Starry-eyed plan...

Almost all your comments on “Visiting tourists” expressed concern about the Prime Minister’s executive order to prepare a blueprint to do away with the minimum tourist tariff. The poll asking, “Should the minimum tariff for tourists be removed?” drew a similar response with 82% saying “No!”

Thank you for your comments. As promised, I’ll share your views with the government.

Today, I wish to draw attention to another blueprint that the Prime Minister has ordered. In the same executive order (of 13 November 2009), the Tourism Council of Bhutan was directed to constitute:

A cross sector implementation team consisting of the MoEA, MoF, TCB and ABTO to frame and present the blueprint for … Mandate all hotels catering to tourists to upgrade to at least 3 Star category.”

The idea, ostensibly, is to ensure “high value tourists” even after liberalizing the minimum tariffs by forcing them to stay in expensive hotels.

But how would we monitor that tourists, who will no longer be required to use tour operators, are actually staying in 3 Star hotels? How could we do so without becoming a police state?

Will all hotels currently catering to tourists be willing and able to upgrade to at least a 3 Star category? What will happen to those that are unable to upgrade?

And, what will happen to the guest houses in Bumthang? Where would tourists stay when they visit Bumthang? Where would tourists be allowed stay when they travel almost anywhere outside Thimphu and Paro?

Gakiling eggs...

Searching for markets

Guess how much an egg costs in Gakiling? Two ngultrums! Yes, farmers there are willing to sell their eggs for a pittance. And still they still don’t get any buyers. That just shows how little access they have to markets.

“Yoed ba chin tsong sa med. May ba chin nyo sa med,” is how Ap Tshering Wangdi had described their predicament a few years ago.

But some farmers have now decided to take matters into their own hands: they’ve decided to, collectively, sell their eggs in Thimphu. And, Rinzin, a young farmer, has volunteered to collect the local eggs and bring them to the capital every week.

So look out for Gakiling eggs – organic eggs laid by free range indigenous chickens.

Happily exhausted...

Very big perk!

I’m in Dorikha, totally exhausted. But I’ve had a hot stone bath, an extra large bowl of buckwheat noodle soup, copious amounts of o-ja (milk-sweetened tea), and a glass of Ani Gaki’s stiff ara. I’m sitting near a bukhari, typing, under the watchful gaze of three inquisitive nieces. And I’m already forgetting the pain of the last two days.

Yesterday, after meeting the people and touring the village of Thangdokha, we decided to take a shortcut down from the remote village to Somchu, a tributary of Amochu. The “shortcut” isn’t a path; it’s lunging in an approximate direction downhill, while hacking through undergrowth and nettle. My arms still feel sore and numb thanks to the thorns and stinging nettle.

After we finally made to Somchu, we waded across its icy waters, and climbed to Gongthangka and then to Sektena, both villages populated by Lhotshampa Rais. By then I felt literally drained out, as I had developed a diarrhea.

Last night, as I dozed off on Ap Gharay’s shikua (a porch) I remembered how, almost two years ago, my wife and I waded across the Somchu and took the same “shortcut” up to Thangdokha. The urgency of the impending elections drove me uphill. But, I still don’t know where Tashi’s strength and determination came from. If I was thankful for her support then, I’m now eternally grateful.

Incidentally, Ap Gharay’s real name is Dhan Bir Rai. His nickname comes from ghar meaning house. About 30 years ago, after Dhan Bir built his house, his neighbors started calling him “Gharay” as his was the only house that had been properly constructed. Dhan Bir’s sobriquet continues to be relevant: his is still the only proper house in the neighborhood of 29 households.

Today, we walked 12 hours. Most of it was uphill, from Sektena (at about 1500 meters) to Sel-la (about 3800 meters). And I almost couldn’t make it. Two magic potions helped me: ORS and Red Bull.

The oral rehydration salts replenished water and restored minerals and salts in my body that I would lose continuously to heavy sweating and the many trips to the bushes. The Red Bull simply pushed me uphill when my legs wouldn’t.

