Sara Blakely is the founder of SPANX, who was named the world's youngest, self-made female billionaire by Forbes Magazine and one of TIME's 100 Most Influential People in 2012.
In a few weeks, Sara is going to launch her new product, that shoe she is wearing: Sneakers with Heels.
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.
You may have heard a certain place in lower Motithang being referred to as Hati-Dunga (The Elephant Rock) but have you seen it?
I thought it was just named after a random rock that looked like an elephant 🐘 but it's not. It's named after a more prominent rock and a space around it. It doesn't look so much like an elephant if not for the colour and the eyes drawn over it but it's regarded as a place of worship by the Hindus. It may be associated with Lord Ganesh.
The place is surprisingly so welcoming. It is developed and managed so well within a campus wall with a gate that's protected with a lock. There is a tiled footpath inside the gate to circumambulate the sacred rock. There seems to be a pujari who makes an offering every day looking at how everything is in order.
I think the place is already quite popular among the local Hindu devotees, and I believe it can be a hotspot for Indian tourists.
BONUS: ALittle further from the sacred rock there is a magnificent blue house that's so characteristic of Southern Bhutan. But I have never seen such a massive and elegant Lhotshampa style house across the entire southern belt, let alone Thimphu. It is a Hati among the southern Bhutanese houses and for it to be next to the Hati Dunga doesn't seem like a coincidence. How are they connected?
It wasn’t until I visited 2017 Haa Summer Festival that I knew there was a sound of slingshot that played a significant role. My understanding of slingshot was limited to its stone throwing function. Even the art of weaving one was new to me; I thought it was just plain leather going by the type of slingshot we used to play during our childhood.
Attending my hometown festival for the first time I was exploring the stalls for hoentay, tongba and rainbow trout delicacies, and there was no way a piece of rope woven from yak hair could draw my attention. But somehow while passing by a tent I couldn’t help notice the slingshot hanging among yak tail, bells and other yak products.
A typical slingshot from Haa (Of course they declared it wasn't done well)
I took it in my hands and started playing with it without a stone. It wasn’t long before a yak herder came and began naming the parts of it to me; what seemed like a piece of rope has four parts to it with names. The man told me that it wasn’t done well. There were flaws in two areas of slingshot we were looking at. I was intrigued. He was particularly not happy that the tip was made from nylon material and not yak hair. He said it wouldn’t sound good.
Sound good? What has slingshot got to do with sound? Isn’t it a weapon to propel stone across the distance? That’s the beginning of my understanding of the sound of the slingshot.
The man distanced himself from me into the open space, made a loop on one end to hold on to and sent it swinging over his head and after certain round made a sudden twist. Out of nowhere, an explosive sound was produced, completely unexpected from a piece of rope. It was physics of breaking the sound barrier.
The man did it several times, each one louder than the previous. The sound drew a lot of attention and among the people drawn by the sound were few hardcore yak herders. Looking at the reaction the man was enjoying the fellow yak herders started saying, “That’s nothing. Come on let me show you.”
The next man to try!
Soon, everyone rushed to take his turn. It became a battle. Each produced a different sound and it was hard to judge but nonetheless, I gave verdicts, which infuriated the battle further. Among them was an 11-year-old boy named Kinley Wangdi who pushed his grandfather into the competition, insisting that the old man was the best.
That's me failing big time and hurting my shoulder
The old man came forth with so much pride but the sound didn’t come so well to uphold the reputation his grandson gave him. Clearly frustrated, he inspected the slingshot and declared that it was not a good one. His little supporter jumped in to inspect and much to my surprise even he declared that it wasn’t the real one. He said his grandfather could make the real ones. Everyone agreed.
The discussion then moved on to the components of a real slingshot and I was awestruck by the details of weaving a slingshot. What really made me raise my brows was when they pointed at the pattern on a section of slingshot and said that it could ward off evil forces and that the injuries from such sling would never heal. The passion with which the guys said it warranted no denying. Believe it or not, they mean it with their lives.
My curiosity and their passion for the subject matched perfectly. I was not done yet. I asked, what was the purpose of the sound they produced with the slingshot. They explained that it was the sound that could make the bravest of yak shit in their fur. When the animals go haywire the herder would make that explosive sound once and even the naughtiest bull would fall in line like a good boy. It’s like the command of a military general.
