Tag: land of gross national happiness

Best Dish of the Trip

M's Adventures
The view of Lake Como from the train.

Lake Como is becoming more famous for George Clooney than for its other attributes. I only saw it in passing on my way to catch another train. And then, in Tirano, we found an even better dish!

The best dish of the trip. It looks blah but was like being hugged by a block of butter.

The little town of Tirano is a pitstop on the way to catch the Bernina Express, but maybe one should stay a while. We did not. We had an hour. We needed lunch. The tiny square near the train station had two eateries so we went to the nearest one. Little did we expect the food to be good.

This was the train station square.

The house specialty was homemade buckwheat noodles with cabbage, potato, and butter. It turned out to be the best dish of the whole trip.

Classics like proscuitto and fries.

As the restaurant is used to catering to tourists, I managed to get pineapple and ham added to my American pepperoni pizza. This would never happen in Rome! But, here in Tirano, we were two kilometers from Switzerland so the rules against pineapple on pizza don’t apply here.

When I saw that they had pineapple pizza, I thought I would see if I could combine my favorite mix!

The balsamic glazed steak was also something of a surprise. While we were still in Italy, we did feel some of the Teutonic sternness in our waitress. Maybe we are just oversensitive?

Next time, we’ll just come here to eat.

The Kingdom of Bhutan, Land of Gross National Happiness

M's Adventures

The Paro valley and red chiles drying on a rooftop.
The Paro valley and red chiles drying on a rooftop.

Bhutan. Land of Happiness. Land of Gross National Happiness. Land of the Thunder Dragon. The Hermit kingdom. Whatever the name, it is unlike any other place in the world.

As a non-Indian, Nepalese, or Bangladeshi, getting to Bhutan must be done through a tour company. The company takes care of your ticket, visa, hotel, and itinerary. We used a fledgling company called Bhutan HappyLand Tours. While some of the kinks need to be ironed out, overall, I’m glad that we went. Indeed, I feel myself yearning to go back. Our guide was unflagging in energy and answered every single one of my vast array of questions, from early in the morning till late at night.

When working, the men must wear the national costume.
When working, the men must wear the national costume.

They filmed Seven Years in Tibet — in Bhutan —  and you might want to stay that long. If you can afford it. It is not cheap to visit at $250 per night, $450 for the ticket from Dhaka, and $40 visa. But beyond that, the only other money you will need is for souvenirs and to tip your guide. Everything is best paid in U.S. dollars (100 bills are best). Druk Air, Royal Bhutan Airlines, is the national carrier of Bhutan and there are only two flights per week from Dhaka to Paro.

Prayer wheels spinning in this Buddhist country.
Prayer wheels spinning in this Buddhist country.

There are many itineraries to choose from but we chose the three night tour of Bhutan. We saw archery, graphic wall art, butter churning, monks praying, and much happiness.

Since the country is shrouded in mystery, there are many things that set Bhutan apart from other countries. More in a future blog posting…