Asia – Page 4 – One People, Many Cultures

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

Pedestrian Collisions

Until I moved to Europe, I assumed that people randomly chose the direction they moved to avoid oncoming pedestrians. In Belgium, I found myself stepping to the same side of the footpath as my counterpart almost every time. It didn’t take me long to realise that I always stepped to my left while they stepped… Continue reading Pedestrian Collisions

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

Science of Happiness

Only months before I moved to Bhutan I was introduced to the country by an article that gushed about Gross National Happiness, a concept created by the Bhutanese king in 1972 to guide development. Rather than measuring economic growth, Bhutan aimed for happiness through the four pillars — natural environment, good governance, cultural values and… Continue reading Science of Happiness

Bhutanese Belief in Shangri-La Naive

Could the Bhutanese belief in their Shangri-La status be naive? Bhutanese lama Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche asked this question in the Bhutan Observer on Friday. It’s very similar to one of the central themes of Dragon Bones and he raises many of the points that I describe anecdotally. There’s a snake in this garden of… Continue reading Bhutanese Belief in Shangri-La Naive

Dragon Bones For Charity

I’m very excited to say that the first copies of Dragon Bones have been shipped. This is a good time to announce that 50% of the royalties for all editions of Dragon Bones will go to Bhutanese organisations. Two years living in Bhutan convinced me that local people are best placed to identify and address… Continue reading Dragon Bones For Charity

Archery

Archery is the national sport of Bhutan, but that wasn’t the only reason I wanted to try it while I was living there. I’ve loved the stories of King Arthur, Robin Hood and the Three Musketeers since I first heard them decades ago so I have always wanted to try fencing and archery. I looked… Continue reading Archery