After ensuring my luggage did not exceed the 44lb maximum to board Druk Air/Royal Bhutan Airlines (a challenge for a girl who likes to have a variety of shoes, clothing and accessories available and is accustomed to certain beauty products & regimes!) I checked in for my flight from Bangkok to Paro. Placing less meaning on material items and outer impressions has been in development over the last year since making the decision to come to Bhutan … largely due to necessity of sticking to a budget (less shopping and less going out = more savings!) in order to be able to dedicate several months to volunteerism, and perhaps partly due to my growth in recognition of the values of the inner core over the outer. I requested and was issued a prime seat that would provide an astounding view of Mt. Everest while aboard Druk Air. Sitting at the gate I was intrigued by the sights and sounds around me … a minority of the passengers appeared to be from the West, and my auditory vicinity was consumed with words I assumed to be Dzongkha. Soon we boarded, and I was taken aback by the beauty and graciousness of the airline hostesses dressed in the national costume known as the kira.
“Are you vegetarian?” the airline hostess asked me as soon as meal service started. Having been vegetarian for twenty years, traveling abroad has frequently included dietary challenges. While the majority of Bhutanese practice Buddhism, I had read that meat is still widely served in the country from animals that are not intentionally killed. Knowing this and having wondered what the ease of vegetarianism would or wouldn’t be, this airline hostess soothed any fears I may have had and I looked forward to the ease of nutrition over the next several months. Three and a half hours later, following a stop in Bagdogra, India, the magnificence of flying through the Himalayas was revealed to me. “So Close to Heaven” is a term I have come across several times to describe Bhutan and its’ neighboring regions, and looking out the window I understood why. Set upon a blue sky with pure white clouds, the grandeur of Mt. Everest and its’ surrounding mountain peaks were a heavenly sight. The mysticism of the Eastern Himalaya appeared to be in my reach and I knew that I was meant to be taking this journey. As we crossed into Bhutan and the plane began its approach towards Paro Valley, the snow peaked mountains descended into forested hillsides, which eventually housed ornate looking monasteries and colorful prayer flags. As beautiful Bhutanese music played in the background, I took in the sights and sounds and felt so grateful to have the opportunity to be welcomed into this “Land of the Thunder Dragon”.
My first breath of air upon descending the stairs from the airplane was pure and fresh. My eyes were wide and camera flashing repeatedly trying to capture the magnificence of the surrounding hillsides and airport that that I could have thought to be a temple. Dressed in the traditional gho, the medical director of Paro International Airport surveyed the crowd of passengers who had just deplaned Druk Air flight CI 0833 and approached me questioning if I was a tourist. I responded that I was because I certainly wasn’t a local, but in the back of my mind wondered if “tourist” was the correct description for my role as a long term volunteer at the Jigme Wangchuck Dorji National Referral Hospital (JWDNRH). For a brief moment he looked at me questioningly prior to continuing to circulate the crowd, only to return to me a few moments later holding up a sign with my name written on it, and again asked me if I was a tourist or if I was Dr. Bernadette Currier, a guest of the Royal Government of Bhutan Ministry of Health. Wow!! I felt so distinguished! After checking my temperature (all passengers were screened for fever to aide in preventing the spread of the H1N1 flu) I was provided an escort through Customs and Baggage Retrieval and taken to meet the representative from JDWNRH who had come to the airport to greet me and drive me into Thimpu.
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