I may have been struggling, but the beauty of the trail wasn’t lost on me – the crisp predawn air, the warmth of the morning sun, the shade from the broadleaf forests, relatively flat meadows, real shortcuts, the season’s first primulas, the sweet scent of daphne flowers, rhododendron trees preparing to blossom, the 360-degree view from Ayto Pcheku, farmers returning from shopping in Haa, and the distant view of the new road being built to Sombaykha.

And, at Sel-la, just as I crossed the pass, gasping for air, nature gifted me with a rare sight – the sun offering its final rays for the day to the sacred Mt Jumolhari.

I’m in Dorikha, exhausted, but totally satisfied.

Walking tall...

Record setter

Dramekha, Ngatsena and Thangdokha are three villages perched precariously on the steep slopes of a mountain opposite Dorokha, Denchukha and Dumtoe.

Dramekha, Ngatsena and Thangdokha were, until recently, part of Mayona Gewog under Samtse. In 2007, these three villages and several equally remote villages of Dumtoe (Samtse) and Samar (Haa) were combined to form the kingdom’s newest gewog, Gakiling.

Dramekha, Ngatsena and Thangdokha hold the disagreeable distinction of being among the poorest villages in Bhutan.

They also hold the most unfortunate record of never having had a dzongdag visit them. That’s correct: no dzongdag has ever visited these villages, never when they were part of Samtse, and not since they became part of Haa. That is, not till today. Earlier today, Dasho Karma Weezir, the Haa Dzongdag, crossed a make-shift cane bridge over the Amochu, completed an arduous trek uphill, and, just as dusk was settling in, became the first dzongdag to ever visit the three forgotten villages.

The simple residents of Dramekha, Ngatsena and Thangdokha are overjoyed that their dzongdag has finally visited them. I joined them in welcoming the CEO of our dzongkhag. And in congratulating him.

Dasho Karma Weezir became Haa Dzongdag in May 2009.

Highway to Dorokha...

Yesterday, I was at Dorokha. We drove from Samtse to Yabala, and walked the rest of the way.

The trail to Dorokha is broad. And, its alignment is comfortable – the path hugs the mountainside and gradually descends to Dorokha. But, because of the heavy traffic at this time of the year, the trail can get rough. The migrating cattle, work horses and constant stream of people marching on the “highway” to Dorokha and back takes a toll on the road. There are pebbles, mud, dust and loose stone over the rocky outcrop that is the trail.

Still, the road bears a busy, almost festive, look. Farmers seem rush to sell their cardamom and mandarin oranges. And then they rush back home with provisions for the year – rice, cooking oil, soap, tea, sugar, salt and clothes. Only to rush back transporting more of their cash crops. Shopkeepers in Dorokha and beyond stock up on goods for the year. Petty contractors transport construction material. Semi nomadic farmers tend their cattle and transport butter and cheese. And, enterprising locals set up temporary tea shops to cash in on the seasonal traffic.

Next year, however, at this time of the year, the trail will not be as busy. In fact, most of it will not be around. The motor road which is being constructed, much of it on the trail itself, will have been completed, and a lot of today’s transactions will be aided by vehicular traffic.

So as I walked to Dorokha, I did so deliberately, fully aware that that would probably be the last time I get to tread on the old highway, one that has quietly borne witness to the unfolding of Bhutan’s remarkable history.

Sombaykha...

Hidden paradise?

Tomorrow I’ll be in Samtse. But before I leave Sombaykha, I should share with you its etymology.

Sombaykha = sang as in sangwa or “secret” + bay as in bayuel or “paradise”

Sombaykha = A paradise hidden by Guru Rimpoche

Bjamdabchen...

Bjamdabchen is a small meadow surrounded by oak forests, where herders from Sombaykha graze their cattle every autumn. We’ve set up camp in that meadow. I’ve latched on to a caravan traveling to Sipsoo – they’re carrying smoke-dried cardamom and will return with rice, salt, tea, cooking oil and clothes. So, there are quite a few of us at the camp.

