If you ever have a chance to trave to Bhutan and witness a traditional masked dance festival, you will never forget the experience.  There is something otherworldly about sitting in the courtyard of an ancient monastery while the dancers twist and swirl around you dressed like gods or demons.

Bhutan recently crowned a new king, His Majesty Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, in one of the most incredible ceremonies the Kingdom of Bhutan has ever seen.  You can see short videos of the actual coronation ceremony at this website.  It is really cool.

http://www.kuzoo.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=942&Itemid=76

(Continued from Part One)

The village of Buli was a combination of stone-age looking houses made of rock and mud, and new wooden shops decorated with Britney Spears and Janet Jackson posters. We headed straight into the old village to visit Buli Gonpa, a temple established in 1478 by the great treasure hunter, Pema Lingpa.

Just then, the mayor of Buli approached with a smile and slyly asked “Would you like to see a great treasure?” We eagerly followed him to his house where he opened a polished wooden box and pulled out an old frying pan. He explained that this plain pan belonged to Lingpa and we could still see his thumbprint pressed into the metal.

The mayor asked a man to show us Menmo Lake, a spiritual site nearby. We walked out of Buli past rows of flowing prayer flags and through a green valley of terraced rice fields. At the edge of each field sat a small tower. “What are the towers for?” I asked. The man replied “During the winter we use them to dry grass, but during the harvest someone sits in them to watch for tigers coming out of the forest.” [Read more →]

Moving to Tibet seemed like a dream come true and also a personal test. For me, I’d always dreamed of seeing the Tibetan Plateau and experiencing the Tibetan Cultures. For years I’ve read books about the Dalai Lama and the struggle, about the amazing untouched mountains in the countryside, about the greatest alpine plateau on Earth. [Read more →]

Hidden high in the Himalayas, the Kingdom of Bhutan offers a unique look at a world that time nearly passed by. We spent nearly two years living in Bhutan, working on community tourism policies, developing new trails and creating photography and magazine articles throughout the kingdom. [Read more →]