Category: Bhutan

My new business cards arrived from Australia today and they look fantastic. I’d like to have ordered them locally to save on shipping, take advantage of the low costs here and most of all to support the local industries. But my target clients are international companies and I it wouldn’t look good to use what… Continue reading Printing

I got a call from Marie just after she left this morning. She was at the petrol station staring at a cut fuel hose. When she left, she noted the full tank, but by the time she’d reached town a couple of minutes later, the guage showed almost empty. The fuel attendant had showed her… Continue reading Fuel Gone

I’ve dropped Marie’s parents at the airport and Marie and I have reclaimed the house for a few weeks. Today was curtain shopping and during the week I’m hoping to find the bricks and wood we need to make our shelves. But today was also a day for relaxing in the sun at the rock… Continue reading Climbing

It’s been a hard day after getting news that Marie’s second non-family guest of the year might not get his visa. There are no documented rules and they change all the time, but each volunteer (working for the government) should be allowed to have 2 or 3 guests each year. We’d applied for this friend… Continue reading Dinner at the Baps’

As I was cycling to RIM this morning (behind a bunch of monks getting a lift in the tray of a Police utility) a helicopter took off from the army base. It was enough of a novelty to the locals that they’d gathered along the edge of the road to watch, completely oblivious to the… Continue reading Dogs on a Tin Roof

After a month of luke-warm trickles for showers and washing up in cold water, we now have instant hot water from every (hot) tap in the house. It was a combination of problems. 1. The thermostat on the water heater had blown out, possibly due to the other problems. 2. The washer on the outlet… Continue reading Hot Water Heaven

Another good day. The weather remained beautiful as Marie and her parents left for their trip. I had brunch (the meal you have when you’ve eaten breakfast hours ago but it’s too early for lunch) with a fellow Aussie who has plenty of tips for running a company as an eternal traveller, then went shopping.… Continue reading Robin Hood

After the last week, it was time for something happy, and the weather provided. Instead of the persistent rain and angry winds, today remained sunny with a warm breeze all day. The clear skies revealed the value of the recent rains as the near mountains are looking greener while the distant mountains tower over the… Continue reading Snow Caps

Insurance was also painless. It looks like someone is working on reducing bureaucracy here at last. The other success today was that we found a way around the limitations for buying tickets on Drukair. One of the problems that Bhutanese companies have is paying for items in foreign currency. I don’t think that the problem… Continue reading Money Printing

I had to get the Bhutanese version of a pink slip done today. In Australia, the load for such work is spread out through the year as everyone registers at different times, but in Bhutan, everyone has to do it in the same month. That means a rush and long queues. I found that by… Continue reading Fitness Test for the Car