With a shiver of pure ecstasy, I bought . It was quite a change from the weekend vegetable market, my usual venue, where these delicacies and convenience items were out of the question. Now, you may get the impression that we're rather out of the global loop. Not that Bhutanese oppose development per se - but they are unwilling to embrace it blindly. Rather, they want it on distinctively Bhutanese terms.
Culture is asserted as an anchor in a sea of change.
But to many here, the idea is laughable. In any event, the heart of Buddhism teaches that everything is impermanent. It's this plane, a 65-seat jet resembling a Lego toy anywhere but in Bhutan, that ferries in nearly all of Bhutan's 76,000 annual visitors to the fertile Paro valley, site of the only airport. Once on the ground, visitors are treated with unfailingly exquisite courtesy. This is perfectly normal.