The sound of the blank slingshot frightening the yaks can be associated directly with Pavlov’s Dog experiment on classical conditioning. Most yaks have experienced the horrific pain of getting hit by a stone shot from a slingshot, and they remember that pain and the sound together. The next time even a blank shot could achieve the same result without actually having to hurt their beloved animals.
Dasho Dzongda of Haa, Kinzang Dorji joined the passionate group and listen to their stories with utmost keenness, it was then that I proposed Dasho randomly about coming up with a competition among the yak herders to see who can produce the deadliest sound. The idea went very well with the crowd and even with Dasho. He agreed that it could be a special component of the Haa Summer Festival.
Dasho Dzongda studying the pattern of a slingshot
The men proposed that each man bring their own slingshot and that there be competition to see the best slingshot. I could hear them talking about working on their own slingshot right way. 12-year-old Kinley Wangdi was definite that none could beat his grandfather. He validated his grandfather’s worth by bringing along a beautiful piece the very next day just to show to me.
Kinley Wangdi with his Grandfather's Slingshot
I went straight to my Japanese friend Akane Matsuo and inquired about the possibility of her bringing in a sound measuring device from Japan the next time she went home. Because I realized that we couldn’t possibly trust human ear to pass judgment on that sort of sound. She Googled it right away and agreed to bring one. After all, it was in her best interest to do any little thing for her second home- Haa. It was her project in RSPN to develop community-based sustainable tourism in Haa, and the slingshot that sparked all the interest was actually hung in her team’s stall that fateful day.
It's said that the Nepal earthquake disaster was a big blow to Himalayan tourism, which seems to be true looking at the huge drop in the number of western tourists visiting us at this time of the year. However, it hasn't deterred Indian tourists. Thimphu and Paro are filled with Indian visitors these days. Along with them, countless Indian cars have entered deep into our country when we have enough of our own taxis and tourist cars lying idle this season.
Why are Indian tourists not taking Bhutanese cars?
The short answer is the affordability. Most Indian tourists love to travel cheap. But the bigger question is how could Indian cars offer such competitive price that the Bhutanese can't beat. There comes the logical reasoning. It's like buying one item from a legitimate shop at certain rate and another exactly same one from footpath at almost half the price. The footpath guy could sell at cheaper price because he didn't have to pay any form of tax.
White Number Plate. Courtesy: Celex.co.in
There are two types of Indian Cars coming into our country, one with white number plate that are private cars and other with yellow number plate that are taxis. The yellow ones are rare, even across the border. Why would anyone want to register one's car as taxi and pay commercial taxes when one can easily use private cars as taxis. There must be regulations on paper but our neighbour across the border didn't find it necessary to bring that regulation on the street.
West Bengal Taxi, which is hard to see
Indian cars neither have to pay import tax, nor green tax, which places then at an advantage over Bhutanese cars. On top of that, without the mandate to register their cars as taxis, the cars with white number plates are bypassing every local tax in the land. This is how they easily beat our cars in the market. Nothing surprising.
Indian tourists don't have to pay $250 per day, in fact they don't spend that much during their entire tour. The tour operators across the borders use the cheapest hotels in Bhutan, and send in their own cars, thereby contributing almost nothing to our revenue. If carefully calculated, we might find out that they contribute more in polluting our air than building our economy. Not to mention the pressure the additional cars put on our fuel supply.
Considering all these, I feel our government should take a simple decision to disallow Indian cars beyond Rinchending (Kharbandi) or allow only those cars with yellow number plates, which is helping India curb the problem of illegal taxis. Any of the two decisions would compel the Indian tour operators to hire Bhutanese cars or tourist buses, contributing more to our economy and livelihood of people living on transport business.
One Bhutanese tour guide per group should be made mandatory for the safety of Indian visitors, to give them right guidance, sensitise them to the local culture and habits, especially while visiting the Dzongs and Lhakhangs. This will ensure that our visitors will have the best travelling experience, our roadsides will be clean, our culture respected and our tour guides have constant source of income. Happiness then is truly a place.
Paro is a gateway to Bhutanese economy, and that explains why our economy is unhealthy. I am quite new to this place to understand the secret to how they managed to keep the town so dirty. It's amazing how people can adapt to living in dustbins and I don't quite know how responsible authorities manage to sleep peacefully.
