Download Bhutan, Unfiltered: A Photo Journal to view our stunning curation of photos taken during our three trips, showcasing Bhutan’s unembellished culture, cuisine, community and how they choose good in their happy country!
SouperChef Anna’s Message | Bhutan, Unfiltered (Round 1)
The plane descends steadily, the deep greens and majestic mountains blanketing below us. That familiar sight. By grace, this is my third trip with Druk Asia to the mysterious, happy land of Bhutan, and this time, the flight is captained by the father of the Bhutanese Queen! In our previous trip, we were just rows behind the royal couple!
Every trip to Bhutan feels like a warm embrace from Mother Nature. By law, at least 60% of Bhutan must remain forested for all times to come. This conservation ensures that the fragile environment does not fall prey to derelict tourists and unnecessary modernism.
Our guide for this trip, Mrs TP, shared that even till this day, there is not a single fast food outlet in sight. The country has also banned the use of pesticides and herbicides, and agriculture is wholly organic, so much so that few products are labelled organic anymore. Bhutan’s revenue comes mainly from exporting hydroelectric power to India, as well as tourism and agriculture. Whatever revenue it generates is ploughed back into the community, the preservation of the kingdom’s natural biodiversity and anything that promotes the country’s wider philosophy of Gross National Happiness that Bhutan has come to be famous for.
The sustainability efforts of Bhutan are deeply intentional, widely adopted and the results, immensely gratifying. There is so much to learn from Bhutan’s back-to-basics convictions—from the organic ways of crop production, purposeful upcycling to their humble methods of cooking, falling largely on local seasonal produce and only consuming meat once a week on average.
Their conscious choices to be better stewards of nature’s finite resources resonate with us, and we want to bring back a slice of beautiful Bhutan to you! These two months, enjoy our soupy interpretations of Bhutanese cuisine and stand a chance to win a trip to the happiest country, courtesy of our partner, Druk Asia!
We have also curated a photobook of our three trips, featuring the simplicity and no-frills ways of their community, culture, cuisine and how to choose good! This is Bhutan, Unfiltered.
Xx
Anna
