In a small, landlocked Himalayan country – Tibet to the north, India to the south, China visible from its extremities – where there's no travel by ship or train, no McDonald's (in itself, otherworldly), where tigers and leopards (uniquely) co-exist in the same habitat, every mountain possesses a spirit, and car hire is not a thing, Google Maps just won't cut it: visitors need a guide.
Welcome to Bhutan, where 33-year-old Dorji Bidha is one such guide. Accredited by the Department of Tourism, she leads individuals and small groups on treks that might include sections of the notoriously tough Snowman Trail – which crosses five 5,000m passes and leads through the “shangri-la” region of Lunana, one of the planet's most isolated inhabited valleys. But, also, on gentler, more meandering adventures, taking in the cultural highlights of a predominantly Buddhist land that is still as much veiled in mystery as it is by the puff-of-flour clouds that arrange and rearrange themselves around its snow-capped peaks.
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Welcome to Bhutan, where 33-year-old Dorji Bidha is one such guide. Accredited by the Department of Tourism, she leads individuals and small groups on treks that might include sections of the notoriously tough Snowman Trail – which crosses five 5,000m passes and leads through the “shangri-la” region of Lunana, one of the planet's most isolated inhabited valleys. But, also, on gentler, more meandering adventures, taking in the cultural highlights of a predominantly Buddhist land that is still as much veiled in mystery as it is by the puff-of-flour clouds that arrange and rearrange themselves around its snow-capped peaks.
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A child peers through a window, left, and a road into the clouds
As the kingdom where Gross National Happiness officially reigns supreme marks 50 years of tourism – the oldest hotel in capital Thimphu was built in 1985; TV didn’t arrive until 1999 – we sit down with Bahdi to talk everything from local flora and fauna – “our wild animals are very wild!” – to being a woman in a male-dominated industry, and where to go for red-hot national dish chilli cheese.
As the kingdom where Gross National Happiness officially reigns supreme marks 50 years of tourism – the oldest hotel in capital Thimphu was built in 1985; TV didn’t arrive until 1999 – we sit down with Bahdi to talk everything from local flora and fauna – “our wild animals are very wild!” – to being a woman in a male-dominated industry, and where to go for red-hot national dish chilli cheese.
A Q&A with Bhutanese guide Dorji Bidha
Where were you born and raised?
In Paro – I’ve been here for 33 years running; 34 this June. I went to high school here and after that to private college. I always wanted to study arts and literature but I ended up doing a Bachelors in commerce. I thought about becoming air cabin crew – my friends were going; we liked the idea of glamour, fancy stuff – and then of becoming a cadet officer, but it didn't happen. During my college days, I built a business plan for making yoghurt and, after working in the urban cooperative dairy farm for a while, I got a subsidy from the DCSI [Department of Cottage and Small Industry] and was sent to Bangkok and Chiang Mai in Thailand for two weeks’ training. When I came back, my mom gave me a small plot of land and, with the help of the DCSI, I built a small processing plant there. I used to save the money I got from selling yoghurt and hike and trek whenever I could.
Day-to-day life in Bhutan
I started out working as a local guide. My younger sister owns a travel company and I used to work with her on the trekking because she's not so familiar with the trails. My grandfather was the first horse contracter of a company called Yangphel Adventure Travel and so was known to many other travel companies, which is how we got connected with guests. To become a culture guide, I studied for three years. I did a course on trekking in mountains above 5,000m for days and nights and weeks – in rain, too; it has its own charm, I think, beating rain – and then exams and physical testing. I’ve now been a professional guide for 10 years.
Some people won't believe it but for me, when a trip ends, it's like the end of a holiday or a Monday morning – I really feel it. You get to know one another really well – I get attached. Guests ask so many questions and I have to be prepared for that – and I love reading newspapers and books. Sometimes I can't believe that I get to do what I genuinely love: trekking, going exploring like this.
How did you become a guide?
