Day 20: Paro back to Kathmandu

31 October 2019

Well we have come to the end of our trip and begin the journey home. We are advised that we should allow at least 24 hours between our flight from Bhutan to Nepal and any international connections as delays are very common (don’t we know it). So I have another night in Kathmandu and will do a cooking class before our flight to Singapore tomorrow evening.  But now seems a good time to reflect on my travels in both Nepal and Bhutan.

On the face of it Nepal and Bhutan are very similar countries: they are (or were) small (or relatively small) mountainous kingdoms spanning the Himalayas and sandwiched between China and India, with a high proportion of Buddhists. But their diverse histories have led to the development of 2 very different countries at this time in the 21st century.

Nepal has had a long period of civil unrest and political instability which have meant that the infrastructure has not been maintained (particularly after the devasting earthquake in 2015). It’s monarchy was disestablished in 2008 and now has a democratically elected government that has been in power for 2 years (the most stable in decades). Nepal has a population of approx 29M in 150,000km2 compared with Bhutan’s 0.763M in 38,000km2.

Nepal has embraced tourism as a means of bringing in income to the country but is starting to see the negative aspects of this with huge numbers of people coming to climb Everest with resulting congestion, rubbish and deaths.

In contrast, Bhutan has had a stable and beloved monarchy for over a century – with a benevolent power over the government. Bhutan measures itself by Gross Domestic Happiness and prides itself in being the only country to be Carbon Negative. The four pillars of happiness are:

Bhutan opened up to tourism in 1974 (287 tourists visited then) but is managing it in a very different way: tourism is strictly controlled with every person required to book via a a Bhutanese agency and have a local guide and driver throughout their stay. Some may see this as unnecessarily controlling but we are definitely of the view that this is a very sensible approach. It is done with a positive intent so that all visitors have a positive experience: they have a good standard of transportation with reduced likelihood of accidents and a good standard of food and accommodation. They ensure local employment and the ability to expand tourism while still maintaining standards. Our guide and driver are definitely there to facilitate an enjoyable stay for us that meets our needs rather than strictly controlling what we can and can’t see (as I have experienced in some places).

We had a fantastic experience travelling in both countries. Starting in Nepal we had new scenery and new experiences every day so we never felt like we were getting bored or repeating anything. We had so many ‘once in a lifetime’ experiences: our Everest flight, helicopter flight to Annapurna, seeing tigers and rhinos in Chitwan National Park to name but a few.

Most of us knew very little about Bhutan but it was clear right from the moment we landed that we were in a completely different place. All the buildings look different, the people are dressed differently (and so friendly) and the mountainous scenery is just stunning. We have only 8 days here but again we are treated to 4 different areas that are all completely different with new experiences every day. We didn’t think it would be possible to match the wow moments we had in Nepal but with the shy Eastern Himalayas showing themselves over so many days the views were absolutely amazing; the magnificent Dzongs or fortress were just stunning and then the climb to the Tiger’s Nest Monastery was certainly an experience that none of us will ever forget.

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For this and other similar tours see:

Explore Asia with Intrepid Travel (a range of different travel styles – see my post on travel styles)

Peregrine Adventures (Comfort tours)

Geckos Adventures (for 18 to 30s)

Note: After people telling me they had booked an Intrepid Tour on my recommendation, I now have affiliate links with the Intrepid Travel group of companies and may receive a commission if you book a tour online within a couple of months after clicking through to these sites.  So if you are enjoying my tips and stories and finding them useful in choosing your own travel, please click on these links and help me to bring you more .

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