are in Bhutan?

  

  Playstore notice

• "You are not eligible for monetization. The YouTube Partner Program is not available in your current location Bhutan." This is really sad because none of our YouTubers can monetize their channel legally. They have to lie about their location to be eligible. It's easy to change the location but why? What have we done to be punished?

YouTube ineligibility notice

• On Google Maps, some of us are making efforts to add names of important places and monuments in Dzongkha, but somehow they only show the names in English. If it's uniformly applied then there is no issue but on our north places appear in Chinese script and on our south in Hindi script, which raises the question, why not Dzongkha? Worse even, some of our places appear in Chinese text and we can't change them back. 

Chinese and Hindi over Dzongkha

These are a few examples I have encountered but there could be many. They may seem insignificant but if we look carefully, why would they do that if it's so insignificant? 

What can we do to fix it? For an individual, it may be a colossal task but I think it's the job of the Ministry of Information and Communication (MoIC) or a more relevant department under it. 

Bone Healing Menchu in Paro

For thousands of years, mankind has been looking for the Fountain of Youth, we don’t know if some people found it and kept it a secret or maybe it’s not even there. But our forefathers in Paro have found another sort of fountain that is known to have bone healing power. It's called Bjagoed Menchu located several kilometres from Paro Bonday toward Chelela.

Legend has it that a vulture (Bjagoed in Dzongkha) with a broken wing had landed near the small spring and it was seen dipping its injured wing in the spring water from time to time. After a few days, it’s said that the bird was completely healed and flew away like it never was injured. The story spread far and wide about the healing power in that water, and people with fractured bones visited the spring to take a hot-stone bath. Thus, it came to be known as Bjagoed Menchu.

The legendary spring, fenced and preserved

Bird borns are scientifically known to be very strong and hard to break but once broken they are hard to heal unlike human bones, therefore the legend seems to have a solid scientific foundation.  

Traditionally, people brought fracture patients to the Menchu and spend days to weeks in privately set up camps. They brought their tents and utensils, collected firewood, heated stone themselves and bathe for hours. The only things they need not bring were water and the tub. 

Over the years, with the increase in the number of visitors, the sacred site was badly affected; people threw garbage all over, use the pristine forest as the toilet and fell trees for firewood and tent poles. The community around there raised the alarm and sort urgent intervention from the local leaders.

Bathhouses on the left, Canteen in the centre and hostel on the right.

With the support of the GEF small grants programme, the place has been modified into a community business with a sustainable model around it. There are eight bathhouses with a wooden tub each, and the corresponding guesthouse for each bathhouse, common toilet, and canteen. 

Hostel/Guesthouses were filled with people with various fractures

It was her third day when I visited and she shared that her leg was feeling much lighter. Seeing so many people on clutches around I asked if they were healing well, to which she said that even some paralysis patients who came in wheelchairs went back walking unassisted. 

Outdoor sitting space for patients and families 

The facility is outsourced to a local who has hired a few staff to provide services like heating the stone, feeding the tubs with hot stone, cleaning the tubs in the evening, maintaining the toilet facility, managing the waste and running the canteen. It’s a rural spa.

Bathhouse with modern tech to assist the initial heating of the water. Stone heating oven on the right.

I was there to see my cousin who has injured her leg again. The same leg had sustained permanent damage from the accident some fifteen years ago. This was her second visit and was staying for a week with her daughter helping her around. 

Of course the Canteen

They say that the Menchu is good not just for healing fractures but all sort of bone-related issues. So if you are planning to go or take your parents there, the following are some logistic info I gather:

For stay-in visitors, one bath house with a guest house cost Nu.1200 a day. As many as five members of a family can share the room and the bathhouse for one price. You can use the bathhouse from 8 AM to 5 PM in the evening. After 5 PM the service is open to day visitors who don’t stay overnight.

For day visitors, who don't stay over, one bath house for three hours is Nu.800. And you are encouraged to come after 5 PM when stay-in visitors resign to their hostel.

Hostel rooms have plug points for you to bring your cooking appliances. You can order food from the canteen. Chilled beer is served as well.

For booking and inquires call Kuenchap 17922229

Rice Cooker Disease?

