With a dzong in my heart ….

Journalist Dawn Tan Wei from SPH visited Bhutan recently and wrote about her trip in the Straits Times Life on 18th November 2008.

Here’s an abstract.

“For 10 years, Bhutan was right up there as No 1 on my top 10 list of places to visit.

Intrigued by stories of this little mystical hermit kingdom untouched by modernity and thoroughly enchanted by the films of Bhutanese director Khyentse Norbu (The Cup, Travellers And Magicians), I was, sadly, put off by how much you had to fork out just to put one foot in there.
 
The US$200 a day required by the government was no small change.

But when I heard it was upping its tariff next year, there was no time to lose.

Word is that it will cost an extra $50 a day from the middle of next year, although it still covers everything: accommodation, food, land transport, the services of a guide and even trekking, if you so desire.

Government-approved lodges selected by your tour operator are by no means luxurious, but they are clean, comfortable and well-managed.

Meals, too, are often eaten at hotels or restaurants catering to tourists.

If you want five-star comfort, you will have to pay extra for the handful of luxury resorts such as Amankora, Zhiwa Ling and Uma Paro, where Hong Kong stars Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Carina Lau got married.

So why go to Bhutan when neighbouring Nepal and Tibet offer just about everything it does–spectacular scenery, better trekking infrastructure and more temples and monasteries than you can count–and at a 10th of the price?

The answer to that, if you ask me, is: to be among the happiest people on earth. “

Read more about her trip at Asia News Netwrok