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Welcome to a land of mysticism and magic, where Buddhism rules everyday life. Welcome to a place where courtesy and kindness are the rule rather than the exception. Welcome to the land of the Thunder Dragon. Welcome to the Kingdom of Bhutan.

The National Flag of Bhutan

In July of 2003, the La Jolla Symphony Chamber Chorus and Director David Chase visited Bhutan and Bangkok.  This web site documents our trip.  Click on one of the thumbnails to the left to view a collection of photos.

This trip was made possible by the extraordinary skills of Dr. Brenda Montiel and Dr. Ted Kilman of Adventures in Learning, Inc., and Tenzin Rigden and Jigme Drukpa of Eastern Himalaya Adventures.

Thanks go to Beda Farrell for all her research, which provided a lot of the detailed information available on this site.

Where's Bhutan?

Located in the Himalayas between India and Tibet, Bhutan is about 18,000 square miles and has a population of somewhere between 700,000 and 1.5 million.  The environment varies from somewhat warm and humid, in the south and some of the lower elevations further north, to very cold.  The west is a bit on the arid side, somewhat like the mountain regions of southern California, but the east is very wet, and much like a rain forest.

About the trip

At 68 people (not including guides and drivers), we were by far the largest group to visit Bhutan. The hotels, restaurants, guides and drivers weren't quite sure how to handle a group this large.  Fortunately, Brenda's superior organization skills and Tenzin's hard work, along with a great attitude from everyone involved to "go with the flow", kept everything under control.

Jigme Drukpa, Vice Principal of the Royal Academy of Performing Arts, the king's musician and the national music historian, was given time off from his official duties in order to escort us across the country. Jigme studied at the University of Bergen in Norway.  Go to http://www.hf.uib.no/i/griaka/etnomus/default.html for information on the school of Ethnomusicology at the university.  (The page has a picture of Jigme with his Dranyen.)  Go to http://www.sherubtse.edu.bt for information on Sherubtse College in Bhutan, where Jigme studied as an undergraduate.

Our trip included four towns of Bhutan--Thimphu, the biggest city in Bhutan, Punakha, Bumthang and Paro, the only town with an airport. While in Punakha, we drove out to Bajo High School for a performance, and had a brief chance to stroll around the town of Wangdi.

We toured the country in five mini-buses. The first and last buses had radios.  In case any bus broke down, we could move the people from that bus onto the other buses.  The only breakdowns we experienced were very minor--going from the hotel to a performance or going from a rehearsal back to the hotel.

After leaving Bhutan, we spent a day in Bangkok, Thailand.

MEMORIES OF BHUTAN

--Ellie Elphick, July 2003

We went on a trip to Bhutan
To see many a temple and dzong.
Who would foresee
That we’d have a group “pee”
Cause we’re too many folks for the john! 		For weeks we rehearsed every bar,
To bring them our songs from afar.
Forget all the facts!
Just give them Max!
And they’ll make him a Bhutanese star!
The food was a pleasant surprise,
Their culinary skills on the rise.
Three starches a meal
Was part of the deal
But we still missed our burgers and fries! 		We sang at a festival day
The first chorus to get an okay
David stepped down
Replaced by a clown
Who frolicked and cavorted away!
Dogs everywhere was the trend,
None on a leash, nor were penned.
No sleep was our plight
When they barked through the night
And were no longer called “man’s best friend.” 		So, I’ll pack up my clothes and my gear
And move to a land I hold dear.
I’ll live in a palace
With a well-endowed phallus!
And never have worries or fear!
We spent several long days on the bus,
But the scenery got an “A plus”
There was never a day
Without cows in the way
But the drivers never made any fuss!

All pronunciation symbols on this site adhere to the Merriam-Webster standards used at http://www.m-w.com/aschart.htm

Web master: Barbara Peisch barbara@peisch.com

Last updated November 23, 2003
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