When I first arrived in Bhutan, I was invited to help the government’s Department of Information demonstrate the power of technology in an effort to get more government funding. Today, I see that Ericsson have begun work with Bhutan’s education department to install videoconferencing into five remote schools so their students can take lessons from a central group of specialists.
Category: Bhutan
PopMatters Review
John L. Murphy has completed a mammoth review of just about every book written on Bhutan. He understands the value of a book written by locals and residents. There are many more books about this amazing country than I knew of, and I’m delighted to see he rated some of my favourites highly – see… Continue reading PopMatters Review
Dragon Bones Discussion Guide
I tried very hard to allow the Bhutanese people in Dragon Bones to tell their own stories and to minimise the bias created by my beliefs, my mood and other aspects of my life. I knew it was an impossible task before I began writing, so I provided clues to my own state of mind… Continue reading Dragon Bones Discussion Guide
A New Future
In 2009 I set myself 4 goals as steps towards a future of providing assistance on locally driven aid projects in developing countries. In their original form, those goals were: Publish a book on Bhutanese culture Complete a Masters in anthropology Buy a studio flat in Australia Invest the rest of my savings to create… Continue reading A New Future
Tribute to Robin
Robin, my Bhutanese friend who ran the rock climbing group, passed away last week. He didn’t seem the type to have email let alone facebook (in fact he did) so I haven’t exchanged a word directly with him since I left. My decision to leave came suddenly so I don’t recall even saying goodbye. I… Continue reading Tribute to Robin
Australian Himalayan Foundation
I received a letter from the Australian Himalayan Foundation thanking me for my donation of the royalties from Dragon Bones. It confirms that the money will go entirely to the RENEW project to enable disadvantaged young girls from Bhutan to attend school. As I know some of the people involved in the project, I hope… Continue reading Australian Himalayan Foundation
Dragon Bones Supports Education of Bhutanese Girls
The first royalty cheque for Dragon Bones was for 502 copies sold over 6 months. That’s about 10% of my big goal of 5000 sales. My main driver for selling so many copies (it is a lot for an unknown writer) was to ensure substantial support for Bhutanese organisations. To put this in perspective, my… Continue reading Dragon Bones Supports Education of Bhutanese Girls
Birthdays
2011 has been a big year for me. In March, my first book Dragon Bones was released in Hong Kong. In May it was released in the US. In June, I moved into my new flat – the first place of my own that I’ve ever lived in. It’s right on the train line, but… Continue reading Birthdays
The Good Samaritans
I didn’t see what befell the old man, but he’s being helped off the highway crossing by two others as I walk around the corner. He doesn’t appear to know his helpers and doesn’t acknowledge either. As soon as he reaches the curb, he grabs hold of a railing and tries to support himself. I… Continue reading The Good Samaritans
Bhutanese Repatriated
Recently, I’ve been reading a lot about Bhutanese/Nepali refugees settling into new homes. It’s news I’ve waited years to hear, but that’s short compared to the time these people have waited to feel welcome somewhere. While I’m always sympathetic to the plight of refugees, I generally don’t think that them fleeing, or repatriating them, is… Continue reading Bhutanese Repatriated