We have a roaring fire going. Dinner’s cooking. Ap Gep Tsheri is singing praises to his root guru. And, Rinchen is coaxing him to sing about beautiful Seldon. This is an unscheduled treat.

But, tomorrow will be a struggle. We start trekking at 4:00 AM! Otherwise, I’m told, we won’t make it to Sipsoo.

Hospitality business...

Shebji

Shebji is Sombaykha’s northernmost village. And, civil servants, especially Dzongkhag officials, traveling to Sombaykha normally spend a night in there. After walking continuously downhill from Tergola (at about 4000 meters) through alpine meadows, giant rhododendron forests, and subtropical jungle to Shebji (about 1500 meters), most travelers are happy to rest their tired knees in this little hamlet.

Now, in accordance with our age-old traditions also still practiced throughout rural Bhutan, travelers can choose to eat and drink, rest and sleep in any one of Shebji’s eight houses. Each one of them would feel honoured and very happy to offer their hospitality to any traveler, even if the traveler was not known to them.

Most civil servants choose to rest in Aum Kunzang’s home. Aum Kunzang and her husband, Ap Kinely, who served as a Mang-gi Ap at one time, happily welcome all of them to their two-storied farmhouse and offer them their best tea, food, ara, and bedding. They have a constant stream of visitors to entertain – two to three groups every week during the winter months, some traveling to Sombaykha, others returning to Haa. Yet they don’t charge a thing. There’s no price attached, or expected, for their generous services. And, it would be downright rude to enquire.

So how do they manage? Another tradition allows travelers to gift a little something – in kind or in cash – as a token of their appreciation to their hosts. Naturally, the hosts always refuse. But, if their guests exercise a little determination, they have no option but to accept.

Aum Kunzang’s guests always leave a gift for her. Those “gifts” more than cover her expenses. In fact, she’s embarrassed that she makes a tidy profit from her hospitality – hospitality that she charges nothing for.

GNH and business, not mutually exclusive.

Visiting Sombaykha...

Tergola

“It must be very difficult”, I’ve been told more than once, “having only two members in the opposition.” Yes, it is difficult. And frustrating. But it is enjoyable too.

What do I enjoy most about my work? Visiting my constituency. Trekking through Sombaykha, Gakiling and the parts of Samma that don’t have motor roads are a highlight of my work as an MP. And I never tire of meeting the people I that represent – simple folks living mainly off subsistence farming.

I am in Sombaykha. This time, my visit will take me through every village in Sombaykha, over the pass at Batashay, and down to Sipsoo in Samtse.

The banner features the mountains beyond my constituency. I took the photo this morning, from Tegola, which stands at about 4,000 meters.

Visiting tourists...

Potential tourists

The bedrock of our successes in the tourism sector has been the “low volume, high value” policy.  This unique policy has served us exceedingly well ever since the first tourists started visiting our Kingdom in early 1970s. And today, Bhutan is both famous and envied the world over for its cautious tourism policies.

This policy has proven itself. We continue to enjoy the rewards of tourism (government revenue, jobs and international attention) without sacrificing our culture, our environment, and our way of life. Equally important, our tourists swear, time and time again, that their experience in Bhutan has been nothing short of pure magic.

All this may change. The Prime Minister’s executive order of 13 November 2009 directs the Tourism Council of Bhutan to constitute:

A cross sector implementation team consisting of the MoEA, MoF, TCB and ABTO to frame and present the blueprint for:

1. Roll out of the integrated channel, price and supply policy that liberalizes the minimum package price and mandatory package via tour operator requirement; yet ensuring royalty revenue to the government;

The PM’s directives are a mouthful. But, the message is simple: draft a plan to lift the minimum tourist tariff.

If the tourist tariff is liberalized, it would be the government’s biggest policy decision so far: one that would affect our economy and our country significantly. So, we should debate this momentous policy change before it comes into effect – before the “cross sector implementation team” finalises their “blueprint”.

Give me your views, so that I can share them with the relevant authorities. And participate in the poll that asks whether you support removing the minimum tariff for tourists.