Shopping for poi...

Walk into a shopping mall, and you’ll be greeted by customers sampling various perfumes. Walk into the Norling Building in Changangkha, and you’ll also be greeted by customers sampling various perfumes. But there’s one big difference. The customers in the Norling Building, in Nado Poi shop to be exact, would be trying out different types [...]

Wangduephodrang Dzong...

I was in Wangduephodrang on Saturday. I’d gone there to visit the De-Suung training program. After meeting the De-Suups, I stopped by the Wangduephodrang Dzong to see the massive renovation that the dzong was receiving. While returning to Thimphu, I stopped briefly on the other side of Punatsangchhu to take in at the grandeur of [...]

Father and child...

Two characteristics that all Bhutanese men should be proud of: knowing how to cook, and taking care of their children. I, like most Bhutanese men, like to cook. But my wife has made it quite clear that I’m more of a nuisance than a help in the kitchen, and my family only grudgingly accept what [...]

Happy Losar!...

Art by Chimi R. Namgyal, a self-taught digital artist, who creates the most amazing ‘paintings’. The printers were not able to do justice to Artist Chimi’s work, so I’m still trying to get the job done, at another press, in a manner that will reflect the original quality. Please email me if you’d like a [...]

Freeing horses...

Several of you identified the image in the last “Big picture” as a horse. That is correct. Well done. But Passang’s answer was the most accurate. He said that the image was a “Picture of the horse (lungta) on a faded prayer flag.” The big picture is, quite literally, a painting of a horse on [...]

Secrets of our leaders...

In my last post, I invited you to think about what was causing a part of the Trongsa Dzong wall to be perpetually wet. “Andrea” and “YPenjor” put forward some good guesses. But, alas, modern cement is not to blame. It isn’t a hidden lake. And sub-terrain water seepage is not the cause. Nor is [...]

The wall...

The Trongsa Dzong has a wall that seems to be perpetually wet – any one know why?

Social media and politics...

Mountain Echoes, a literary festival, starts this Friday. The festival, which has already become Thimphu’s biggest annual literary event, will take place at the Tarayana Centre. Please take part in the festival if you are interested in art, literature and culture. It runs through 24th of May and is open to the public. On Monday, [...]

Zhabdrung’s gifts...

Here’s a story from Sombaykha to commemorate Zhabdrung Kuchoe: Topche was a nyagay – a strongman. About two hundred years ago, he left his village, Nakhikha in Sombaykha, to serve in Zhabdrung Jigme Drakpa’s court. In addition to being famous for his great physical strength, Boed Topche, as he was known, was also an exceptional [...]

Happy Losar...

Lopen Tshewang Tenzin, a lharip instructor at the National Institute for Zorig Chusum in Thimphu, tells the story behind the Thuenpa Puenshi: A golden era it was for the kingdom of Varanasi. The king, his prime minister and the people all claimed the credit. In the end, they sought the wisdom of the reclusive hermit. [...]

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