Bhutan tempts tourists with its regal traditions – The Independent

Travelling around Bhutan with a local guide was a very special experience. It was a massive privilege to explore this landlocked Himalayan kingdom.

“The national love for the King,” I said to my guide Dorji, as we sat in a tiny restaurant and sipped a traditional butter tea made from yak milk, salt and butter in the shadows of Thimpu’s Royal Palace. “Isn’t it just a tourist gimmick?”

As Dorji pondered my scepticism, a motorcade of flashing lights and blacked-out windows whizzed past, almost perfectly on cue. “That’s probably the King now,” said Dorji, through his betel-nut stained smile. “Or at least the Prime Minister.”

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