Before electric rice cooker was introduced in our kitchen cooking rice was an art. Not many could boast about knowing the art. Even pro mothers could land up with bad pots once in a while. I remember how my mother would be on her toes once the rinsed rice was poured into the boiling water. She would keep stirring it and from time to time she would spoon out few grains and feel them between her fingers.

Once she got the right feel, which was when the grain was soften all around except a tiny bit in the centre, she would remove the pot from the oven and drain out the thick rice soup that was half the content of the pot. Then the pot was put back on the oven with low heat. I always wondered how my mother knew how much longer to wait after that because I mostly landed up with either uncooked or burnt rice.

That short story on the art of cooking rice can be a history lesson for young Bhutanese born after 90s. Because after electric rice cooker came cooking rice literally became a child's play. All you have to do is rinse the rice, along with some water pour it in the cooker. Put your index finger to see if the water level is at the first line of your finger above the level of the rice. Close the cooker. Pull the light down to 'cook' and go to sleep till mother comes home to prepare the curry. Of course some can't even do that much.

Besides the art and history of cooking rice there also seems to be solid science involved in it, which is gradually surfacing in the form of a disease. The deadly disease is called diabetes. It's sugary but not at all a sweet disease it mess with. We understand that it is to do with excessive sugar in our blood that our pancreas can't handle. But how did this happen?

Bhutan didn't have this disease before, perhaps there were some cases that we were ignorant about but now it has become so common. Well, the answer could be in the rice cooker. A research in Singapore ( Story published in Strait Times) has shown that a plate of rice is as bad as two cans of sweetened soft drink. Ask yourself how many plates you eat in a day.

We Bhutanese always ate rice, so before you ask me why I blamed rice cooker here let me tell you that before rice cooker we boiled rice till it gave away whatever it contained and drained out the soup. Remember the history lesson. So the rice we were eating didn't contain all the sugar it came with but now we are taking in every bit of sugar it contains because there is no draining out of soup.

We started using rice cookers in 90s and in the last two decades we must have forgotten how to cook rice without rice cooker but we have produced enough diabetic parents to relearn the art of cooking rice the old way.

Courtesy: Strait Times, Singapore 

Sanja Dema's Husband

The context of this post is the communal joke that was widely circulated on the badly abused social media platform WeChat. Yes WeChat has been already used as the Launchpad for three worst things to happen in Bhutanese social media; leaking private movie clips, spreading hoax, and sharing communal joke. All resulted in social disharmony that is very new to Bhutan.

Well, the joke was a voice recording of two men allegedly from Haa talking about a woman named Sanja Dem who married a guy from eastern Bhutan. Their conversation roughly translates to,

“Sanja Dem is married!”

“Really, who is the man?”

“He is a Sharchop.”

“O’ then he will steal nyah.”

I am from Haa and I know the men whose voice were recorded weren’t from Haa, as is evident from the fake accent they used. They were making fun of our language. Worse still, they impersonated us to insult Sharchops by calling them thieves. With all my sense of humor I am trying to laugh at the joke but somehow the intention in this joke seems seriously wrong.

I heard the joke before and back then Sanja Dem’s husband wasn’t a sharchop, he was a gatey (ex-monk) but the character in the joke was suddenly changed to a shashop to supposedly do maximum damage. This seemingly dry joke could lead to social disharmony and therefore such communal jokes of disastrous potential should be stopped right away.

We must appreciate our unity as harmonious little society. Many countries suffered because of communal division leading to mistrust among people, igniting riots and starting civil wars. We need not learn the lesson in a hard way; history is a good teacher. We should not take our harmony for granted just because we didn't earn it ourselves. It's the greatest gift of the Wangchuck dynasty that we must honour.

“Such clips are communal in nature and much more severe than the circulation of pornographic materials, We can book them under the National Security Act as its highly objectionable.” - Police Chief, Brigadier Kipchu Namgyal, in Kuensel 

Plastic Won't Be a Problem in Bhutan

In school we were told plastic was among the worst things that could pollute our environment because it would not disintegrate in 800 years, ok, just say forever. It means that the very first batch of plastic mankind produced, which was in 1862, hasn't yet disappeared and in last many year god knows how much more plastic the world would have produced. Imagine if Zhabdrung had thrown a plastic bag in a field in Punakha it would still be there. But don't worry there wasn't plastic during Zhabdrung's time.