It was my mom's idea. She said, “Why don't you join the guiding profession because your passion is travelling and then it will connect with your soul.” It wasn’t a sudden move into tourism because our farm had attracted visitors, but the guests didn't stay overnight. They’d just come for a cup of butter tea, milk tea - to see what Bhutanese cuisine looks like, what the lifestyle looks like - look at our house and then leave.I started out working as a local guide. My younger sister owns a travel company and I used to work with her on the trekking because she's not so familiar with the trails. My grandfather was the first horse contracter of a company called Yangphel Adventure Travel and so was known to many other travel companies, which is how we got connected with guests. To become a culture guide, I studied for three years. I did a course on trekking in mountains above 5,000m for days and nights and weeks – in rain, too; it has its own charm, I think, beating rain – and then exams and physical testing. I’ve now been a professional guide for 10 years.
Some people won't believe it but for me, when a trip ends, it's like the end of a holiday or a Monday morning – I really feel it. You get to know one another really well – I get attached. Guests ask so many questions and I have to be prepared for that – and I love reading newspapers and books. Sometimes I can't believe that I get to do what I genuinely love: trekking, going exploring like this.
Boys in traditional Bhutanese dress, and a painted doorway
As per our king’s vision, Mindfulness City [a recently announced 1,000sq km development that will be located in the town of Gelephu in Bhutan’s south] is going to help reverse the brain drain. It is going to give people hope. It will be a hotspot not for biodiversity but for business. Where people are happy. It's not only about making money and working like a horse, but peace of mind.
There are around 1,800 certified guides in Bhutan, 122 of them female – my sister and my best friend included. But some of these women don’t work because they have kids at home.
It’s tough because it’s a male-dominated industry, yet I tell myself that it’s better to go outdoors than stay at home and see nothing. If you want change, then you have to face these things. There was one guy that would use abusive words whenever I was around him, you know, to belittle me. At first, I took it personally but, over time, I was like, okay, maybe we’ll rise up like that. So I’d just stick with my guests from morning till evening, and wouldn’t look at his face, not make eye contact or anything. It may sound like very small things in front of the world, but I was working with 16 bags, I was the trip leader, and this was how the guy who was doing the driving talked to me? I had to tell myself, if you give up, then what happens to the next one who dreams of becoming a guide? But out of 100 guys I work with, 99 are wonderful, and I wholeheartedly tell them “thank you – I really had a great trip”.
When I’m asked for tips by junior guides, I tell them, when you're working, take it seriously because you are here to offer a service and tourism is the second highest revenue income generator in Bhutan [after hydroelectricity]. And we are known for hospitality and if you can't do that, then you're not right for the job.
How have you seen 50 years of tourism – and modernisation – affect Bhutan?
Television came to my village in 2000. My family bought our first television in 2009 – late. Ever since then, each individual will have a television, while, before, it was like the whole village would have one television and everybody would go to that place and watch it. The first thing we learn is the Indian language because of television. Television, I think, showed Bhutan that there is a world bigger than ours. And that there is modern technology. So we started comparing ourselves, looking at the other side of the river. Many of our young people moved abroad and didn’t come back.As per our king’s vision, Mindfulness City [a recently announced 1,000sq km development that will be located in the town of Gelephu in Bhutan’s south] is going to help reverse the brain drain. It is going to give people hope. It will be a hotspot not for biodiversity but for business. Where people are happy. It's not only about making money and working like a horse, but peace of mind.
It is in our constitution that 60 per cent of the land should be covered by forests
What challenges have you faced, being a woman, doing what you do?
Back when my seniors started out, there were no toilet facilities on the way from Paro to Thimphu, or from Thimphu to Punakha, so we had to wee on the ground. But with upgrades to tourism, facilities have now been provided, both for female guides and for guests.There are around 1,800 certified guides in Bhutan, 122 of them female – my sister and my best friend included. But some of these women don’t work because they have kids at home.
It’s tough because it’s a male-dominated industry, yet I tell myself that it’s better to go outdoors than stay at home and see nothing. If you want change, then you have to face these things. There was one guy that would use abusive words whenever I was around him, you know, to belittle me. At first, I took it personally but, over time, I was like, okay, maybe we’ll rise up like that. So I’d just stick with my guests from morning till evening, and wouldn’t look at his face, not make eye contact or anything. It may sound like very small things in front of the world, but I was working with 16 bags, I was the trip leader, and this was how the guy who was doing the driving talked to me? I had to tell myself, if you give up, then what happens to the next one who dreams of becoming a guide? But out of 100 guys I work with, 99 are wonderful, and I wholeheartedly tell them “thank you – I really had a great trip”.
