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Country Guide > Indian Subcontinent > Bhutan | |
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Social Profile Food & Drink Restaurants are relatively scarce and most tourists eat in their hotels. Meals are often buffet-style and mostly vegetarian. Cheese is a very popular ingredient in dishes and the most popular cheeses are datse (cow’s milk cheese), sometimes served in a dish with red chillies (emadatse), and yak cheese. Rice is ubiquitous, sometimes flavoured with saffron. The country is replete with apple orchards, rice paddies and asparagus, which grows freely in the countryside. There are also over 400 varieties of mushroom. Fat brown and rainbow trout swim amid the glacial waters of the Pa Chu River, but these will not be caught by Bhutanese Buddhists. However, recent restrictions on meat-eating have lapsed ever so slightly. Meat and fish are now imported from nearby India, and Nepali Hindus living in Bhutan are licensed to slaughter animals. The most popular drink is souza (Bhutanese tea). Shopping Markets are held regularly, generally on Saturday and Sunday, and are a rich source of local clothing and jewellery, as well as foodstuffs. The handicraft emporium on the main street in the capital is open daily except Sunday and offers a magnificent assortment of handwoven and handcrafted goods. The Motithang Hotel in Thimphu has a souvenir shop. Silversmiths and goldsmiths in the Thimphu Valley are able to make handcrafted articles to order. Shopping hours: Mon-Sun 0900-2000 (closed Tue). Special Events Buddhist festivals, full of masks, dancing and ritual, generally centre on Dzongs (fortified monasteries) in cobbled courtyards, the most famous of which is at Paro. More than 40 religious or folk dances are performed by the monks recounting tales of Buddhist history and myth. Formal dress is required for all festivals. For a complete list of special events, contact the Tourism Corporation of Bhutan (see Contact Addresses section). The following is a selection of special events occurring in Bhutan in 2005: Feb 13-17 Festival of Punakha Dromchoe. Mar 18-20 Festival of Gom Kora Tshechu, Trashiyangtse/Festival of Chhukha Tshechu, Chhukha. Apr 19-23 Festival of Ura Tshechu. Sep 11-13 Festival of Wangdue Tshechu. Dec 7-10 Festival of Mongar Tsechu. Dec 8-11 Festival of Trashigang Tsechu. Social Conventions The lifestyle, manners and customs of the Bhutanese are in many respects unique to the area. The strongest influence on social conventions is the country’s state religion, and everywhere one can see the reminders of Buddhism and the original religion of Tibet, Bonism. There are no rigid clan systems and equal rights exist between men and women. The majority of the Bhutanese live an agrarian lifestyle. In 1989, it was made compulsory for citizens to wear national dress in public; the men wear a gho, a robe resembling a dressing gown with upturned white silk cuffs and keen-high socks, whilst the women wear a kira, a sari-like garment that is furnished with ornate brooches and worn over a wraparound skirt. Bhutan has also now outlawed the sale of tobacco products, and also banned smoking in public places. The political leaders of the country have also been religious leaders historically. For years the country has deliberately isolated itself from visitors, and has only recently opened up to the outside world, a policy which is now to some extent being reversed. But Bhutan continues to bear the hallmarks of seemingly peculiar customs borne from legacy and legend. Giant phalluses can often be seen painted onto walls, etc, in order to ward off evil spirits. Dogs are regarded as being the highest animal lifeform, with the best chance of being reborn as humans. They are treated with reverence and often run freely and noisily through villages. Tipping: Not widely practised. |