Last day in Bhutan! The drive back to Paro over several passes today was beautiful with the snow on the mountains giving great vistas.
So...Bhutan....It's a pretty place which reminds us very much of home. Some of it looks like the Kootenays with dense evergreen forests, and some of it looks more like the Okanagan with pine forests, rocky slopes, and dry underbrush. The difference is that the valleys to the mountain passes are much higher than anything we have and the roads are a constant challenge.
Also, the valley bottoms are terraced and mostly grow rice.
We have found Bhutan a peaceful, safe place with an interesting, but not exciting culture. It is definitely a country in transition as it welcomes the money tourism brings and is looking to bring in more. We hope that it doesn't lose its culture, the big thing that tourists come to experience. It is a small country and can be easily overwhelmed as we saw at the festival where on one day, the tourists outnumbered the locals.
The famous Gross National Happiness concept seems to be more of a marketing tool (our guide's assessment) than anything - although it fits well with the Buddhist ideal that there is a lot more important in life than money. We have enjoyed our time here as it has been relaxing after the much rawer, visceral Tibet and chaotic Kathmandu.