Joseph Rosendo's Travelscope

Bhutan - Part 1 - Gross National Happiness

Travel is a life-changing experience, though often these changes come when least expected. Joseph heads to the Kingdom of Bhutan, a devout Buddhist country, fully aware of the possibilities for enlightenment that Bhutan offers him and his viewers. His trip through the "Land of the Thunder Dragon" begins in Paro with a conversation with an esteemed Buddhist master and an invitation to watch a local thangka (spiritual art) artist at work. From there he travels to the Bhutan capital of Thimphu where he is confronted by the modern pressures that ancient Bhutan faces as it strives to preserve and promote its cultural heritage, pristine environment and the "Gross National Happiness" of its people. In dzongs and monasteries, in shops and schools, in valleys and on mountaintops, every experience becomes a journey of discovery. And in a country where the traveler is surrounded by prayer - prayer flags, prayer wheels, prayer walls, sacred memorials and historic monasteries - every encounter is a blessing.