The
first stamp in my passport was to the happiest place in the world- Bhutan!! And
it is the happiest place, not because I say so but because it is the only
country in the world which is measured by GNH- Gross National Happiness rather
than GDP.
Like Alice in wonderland, here I was in my happy-land, wandering
about the beautiful streets of Paro, with white imposing Dzong in the horizon,
the sound of the flowing river, colourful prayer flags fluttering in the wind
and warm smiles of the Bhutanese that simply charms your heart!
Amidst
the cultural and religious surroundings, suddenly something stood out.
Wait a
minute..is that a...WTH! Ok..ummm...let me re-phrase; only one thing was
“standing” out and that was the most ubiquitous lucky charm in the Bhutanese
culture, an image of ......wait for it.....an ERECT PHALLUS!! Yes....you read
that right! Images of these holy phalluses can be seen painted on the walls of
the Bhutanese homes in the countryside or wooden ones, just hanging in front of
shops and homes.
According
to Bhutanese folklore, an erratic Buddhist monk would ward away demons by
hitting them on their head with his “tool”! Since then it is believed that it
keeps away evil. Fascinated and amused by this piece of Bhutanese culture, I
wondered, maybe that is why this is known to be the happiest place in the
world!
Days passed and soon
it was time for me to go back from this fascinating country and head home.
My
flight was from Paro, Bhutan to Delhi in India. I had heard from many that Paro
airport is, if not the most, one of the scariest airports in the world. One
night before my flight I met a gentleman at a party, who when heard that I was
going to fly Druk airlines (Bhutan’s only Airline) said, “If you google Druk
airlines, you might get keywords like DruNk airlines, ha ha!(*evil laugh)”. So
funny .....NOT!
At
this point, I was a bit scared! That night I did google it and this is what it
showed,
“Taking
off or landing at Paro Airport can feel like a flight simulation video game
where players must dodge natural hazards in their way.”
“When
ascending or descending, aircraft has to avoid hitting the jagged Himalayan
Mountains through a complicated series of dips and turns”
“Tucked
into a tightly cropped valley and surrounded by 4900-metre-high Himalayan
peaks, Bhutan's only airport is forbidding to fly into.” etc...etc..
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*Gulp..I
was going to need paper bags, loads of them!
Generally,
I am not jittery about flying but today I had mentally freaked myself out about
the “scary” flight! With no option but to go ahead, I seated myself in the
nearly empty aircraft. Scary or not, I have to admit, this airport nested at
the lap of magnificent mountains was one of the most beautiful airports I have
ever seen. Strapped in and ready, the take off made me break into heavy sweat as we took some really tight turns around the mountains. I tried to think of the Bhutanese 'happiness' and all sort of things to distract me and after a few minutes in
the air, I realized, it wasn't all that scary, just over-rated!
45
minutes into the flight, all seemed peaceful as I smiled and thanked all my
Gods (at times like these I am pretty religious!). Just then the Captain made
an announcement, “Ladies and gentlemen, in another 5 minutes, we will be flying
past the World’s highest peak, Mount Everest!!”
WTH...Are
you kidding me????....Seriously?
As I
sat for the next 5 minutes, pressing my nose against the aircraft window loomed
into view, the Himalayan range with its snow capped peaks.
There were so many peaks that at first I didn't know which one was
‘it’, but soon came into view the WORLD‘s TALLEST NATURAL ERECTION, the
magnificent Mt. Everest.
Now I
was absolutely HAPPY! :D :D :D
PS*-
More about my Bhutan stories in the next few posts...!