Someone told me a story about attitude of business people in Paro town; Once an elderly woman was seen dumping her waste in the drain in the middle of town, and as matter of fact he went to ask her to take care of her waste. You know what she replied? "O Boy, don't worry, scouts will come to clean up the town on Saturday." It's clear that all the good intentioned cleaning campaigns school children conducted in the town went on to pamper these people and it only taught them how to take waste for granted.
I confirmed the story firsthand within my short stay in this place. One day Clean Bhutan brought along a passionate group of college students and cleaned the entire town. For the first time I saw the town clean. As always it took a cleaning campaign to let the town breadthe fresh air. I don't know how no Parob felt guilty about letting people from as far as Shrubtse and Gedu colleges clean their town. Quite obviously, unthankfully, and unfortunately I saw the town back to its sorry state just a few days later. Following are the pictures of one spot I took to show you the state of Paro over the past weeks. Now they are waiting for another cleaning campaign!
Before the Cleaning Campaign
After the Cleaning Campaign
Later, and few days after
People living in this place should know that their irresponsible way of living could damage the image of the whole country. While they deserve to suffocate on their own garbage, they should not forget that they live on the gateway to Bhutan. Tourism keeps the heart of Paro beating and it's their natural responsibility to make the place worthy of the privileges it gets. Be it the town or the way to Taktsang, it's time Paro stopped waiting for the goodwill of responsible people from elsewhere.
Jangsa Bridge
For now there seems to be no municipal body in Paro, and if there is one perhaps it's time they surprise us by justifying their role. The location and size of mobile dustbins should be intelligently changed. The frequency of garbage collection around the town should be upscaled. Irresponsible people should be heavily fined, because education seemed to have failed but again they might say the garbage trucks don't turn up or the dustbin in the town corners are tiny. So basically it must begin with the change in system. I still remember following a garbage collection tractor along airport road that spilled waste all over the place as it sped ahead of my car. The plastics were flying on to my windscreen and sacks of waste were dropped on the road. Can you believe these were the people entrusted to manage waste?
Tamchoe Lhakhang
I also think the handicraft shop owners should lend their clean hands to make the town clean for their potential costumers to happily visit them. The same should be the moral responsibility of Guide Association of Bhutan and Association of Bhutanese Tour Operators (ABTO) to make the town welcoming for their bread to fly in. It is more than ever important to let Paro shine and glitter because 2015 is going to be big for tourism industry as Bhutan observes Visit Bhutan year. If Thimphu is the heart of Bhutan, Paro is truly the face and we can't present a dirty face to our guest. We haven't done it thus far and let us not set an unglamorous precedent by doing it when we are inviting the world to come visit our pristine country.
Bottomline: Stop giving Paro fish, teach Paro how to fish!
(I think everybody knows about the effect of solid waste on our environment and ultimately on ourselves, therefore I am not discussing the cliché in this article.)
Gelephu Tshachu is the only tshachu I have ever been too, therefore I am assuming other tshachus are more or less of same architectural design. The unwelcoming design of the low-roof shed, and suffocating thick walls around the congested pools don't seem to have any element of art at all. But on the second thought there seems to be a form of art typical to pre-modern Bhutan, which is based on the science Bhutanese understood very early in time.
The Tshachu is under that low Green Roof
There is physics in the circular shape of the ponds, circle is the most accommodating shape. They had to choose circle because they could not build bigger pool for another scientific reason-the science of preserving heat. It led to keeping pools small with thick high walls and even the low roof of the shed. Though it seem like a typical Indian well, sometimes even resembling oven at the cremation ground, they seemed have crafted the best of art relevant during their time with the science that is timeless.
See any aesthetics? Look who is with me. She says people are stinking, I had to explain what was smelling.
What is disappointing about the evolution of Tshachu is that it didn't evolve with time. It remained frozen. It's time something is done about the architecture of Tshachu. It has become one very important wellness tourist destination for Bhutanese and it's time we place some importance on our own people too.
Modern architecture should intervene and create space and convenience. The pools should be enlarged to accommodate as many people to reduce the waiting time and avoid indecent rushing. The heat science should be taken care by glass walls and wooden tubs. Introducing glass technology will transform the aesthetics of the place with sufficient light and much needed hygiene.
