Curiosities about Bhutan – The Land of The Thunder Dragon

In this post, I will write several curiosities about Bhutan, many of which only someone who lives here knows! But can such a small country really have enough curiosities? Well, having lived here, I can tell you there are way too many! Bhutan taught me how a country can be so different from our own country of origin! It doesn’t matter where you are from. I really like living here, and so I decided to create this “live post”. It’s a post where I’ll add curiosities about Bhutan that you, hopefully, find very interesting! So, add to favorites and always stop by to take a look!

Curiosities about Bhutan #1: It is one of the least visited countries in the world

Think of the final of Brazil vs Uruguay at Maracanã Stadium in 1950. There were almost 200,000 people inside a single stadium in a football game. Well, the total annual number of visitors to Bhutan is not very different. In the year 2017, there were 254,000 tourists visiting this tiny big country, making it one of the least visited countries in the world in total numbers of tourists. If you are interested in being a few tourists visiting this country so unknown, see how to get your visa to Bhutan.

Curiosities about Bhutan #2: Used stamps to be recognized internationally

What? Stamps? So this may be one of the most interesting stories in the country, in my opinion. During the reign of the Third King of Bhutan, one of the country’s priorities was to be recognised internationally. Thus, Bhutan began to try to become members of international organisations. The first international organisation from which Bhutan became a member was the UPU (Universal Postal Union) in 1969. Becoming a member doesn’t mean much. You need to do something to become known within that organisation.

Bhutan began to create embossed stamps, some vinyl record stamps that played music, rubber stamps, leather stamps, among many other stamps. Today they are some of the most difficult stamps to find in the world. Creating stamps opened the gates for Bhutan’s international recognition. This greatly helped Bhutan when the country successfully attempted to become a member of the United Nations in 1971.

Curiosities about Bhutan #3: Phallic Images

In Bhutan, it is very common to see phallic images painted on the walls of buildings across the country. It all began due to a religious leader, or Lama, called Drukpa Kunley, or the “Divine Madman.” He is known for his unorthodox ways of bringing his followers, mostly women, to enlightenment. He took more than 5000 women to the maximum point of life with his… Well, you know what I’m talking about, right? Today, he is revered as the Saint of Fertility. A monastery, or Lhakhang in Dzongkha, in Punakha is dedicated to him, called Chimi Lhakhang.

Pilgrims from all over the world who have difficulty conceiving go to this monastery to receive the blessing of fertility. The local monks take a wooden “instrument” and touch you on the head with it. Well, there’s a book of Bhutanese and foreign accounts thanking the miracle of life after visiting the place where the “Divine Madman” is revered. This fertility sign is pictured everywhere!

Curiosities about Bhutan #4: GNH-Gross National Happiness

One of the best-known facts about Bhutan is that the country is known as the “Country of Happiness“. The Country conducts an ultra super hyper questionnaire along with the census to try and quantify the happiness of the population and thus generate the country’s “Gross National Happiness Index”. This index is based on the 4 Pillars and the 9 Domains for National Happiness.

Curiosities about Bhutan #5: It Has More than 20 languages

The country is almost vertical, because it has so many mountains. But it’s logical, given its location. The altitude of the country varies from 150m above sea level in the south of the country to its highest point of 7570m in the north. Bhutan is composed of several valleys that cut the country from north to south. Somehow, people settled in these valleys and maintained certain isolation from each other, developing their own culture and their own language. This geographic populational isolation today left a country that is about half the size of Ireland with more than 20 languages and several different cultures. Fascinating stuff indeed!!

Curiosities about Bhutan #6: Polygamy is allowed

Whaaaaaaaaaat? Polygamy is allowed in the country, both for men and for women. The Fourth King of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuk, has four wives, all sisters. In the country, including amongst my friends, it is quite common to introduce people as my “brother-cousin”. Did you manage to build a family tree in your head? Well, it’s a very interesting thing, because it’s relatively common. But it is also something that is ending, with the westernisation of the country.

In the state (or dzongkhag) of Gasa, mainly in Laya and Lunana, it is common for women to have more than one husband. Some women who inherited land marry a man. Sometimes these men have other brothers. What does she do? She takes everyone home, marry everyone and put them all to work on their land. Good idea, huh?

Curiosities about Bhutan #7: Cover Your Mouth!

As part of Driglam Namzha, the country’s rules and etiquettes, you are expected to cover the mouth to talk to people hierarchically above you. It’s also expected that when we’re reading prayers, lighting butter candles, or “Butter Lamps.” Why is that? Well, the motives are quite obvious and I would like some of my friends do that… Spitting on other people’s faces is not very respectful! Especially if the person is more important than you.

No student of mine talks to me without covering their mouth. But it’s really hard to hear them. They already just murmur naturally… Now put your hand in front of your mouth! I sound like an old man.

