Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
* * *
I left the building and drove through the winding mountains and draped greenery of the
Bhutanese countryside. I could feel small drops of dew on my face, the wet breeze through
my jacket, cooling my skin. I could hear the faint revving of trucks and cars moving behind
me on the narrow pass. I decided I wanted to meet one of the citizens of Bhutan. I wanted
to see Gross National Happiness in the flesh, and because I'm a bit of a cynic at times, I
wanted to test the minister's assertion that, “You can go to any house, anywhere, they will
always welcome you.”
I pulled up to a small farmhouse and saw a man on a tractor. I quickly found out that
he didn't speak great English (although it was probably better than my Bhutanese). He sent
me to speak to his son, Bikash, who was in his early twenties and spoke enough English
for us to communicate.
After I told Bikash about my quest, he immediately invited me inside for some tea, and
as we sat in his warm living room next to a burning fire, while the weather outside grew
darker with rain, I asked him about his own experience with Gross National Happiness.
Bikash smiled broadly, as though I had just brought up his favorite football team: “Dif-
ferent people have different opinions about Gross National Happiness. For me, it's being at
home with my family, having three meals in a day. My family is happy. This means happi-
ness to me.”
“So happiness equals simplicity?” I asked.
“Yes, exactly,” he replied.
“We should tell the rest of the world that.”
“Yes, we should,” Bikash laughed.
So I am telling you now. In fact, I am telling myself now, lest I forget again. Happiness
equals simplicity. It's so easy to want to complicate life, to think that happiness is an impos-
sibly long calculus equation that only the truly brilliant or truly successful or truly spiritual
can solve, but I realized that if a half-educated chap like me could achieve it, maybe the
formula wasn't so complicated, after all.
Bikash invited me to stay the night, offering me dinner as well. I couldn't help but
laugh—if only all my travels had been so easy.
“Tell me,” I asked. “Are all Bhutanese people this friendly and this happy?”
