Day 2 and another bright start for in Bhutan
Bhuddha Dordenma looking down over the capital city Thimphu
Day 2 and another bright start in Bhutan. Morning meetings with Bhutan Olympic committee went well discussing next years Tour Of The Dragon Race, then after lunch it was a further meeting at the offices for the Tourism Council of Bhutan.
Finish the day off with a wander around the capitol in the sun shine and back to the hotel for a few emails and footage editing, and the day has flown by.
One of my highlights today was being enlightened to the very sensible risk assessment methods demonstrated in Bhutan. When the question of seat belts in vehicles came into discussion the response was a real example of risk ‘v’s benefit considerations and a very real outcome.
Seat belts were implemented as a legal requirement but after reconsideration of risk and benefit this was removed after 6 months. Due to the low volume of vehicles and very sensible travel speeds being adhered to (there is no rush to get anywhere here!), the reality of a head on collision is very low. However, the risk and history of vehicles going off the roadside is greater, therefore the need to be able to abandon the vehicle quickly is greater! Therefore seat belts are optional and not compulsory. What a great example of real risk assessing!
I was also lucky enough to visit a press/media meeting room with some amazing photos portraying the royal family from its first King to its present - the 5th King. It’s inspiring to see the place they have in the hearts of all in Bhutan and the way they are so often mixing among the people. As well as 2015 being marked here as ‘Visit Bhutan’ year it is also the 4th Kings 60th Birthday and the 5th Kings 35th Birthday. It will be a year filled with festivals and celebrations in a way Bhutan do so well, with colour, culture and vibrancy.
So - why ‘The Land Of The Thunder dragon’?
The Bhutan name for their country is Druk Yul which means “Land of the Thunder Dragon”.
Druk, the thunder dragon, is the national symbol for Bhutan even appearing on their flag. It is a part of Bhutanese mythology. The leaders in Bhutan are called, Druk Gyalpo, or Dragon Kings.
Bhutan was very isolated and culturally pure for so long that they are considered the last Shangri-la. This is like a type of holy land. They were able to hold on to their ancient traditions and mythology making the name “Land of the Thunder Dragon” a mythological-historical name important to the origin of the Bhutanese.
Until tomorrow, signing out from this magical Buddhist Kingdom.
The big statue of the Buddha under construction overlooking the capital Thimphu is 51.5 metres tall.
Buddha Dordenma looking down on the capital city of Thimphu.
It houses over 100,000 smaller Buddha statues. 169 ft tall /51.5m tall set in 943 acres of natural landscape on this beautiful hill top.