Breaking into Thimphu Nightlife

Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday nights are rumored to be the nights to hit the bars and clubs in Thimphu. Having arrived Wednesday at 1pm with a slight cold and jet lag, I took the night off and stayed in. But by Friday – I was ready to hit the town!

Fortunate enough to have a friend of a friend from Bhutan whom I had developed a relationship with over email these last several months and now had the opportunity to meet in person, I was taken out for a night of Bhutanese cuisine, local brew, and karaoke set to songs in Dzongkha, Hindi, and English. Women were dressed in Western fashion and competently traversed the uneven streets in high heel boots, while men wore a variety of clothing ranging from Western style jeans to the traditional gho. The food proved to be spicy as promised, especially the traditional dish of ema datse (chilies and cheese). I was thankful to be able to take the spice without any difficulty and found an immediate liking to Bhutanese food. The two most popular local beers were out, perhaps because of the New Years Eve rush the night before, but the remaining brew complemented the variety of dishes perfectly. It seemed that everyone knew everyone at every spot we hopped to, and a local Bhutanese man recognized me from mutual friends we have on Facebook and came over to welcome me to Bhutan and wish me a happy new year!

Saturday night the hospital was hosting a New Years bash and the flyer inviting all employees and volunteers promised local food, dancing, laser lights and more. Together with two other volunteers and a local employee of the hospital, we decided to check out the event. In a darkened room for dancing, neon lights were flashing, the bass was booming, and many of the physios and other employees of the hospital I had met during orientation the day before were enjoying the night. I quickly bonded with one of the female physiotherapists over conversation of shoes and clothing. She admitted surprise that a physio from America would consider wearing heels out at night because in her experience most are concerned with the development of low back pain. Well … not me! She immediately invited me to go shoe shopping with her in town this next week, and to travel together to her family’s village over the next holiday.

Still feeling a bit jet lagged, after socializing for a few hours the other volunteers and I called it an early night and I will see my new physio friends again tomorrow at work!