Less than a week ago I returned from a wonderful 24 days in Bhutan. It is a marvelous country with extremely friendly people. Our trip was choreographed by Dhamey Norgay of Noble Traveler. In my opinion, he is the only person one need consider when planning a trip to Bhutan. The dedication he showed to making our trip a phenomenal experience was amazing.
So why am I posting a photo of a nomad’s hut as my first image from the trip? Because I found the nomads fascinating, cheerful, and very friendly. Plus their way of life is likely to disappear in 10 to 20 years for a surprising reason that I will detail in a later blog.
We first met this nomad along the trail late morning. He was heading in the opposite direction searching for a party that was lost. We were partly through a tiring 10-hour hike over several passes at around 12,000 feet. After lunch we reached the nomad’s hut. He had already found the lost party and got them heading along the proper trail. How did a nomad living far from anywhere even know to look for them? It seems that in Bhutan they have much better cell phone coverage than in the Upper Valley.
You can zoom into the photo above, pan around, and explore. Can you find the nomad’s cell phone? In the photo below you can see a small photovoltaic array resting on a piece of a tree on his roof. What more could a person need?
