I traveled to Bhutan for two week in the fall of 2014.
Over the two weeks that I spent in Bhutan, I was constantly noticing small beautiful details. It seemed like every little thing required a closer look. And then, when you got closer, you would find the incredible craftsmanship that went into whatever you were looking at.
Turns out, that’s all by design. Bhutan has 13 traditional arts that imbue a sense of beauty into everything. There’s even a vocational school dedicated solely to teaching these 13 arts, ensuring their practice is carried on.
When people think of Asia and religion, Buddhism is usually what comes to the forefront of most people’s minds. What many don’t always realize is that there are a different schools of thought within Buddhism. Zen Buddhism is pretty widely known, but the two sects that I’ve become familiar with through my travels are a bit less widely known. So, I’d like to explore some of the similarities and differences between Theraveda and Mahayana Buddhism.
When visiting a new culture, there is nothing that I love more than experiencing, attending or participating in a local festival. Just this past weekend was my town’s annual Aboakyer Festival, and once again it was a delight to join in the festivities. So when I was planning my trip to Bhutan, I knew I wanted to time it to coincide with a festival there, and as the calendar would have it, I was able to attend one of the biggest festivals, the Thimphu Tshechu.
Almost as soon as I learned about Bhutan, I knew I wanted to go there. However, traveling to Bhutan is not as easy as buying a plane tickets and packing your bags. There are some specific steps you have to go through to visit, which I’ve laid out here.