Snow-capped mountains, deep valleys featuring flowing rivers, and Buddhist temples instantly come to mind for most when Bhutan is mentioned. An exotic getaway, Bhutan seems like the perfect way for travelers to escape from the pressures of daily life. However, this stereotypical outlook on Bhutan and many other Himalayan countries isn’t always true. Visiting Bhutan as a tourist can be tough. With the country’s only airport requiring pilots with special training, a tourism tax, and other factors, tourism into Bhutan is extremely limited.
“Bhutan didn’t want to be overwhelmed numerically and have their culture westernized,” said English teacher Mr. Stephen Farrell, the coordinator of Choate’s summer trip to Bhutan. “The tax protects their cultural heritage and funds schools and other services within the country.”
Mr. Farrell explained that other Himalayan countries have had difficulties in dealing with tourists destroying culture that is hundreds of years old. “Nepal has been destroyed by tourism particularly in their infrastructure but more specifically in their culture.” This, along with the fact that Bhutan is the only carbon negative country in the world — and its intentions to stay that way — means that any type of travel into Bhutan requires strict communication with not only a certified travel agency but also with the ruling body of Bhutan itself.
And so it’s something of a miracle that Mr. Farrell has been able to lead a group of Choate students to travel to the country. “The majority of work done to set up the trip was done by two former Choate students, one of whom was the prince of Bhutan,” he said.
Jigyel Wangchuck ’03, the prince of Bhutan, created a Bhutanese travel agency with a classmate from his days at Choate. After a series of negotiations with the Global Studies Director at Choate, students were able to step foot into the country that eludes many tourists.
Peter Di Natale ’21, one of the students who participated in the trip last year, said, “I found it really interesting how much the country was concerned about environmentalism and sustainability. It is amazing how they are an entirely carbon negative country and incorporate environmental practices into their daily lives.” Set to the backdrop of the current climate crisis, it is easy to see how a trip to such a country would be both eye-opening and important.
“The goal was to expose students to different cultures, a different way of life, and different values.” said Mr. Farrell. “All decisions take in what is best for the people of the country, not the government, nor the businesses within the country.”
Such ideals almost seem out of reach in modern society. Yet, a small mountain nation with a population barely even a third the size of Connecticut’s is still able to achieve them. Trips such as the one to Bhutan serve to educate and inform their participants, and they seem to succeed to a great extent. “There has been positive feedback across the board,” Mr. Farrell said.
After visiting the country, Instagram-worthy photos aren’t the only things students will bring back. Lessons about the environment, and more specifically how to save it, will likely permeate every moment spent in Bhutan. Overall, the difficulty of travelling to Bhutan is easily outweighed by the lessons gleaned and the experiences attained.
