Surpassing Expectations- Why Bhutan Shouldn't Be Missed

The only thing I knew about Bhutan prior to going there is that it had within its borders the very famous Taktsang Monastery, better known as Tiger's Nest. Very few people go to Bhutan, on account of the fact that it is rather hard to get to (it's a small country in the eastern Himalaya) and that going there as a foreigner is very restricted and compared to neighboring countries quite expensive. Last year only 27,000 dollar or euro spending tourists arrived in Bhutan, compare that to Nepal which is also a small Himalayan country that received over half a million tourists and you begin to understand how few people visit this nation. This small nation stands apart from its neighbors from its unique form of Buddhism to the fact that they measure development in terms of GNH (gross national happiness) as opposed to the normal GNP (gross national product). It is also a very small country in population having just over half a million people, a very small number when you consider both its neighbors count billions and even Nepal has around twenty million. These peculiarities and its inaccessibility to most of the outside world have led many people to declare Bhutan as the last Shangri La.

Bhutan is a little different from everywhere else.

10 Days in Tibet: Shigatse to Lhasa

The second part of this trip was even a little better than the first. From Shigatse we headed for Gyangze which was the suprise location of the trip, in a good way. Gyangze is in my opinion one of the best kind of places when you are traveling, you don't expect anything, and you find things that rival some of the best tourist spots in the world.

Picturesque fields on the way to Gyangze.