Our new home is something like a log cabin, except the logs are vertical, in the hills above Paro, Bhutan. It’s a 3-bedroom house with large living room and large shrine room. We’ll use the other rooms for guests and an office. It has 2 bathrooms, one is Western and the other traditional Bhutanese. We have two, yes TWO water heaters, one in the main bathroom, and a tiny one above the kitchen sink. Right now it’s pretty cold in here. We have a large wood heater in the center of the living room, and I’m learning how to get the fire going. We also have 2 space heaters. The house has a traditional cement moat around it on all sides to direct moisture away.
Here are two videos of the house when we just moved in, inside and outside. It will give you an idea of the simple living conditions here. Remember, this is a very fancy house by Bhutanese standards.
This is our internet corner. We just got Wifi in the house, and it works pretty well. I turn it off at night for deep undisturbed sleep. I’m gearing up for some serious projects in the next six months, such as the Lama’s US Visa application, a few books, Buddha quote cards freshly translated from Tibetan and the original Pali language, a family travel cookbook about Bhutan, our first White Tiger Bhutan Tour, a Lama speaking tour in the US and Europe, more high-quality photography, I’m learning Dzongkha, plus Websites and Facebook pages for all of the above. Yep. It’s coming.
It’s cold and foggy day here in the hills. I just kicked a week-long coughing cold using my own natural healing herbs and teas. Here are two pretty good articles I wrote on how to kick a virus fast. They helped me a lot! Click to check them out: Vanquish a Virus with Food & Lifestyle, and Got a Virus? Try These Anti-viral Herbs.
This is Tshering Yangdon, my Lama’s brilliant daughter. She just finished high school, has a few months off, and is helping me in the house. We try to take walks and stay warm. Today she made us yummy banana milkshakes! We get fresh raw milk 3x a week from the farmer caretaker. We also trade English and Dzongkha lessons. Her English is quite flawless. She wants to speak better American English, so now we’re polishing a few pronunciation habits – little things like piller vs peeler, and five vs fife. She is a joy.
Tshering’s nickname is “Baby”. She’s a very fine writer, and just completed an wonderful article for our travel website! Click to read it here: Gross National Happiness, the Guiding Philosophy of Bhutan.
Thanks for joining me. Next week I have to go to Kathmandu and wait for 15 days AGAIN! It turns out my 15 days away in the USA in December was a “mis-communication” with the Bhutan Immigration Department. Yep. However everything ALWAYS turns out for the best! I had a GREAT visit in Santa Fe. And now if I go away again for 15 days, I can come back to Bhutan and stay for an extended time – six months or a year. So I’m packing my pollution mask, preparing for another trip to fascinating city of Kathmandu. And my daughter-in-law Baby is coming too!