Travelers, Magicians and Wireless in Bhutan

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Travelers and Magicians

After leaving the beautiful Phoblika Valley, we made our way westward, towards Paro for our last days in Bhutan. Along the way, we stopped for lunch in Thimphu and had a very special guest join us.

Tsewang Dandup, the star of the movie, Travelers and Magicians, who is also a friend of our guide, Tshering, was our guest.

Tsewang Dendup

Tsewang Dendup joking during lunch

Charming and full of stories, Tsewang told us about his stumbling into the opportunity to star in this movie filmed in Bhutan. Now a journalist, he was quite humble but also quite entertaining as he explained the way of life in Bhutan. Here are some of my favorite quotes:

“We had wireless before Motorola. We believe that prayer flags speak our words and carry them through the valley.”

“We can’t compete with India. We can’t compete with China. But we can count our blessings.”

“80 percent of the the people voted (in the recent Bhutanese elections). That’s success. How many Americans vote?”

Of the Bhutanese who leave the country and why they return.
“95 percent come back even though they could make more money elsewhere. It’s the pull of the land. It’s difficult to analyze. It’s an enigma.”

Beth and Tsewang