HA P P Y TOG E T H E R
My guide, Chencho,
was constantly typing text
messages, but also
prostrated solemnly in
front of shrines.
Thimpu, known as
the only world
capital with no
stoplights (right);
technology has
arrived in Bhutan’s
monastaries (below);
while Western culture
trickles into the
country at large
(opposite).
46 | Feb/Mar/07 plentymag.com
right. Two older monks entered and he went skittering away, giggling.
As I was about to leave, I heard, “Psst! Miss! Miss!” from one
corner. A young monk beckoned. Through minimal English and sign
language, he intimated that I was to make a donation. He tied a red
string blessed by the Paro lama around my neck as his two companions chortled into their long-robed arms. He then motioned for me to
enter the temple via a passageway. Inside, three dozen teenage monks
sat chanting over Sanskrit scriptures, until they saw me.
First one, then three, then a dozen, then most all of th