It's also time to pay attention to the huge drains that pose safety risk and adequate amenities should be put in place to avoid gender awkwardness while changing.
Three friends from Shanghai were on holiday in Bhutan last week. A man and two ladies were walking their way to Paro Taktshang when we met last Sunday. There were people from across the world that day, but these three came into focus because of what happened to them then. My family and these three friends made it to the place, where the uphill climb ends, almost at the same time, of course we rode horses. We took a long rest there, the spot where Je Gaden Rinchen was born.
The three Chinese seemed to be in hurry, with their guide panting after them. Just then the man slipped and fell, almost falling down the hill. He lay flat on the muletrack crying in pain- his left ankle was twisted. His two lady friends were shocked and screaming. Their guide was loaded with their cameras to do anything. Another ten minutes walk would have taken them to Paro Taktshang.
They immediately attracted lots of attention but they needed help more than mere attention. That's when I ran to them with my sister in-law, who was once a doctor in China and therefore carries whole set of first aid in her handbag. She assessed the injury and massaged it with balm. The huge man was still crying in pain but my sister in-law had pain killer with her. She even gave him a few more tablets for the evening. The man was shivering and his faced looked scary. We wrapped him in our kabney and I used my teacherly skill to calm him, " It's a very lucky sign that you fell right here where a great saint was born- Je Gaden Rinchen. We consider it very lucky." The magic worked on the two ladies. They were nodding and even smiling. My brothers carried the man to a comfortable spot and ask him to rest while we sort out what to do next. It was confirmed that the man cannot walk anymore, and his journey from Shanghai to Paro Taktshang ends here.
I asked the guide to call his office for backup, but I was only talking to the office himself. Like many tour operators his was one man army- he is the guide, the agent, the office and the final backup. He was funnily blaming the man for not walking carefully, instead of worrying. I didn't want our guest to feel helpless, so I told him to wait for my family to return so that we could carry him down.
The two ladies were biting their nails, seemingly not wanting to go back without completing their journey but their guide was even more perplexed. Then I decided to guide the two ladies with my family so that the guide could stay back with the injured. They happily agreed, even the injured.
It was my fourth visit to Taktshang and I can comfortably be a good guide but I had with me seven members of my family who were there for the first time. It took me over an hour to explain everything to the nine of them with special attention to my sister in-law and the two ladies, knowing that they can never make it back for second time. Because I agreed to be their guide I couldn't help see them struggle with their heavy cameras- so I carried them as well. As if nine of them weren't enough a group from Bangkok asked me to explain to them a lot of things.
I then met two senior guides to who I explained about the injured man and the indecisive guide, and requested them for help. By the time we walked out of the monastery I got a call from the guide saying he got assistance from the senior guides and that they were carrying him down. I told him not to worry about his guests who were with me.
In one of the Goenkhangs I was explaining about the prophecies of Guru Rinpochee, and knowing my two guests were Chinese I asked if they were a big fan of Chairman Mao Zedong. They excitedly replied yes. I sorrily told them that "about 1300 years ago Guru Rinpochee prophecised that a man call Mao will come one day and become the greatest threat to Buddhism". Two ladies looked at me in disbelief, "1300 years ago?" "Did all his prophecies come true?" By the time they walked out, they told me I have changed their mind.
I had to carry my daughter and walk slowly with my wife and sister in-law, so I let my brothers deliver the two ladies to the base where the guide and the injured where waiting in the car. By the time we reached the base they were gone. The guide didn't call me after that. But I am happy that the Chinese will remember fondly about Bhutan and Bhutanese despite the unfortunate journey.
I didn't know there were so many hotels in our country until I came across hotel.bt. Out of curiosity I checked a few hotels I know to see how good the site is, and I am thoroughly amazed at the collection of precise information backed up by beautiful pictures. It covers the hotels across the country and now I can already choose a hotel in any part of the country depending on my budget. And since it's online tourist from outside the country can make their choices too.
Click on the picture to visit the site.
The idea and the design re-inspired me to go back to my drawing board and work on my Question bank project which I dropped after MoE announced their project, which of course didn't materialize as well.