Curiosities about Bhutan #8: Traditional Medicine vs. contemporary medicine

With the Westernisation of the country, many national traditions are losing their space in this new society, mainly in the nation’s capital, Thimphu. But traditional medicine and religious rituals are still part of the Bhutanese daily life. My favorite traditional remedy is Pangbi Ribb (Ribb from Pangbisa). The whole country knows about this medicine, which is extremely valuable by the way. It is a mixture of medicinal herbs and, believe it or not, scrapings from a monk’s skull who lived in the region here a few centuries ago. Serious! Not kidding!!!

The whole country’s trying to get some of that miraculous medicine. To consume it, it is necessary to dilute it in plenty of warm water, a ball per liter. Local belief says that in the period of one year, the balls reproduce. Well, I took the test! And no, they didn’t reproduce.

Curiosities about Bhutan #9: Food and Chillies

The Americas left a mark in Bhutan. With the spice trade between India, Portugal, Spain and other countries, the chili peppers, native plants of the Americas, arrived in India. As a consequence, they made their way into Bhutan. And, man, think of a people who enjoy chili! It’s not the same thing as India. In Bhutan, chili is one of the main vegetables/fruits (depends on which side of the debate you are) in the Bhutanese diet. Dude, they put chilies on everything! Absolutely everything has the stuff!

The main and best-known dish of Bhutan is the Ema (Pepper in Dzongkha) Datshi (cheese in Dzongkha). The dish is made of chilies with melted cheese. Sometimes they put chili powder to make the sauce a little more colourful… Also there is the Kewa (potato) EMA Datshi, Shamu (fresh/dry mushroom) EMA Datshi, paa (pork with chilies), brocoli with chilies, rice with chilies, ezay (type a vinaigrette with chilies)… The list goes on and on!

Curiosities about Bhutan #10: Monasteries High in the mountains

Bhutan is one of the last Buddhist Kingdoms in the World. Many everyday things are venerated, such as animals and nature. The Mountains are sacred in the country, seen as deities. Given this sacred status, many monasteries are built in very high mountains, some being extremely difficult to reach. In these places, monks live in full solitude, devoted 100% to religion and their games of Candy Crush. But there are mountains much taller where humans can’t live. These Mountains are absolutely forbidden to climb.

The most adored mountain in Bhutan is Mount Jomolhari (7326m). It Is the second highest mountain in the country which, unfortunately, has been climbed in 2007. The highest mountain in the country (7570m), the Gangkhar Puensum, is the highest unclimbed mountain in the world. And I hope it stays that way for many and many years to come.

Curiosities about Bhutan #11: National Clothing

Another curiosity from Bhutan linked to the Namzha Driglam. As I said, the country has several cultures, but the predominant culture comes from the Ngalops, ethnicity of the Royal Family of Bhutan (I explained well on this in the post “Bhutan: The Happiest Country in the World“). Thus, every public servant, teacher or person who needs to enter government offices need to use Gho and Kira, male and female national clothing respectively. If you decide to get into Bhutan’s federal revenue with shorts and slipper, you don’t even pass the gate. This is part of the country’s etiquette because it imposes respect and a certain formality.

Curiosities about Bhutan #12: Doma

Man, that’s the weirdest thing in the world. Doma is a seed that the people here and in various parts of India chew all day. They keep it in their mouths all the time! Their teeth become ultra-red. It is eaten with limestone paste and betel leaf. Then they spit out the red liquid out. So It’s very common to walk down the street and see red spots everywhere.

Popular sayings and conversations with local friends say that Doma’s consumption replaced the cannibalistic customs that existed in Bhutan pre-Buddhism. These rituals were part of the Bon/Bon-po religion. The seed represents the brain and bones, the leaf, the skin and the body and the red color of the nut, the blood. A kind of sinister thing, as you can imagine, but everyone chews the stuff. Holding on to your roots, I guess.

Curiosities about Bhutan #13: Legal Stamp

Have you ever thought about a world without a notary public? In a world where you can write yourself, sign the document and this has legal power? Well, Bhutan is your place! Many things still work on the basis of trust. The scheme here for a document to become legal is called the “legal stamp”. It is a stamp that, when glued to a paper and signed on the top of it, it has the same value as a document overseen by a notary public. Where do you get that legal stamp? At any shop, anywhere in Bhutan, these stamps are for sale for only the equivalent of US$0.15!

When I bought a car, the deal was as follows. I had all the money in my backpack. I saw the car, I liked it. So I took an A4 sheet of paper, I wrote that I was buying a car from I don’t know who for I don’t know how much, we pasted the legal stamps and sign on top. In a matter of half an hour, the car was mine!  Ripley’s believe it or not moment, right?