When I’m asked for tips by junior guides, I tell them, when you're working, take it seriously because you are here to offer a service and tourism is the second highest revenue income generator in Bhutan [after hydroelectricity]. And we are known for hospitality and if you can't do that, then you're not right for the job.
A Bhutanese man in traditional dress
Mountain Café – there’s a branch at the airport, two in Paro and one in Thimphu. It’s an amazing place. The owner buys his coffee beans directly from farmers. And he doesn’t act like a boss – he still puts his hand in the dirt. The food menu is totally vegetarian and organic – sandwiches, dumplings, buckwheat pancakes, salads and, of course, chilli cheese. When you pose for a photo here, you don’t say “cheese”, you say “chilli cheese”!
You’re also part of Bhutan’s volunteer “Orange Army”, De-suup, which was formed in 2010 on the king’s 30th birthday. Can you tell us a little about that?
It started with only a few trained members but now there’s a total of around 22,000. It used to be a long process to be accepted – I remember I had to show certificates and documents – but now, whoever wants to volunteer is given the orange dress and welcomed. We provide assistance at big events, are the first responders during times of natural disaster, help out with infrastructure projects… When people see the orange uniform, they feel happy – you just feel like a family. There was one whole village that was being abandoned because of a scarcity of water, and it’s an issue, rural-to-urban migration. So the orange patrol came over there, bringing water from the lake, which is like a 10-day day walk from that village, and provided equipment, built a water tank, proper irrigation. Things like that.Bhutan – the world’s first and only carbon-negative country – is known for its future-facing approach to sustainability. What does this look like on the ground?
It is in our constitution that 60 per cent of the land should be covered by forests. That's very impressive. They are really serious about conservation. About the environment. But, and I'm not blaming my people, some locals have a big issue with waste management. The village horseman might just have a Snickers and throw the plastic like this, and have a drink and throw the bottle like this... In a very polite way, we have to explain to him that, you know, this takes 1,000 years to degrade. And if you take it down to the town, they can recycle it and make a new product out of it. So education makes a big difference because there are a lot of people who are unaware of it. In Bhutan we have the “trash guy”, Karma Yonten. He started our first private waste management firm in 2010 and now teaches others all about recycling, offering them money in return for segregated waste, teaching children the value of it.There’s only one lodge in Bhutan run by a woman and she’s a foreigner, and that makes me sad"
Have you had any memorable wildlife encounters on the mountains?
I didn’t see the animal, but a Royal Bengal tiger had been just in front of us. There were fresh paw prints. I would love to see him one day. They’re making a corridor for tigers and elephants to pass between the north and south of the country. We need corridors – our wild animals are very wild! At night I pray, if I stepped on any ants today, please forgive me.What do you do to unwind after a big expedition?
I get a massage. That’s my guilty pleasure. Or I go for a hot stone bath. Heated, mineral-rich river stones are dropped into a section of the bathtub, along with herbs such as artemisia, which are medicinal and release a good scent. Different regions use different herbs. There was a place where mineral water was coming up from the rocks and the villagers saw an eagle with a broken feather. Every day, they saw this eagle dipping his feather in the spring water and one day, feather repaired, he flew away. So people who had broken legs or other ailments came and bathed in the water and they were cured.Where do you like to make a pit stop for a coffee or snack?
Mountain Café – there’s a branch at the airport, two in Paro and one in Thimphu. It’s an amazing place. The owner buys his coffee beans directly from farmers. And he doesn’t act like a boss – he still puts his hand in the dirt. The food menu is totally vegetarian and organic – sandwiches, dumplings, buckwheat pancakes, salads and, of course, chilli cheese. When you pose for a photo here, you don’t say “cheese”, you say “chilli cheese”!
Where would you recommend visitors shop for souvenirs?
CSI Market – the flagship is in Thimphu and there’s a smaller store in Paro. They sell all the best products made and grown in Bhutan – food, homeware, clothing... The DCSI goes to the nooks and corners of the country and meets ladies who make traditional crafts and farmers who produce local products and brings it to the capital to sell it. Tax breaks are given to those who manufacture these local products.
A general store