From 1862 to 1970, plastic was seen as a magical material that could be crafted into variety of shapes and substitute precious natural substances like tortoiseshell, ivory, horn, and linen. The revolutionary discovery gained the reputation of being the saviour and protector of natural environment because it drastically reduced on the hunting of elephant and tortoise.

It was the beginning of material abundance that helped people gain access to affordable essential resources when inexpensive plastic replaced the scarce natural resources. Things became cheaper, lighter, safer and stronger. The development of computer, cellphone, and all the advanced technology was made possible by plastic, including electricity and transportation. It raise the living standard of people.

Suddenly in 1970s world woke up and made the once saviour of the natural world into the terror of the natural world. It wasn't the plastic that changed its property suddenly in 1970s. It's like the common Bhutanese saying about how even mother's breast milk can be poisonous if over-consumed. Human beings began using plastic in everything and everywhere without considering where it would land up at the end.

Plastic clogs drainage systems and flood cities, it overwhelms landfills and leach out dangerous chemicals that are threats to lives, in river system it can endanger aquatic lives, it will soon invade our agricultural fields make them infertile, and at the end it will take away our forest. But remember plastic doesn't go there on their own, it's us who ill-manage it. Plastic is a Frankenstein and we are being very insensitive with it.

But in Bhutan we have our smallness on our side, today it may seem like we have plastic problem but if you have observed carefully, one moment you see lots of plastic bottles thrown around and next moment it's gone. It's just a matter of one good solution, because plastic is a magical element. My little niece Bumchu won't leave any plastic pottle at home or in our cars, because her school has the practice of collecting and selling plastic waste to Greener Way.

Now Greener Way has a local market in The Green Road right in Thimphu, where a young entrepreneur, Rikesh Gurung, with the technical capacity and legal right in executing the revolutionary idea of using plastic in blacktopping roads has opened shop. "The technology involves coating of aggregate with molten waste plastic before it is mixed with bitumen. Besides being an effective solution to plastic waste menace, it brings down considerably the cost of laying roads and enhances their life."-The Hindu
Thimphu alone produces 50 tonnes of plastic waste daily and the landfill has over 200,000 tonnes of plastic, says the founder of The Green Road, which means he will have enough resources to make better and cheaper roads in the country, and he will not run out of his key ingredient. And the best part is plastic in Bhutan will not be a problem anymore.

But I'm surprised Rikesh's idea didn't receive red-carpet welcome in the country. If our concerns about plastic waste were genuine and all the headlines meant anything serious I would expect the government to hug the young man because his project can kill two cockroaches at one spank; better road and plastic management.

Interestingly before Rikesh could showcase his first task of blacktopping 30 meters road in Thimphu, another project made a headline. It's about a technology that will be setup at the landfill to convert plastic into crude oil. I am throughly confused now. Rikesh has multi-million plant setup and now another project is threatening to steal away his raw material, what is this all about? Do we have so much plastic waste to feed two big projects? While the rest of the world is suffocating in their plastic waste, it looks like we are going to face plastic waste scarcity. Anyway, it's good for us!

A World Class Flower Exhibition

I overheard a foreign tourist asking his guide at least three times, "You mean all this is put up in a week?" The guide was as proud as me, "Yes, all in a week."

For the first time in a long time I have seen something done by Bhutanese that's truly world class. We always had that excuse of being Bhutanese that gave us the license to under perform and still be proud. From a crude machine made of wood to some funny software or animation, they always made it to headlines despite being no better than anything the western world made half a century ago, but we still say, "come on, it's Bhutan. A Bhutanese doing so much is amazing." Which is why we are considered third world.

But the Royal Bhutan Flower Exhibition was something that proved to ourselves that we too are living in 2015 along with the rest of the world, and that no form of excuse can justify why we should be lesser country. 

Besides, in my wildest imagination I couldn't have guessed Bhutan had so many passionate florists, let alone the vastness and variety of their collection. And the timing is magical, with almost every flower in full bloom, which remained continuously glorious the entire week.

Thank you your Majesty, your visions are always clear and beautiful. Heartiest congratulations to every beautiful soul involved in creating that heaven on earth. Next year is going to be unimaginable. 

Following are some shots I took to celebrate the grand success of the Exhibition and to remind myself from time to time about how much our people can do.

Are you convinced now?