Curiosities about Bhutan #14: Prayer Flags

Think of a place that’s windy. No, it’s not Ireland! It’s here! Here there are the prayer flags, which are usually placed in high places, where it is even windier! But why? In the flags, there is the prayer ཨོཾ་མ་ཎི་པདྨེ་ཧཱུྃ or “Om Mani Padme Hum” written on it. And when the wind hits the flags, it will take the prayer wherever the wind blows!

On Mount Everest (I know it’s not here in Bhutan, okay?), it’s full of prayer flags. Because It is the highest point in the world, the prayers from there will be taken to all parts of the Earth.

Curiosities about Bhutan #15: Two weeks

Let me talk to you. That’s the most unconscious curiosity here, but everybody does it. And I’ll tell you, it’s frustrating as hell! I’ll explain to you what it is. Do you know when someone says that something’s right over there? Or that something will only a minute? So the Bhutanese has the “Two Weeks” popular say. EVERYTHING, absolutely everything you ask how long it will take, the time to do it will be two weeks. Therefore, ask anyone and it will not fail! The answer will be… two weeks. How long to fix the internet? Two weeks… How long before the new radiators arrive? Two weeks… How many weeks in 28 days? Two weeks…

Here in Bhutan, everything is a little more difficult, so I allow for a little wiggle room. When I got here, I was promised two radiators, so I wouldn’t freeze to death. The two were broken when I got them. They came to get it, but they didn’t have any in stock. How long until they arrive (I asked for them in October 2017)? Two weeks… Want to know when I got them? In April 2019! Yes, I got them on the 2nd o April, 2019! I have several of these frustrating stories of two weeks… I really wanted to not have them!

Curiosities about Bhutan #16: Puppies

Dogs everywhere! Every place you go, there’s a dog! They end up taking over your life, because they’re so cute! If you strike a conversation with friends about dogs, nothing else is discussed. If you have nothing to say, don’t worry! Start talking about the dogs and you’ll have something to say for another hour. Here at school, there are some cute dogs. All have already turned into my brothers and sisters. It’s very interesting to observe their routine and dynamics.

The other day, more precisely on 16th of February, 2019, we found a dog all covered in snow, with part of his fur frozen. He was just skin and bone. Poor him… I caught him, scared to death of breaking him, dried him up and fed him. Usually, because there are so many dogs here, many end up doing their good deed, feed the dog once, but they don’t do much more than that. I couldn’t and I brought him home.

It’s been over two months since we brought him home and, man, let me tell you… Think of a lazy dog and a coward. I told myself I was going to bring him home just until he was good and let him go again. Well, he is free to go whenever he wants, the door is always open! He goes out, he does what he has to do, and, less, he’s back! I love that little guy!

Curiosities about Bhutan #16: Public Affection

As I have said a few times, Bhutan is westernasing quick enough. But there are things that are still frowned upon in most of Bhutan (Thimphu, the capital, is no longer so much): affection in public. Me and Ly, we don’t hold hands here, because sometimes we get some nasty looks from the locals. Did I say this is only valid for affection among people of the opposite sex? So it is. What is quite common in the country are men, friends, walking along the streets holding hands, embraced etc. That’s pretty common among Indians too. That was a very nice and interesting thing I observed in the country.

Curiosities about Bhutan #17: Burning of documents and papers written in Dzongkha

Bhutan remained a closed country for many years. During this time of isolation, the Central Monastic Body dominated the country, both in politics and in religion. They had and still have a huge influence in the country. As a result, for a long time, many documents written in Dzongkha were about Kings or religious prayers/rites.

So a way to show lack of respect would be to throw them away. So it became forbidden to throw them in the trash. By burning, all that the documents say are spread with the wind, just like the prayers of the prayer flags! To be quite sincere, I asked about 1 million people and no one knows the real reason why the documents are burned. This explanation was the one that arose more often during my interviews. In my opinion, that made the most sense!

Thus, Dzongkha teachers of the school give me the lessons to light up my Bukhari (an iron box where I make a fire to warm the house)! And, of course, uniting the useful to the pleasant!

Stay tuned!

So If you’re enjoying the stories, leave a comment and share the post! Soon, I’ll add more! You can also save the post on Pinterest to read later! And to continue accompanying our posts, just subscribe to the newsletter below and you will be the first to receive our news!

Want to visit Bhutan? Contact us here!

Posted by Wagner Nogueira

Wagner studied Theoretical Physics (B.Sc) and Climatology (M.Sc) at University College Dublin, in Ireland. He has Ph.D. in Meteorology from the University of Reading the Post-Graduate Certificate in Education from the University of Oxford. Today, he teaches physics and maths in Bhutan. He has a passion for history, animation, gardening and has visited 52 countries.