Farmhouse lunch

Posted inEconomy, People
We had lunch today at Aum Sonam’s house. Aum Sonam, who was a member of the last National Assembly before the introduction of parliamentary democracy, served us a sumptuous meal of kharang, sikam, aima datsi, mushrooms, farm eggs, cottage cheese and papaya. I enjoyed Aum Sonam’s cooking thoroughly. It was clean, wholesome and traditional. So I asked her if she would be willing to make lunch for other travelers between Bumthang and Mongar or Trashigang. Her answer was “yes!” quickly qualified by “but they should call me first”. Her farmhouse is located among Thidanbi’s bucolic paddy fields about five…

Kaila’s

Posted inPeople
I’m in Bumthang en route to Eastern Bhutan. And, like most public servants passing through Bumthang, I’m staying at Kaila’s Guest House. Kaila Tamang, originally from Katmandu, came to Bhutan in 1969 to cook for Fritz Maurer, a Swiss cheese-maker. He worked for Mr Maurer in Sha Gogona and in Chamkhar before joining the logging center at Lamai Goenpa as the head cook. When, in 1984, Mr Maurer built the Swiss Guest House, Kaila was recruited to manage the guest house. He worked there for 10 years till, in 1994, he bought an acre of land in Chamkhar (for…

Misleading numbers

Posted inEconomy
The other day Kuensel reported that: Bhutan’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth slumped to one of its lowest at 5 percent in 2008 despite the Druk Phuensum Tshogpa’s target of achieving a 9 percent growth rate annually. To this Dr Saamdu Chetri, the head of good governance section in the cabinet secretariat and DPT party member, was quoted as saying: “With inflation going up to 9.2 percent and a global recession, a growth rate of five percent is still an achievement.” There’s no doubt that the recent global recession would have constrained economic growth. So there could be some…

Best commercial flight?

Posted inGeneral
Wanderlust, a leading British travel magazine, has rated Paro International Airport as the world’s second best airport to fly into, behind Singapore’s Changi International Airport. That is good news. But what about the world’s best commercial flight route? Have you seen a ranking of the world’s best regular commercial flight routes? I haven’t. And, I’m not sure that such a ranking exists. But if there was one, I’m certain that Druk Air’s Paro – Katmandu sector would win hands down. Consider the pilot’s typical greeting to passengers traveling on that sector: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard this Druk Air…

Counting sheep

Posted inMiscellaneous
A reader sent me this joke in response to my last entry about McKinsey’s recommendations on our tourism sector. A guy is driving around in his Porsche in the countryside. He stops outside a field full of sheep, walks up to the shepherd and says "I've got an offer. I'll guess how many sheep you've got in this field, and if I guess right, I get to take a sheep with me, and if I guess wrong, you get my car." Shepherd thinks he's on to a sure thing and agrees. "137" says the driver."Damn me, you're right." says…

Consulting tourists

Posted inEconomy, Government
So the government has accepted and decided to implement McKinsey’s recommendations for the tourism sector. And it seems like we are paying a lot of money – almost 10 million dollars – to a consulting firm to tell us what we already know. Attracting high end visitors, promoting ecotourism, making Bhutan a destination for international meetings, easing ticketing, simplifying visa procedures, improving hotels, domestic air services, developing infrastructure, investing in marketing … these are more or less the same recommendations that a series of earlier consultants have made. More importantly, they are the same ones that ABTO and tour…

Happy Coronation Day!

Posted inMonarchy
I join the nation in celebrating the first coronation anniversary of His Majesty the King. On behalf of the opposition party and the People’s Democratic Party, I offer our humble felicitations to His Majesty the King. On this joyous occasion, we pray for His Majesty’s wellbeing and long life, and rededicate ourselves to the service of the tsa-wa-sum. The photograph, already an iconic picture, shows His Majesty inspecting the armed forces during the Coronation Celebrations in the Changlimithang stadium on the 6th of November 2008, five days after receiving the sacred dhar from the Machhen of Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal…