I just completed teaching the foundations of Buddhism to the Desuups in Punakha. They are the 8th cohort I taught. And the experience is always rewarding for me since I know that unlike many courses I teach, this will be put into use right away as they go out in the market.

I have, however, not limited my class to the Buddha Dharma. I also gave them some insights and trends in the global travel industry and how they could prepare themselves to be ahead in the game. This knowledge of the industry comes from the research I have done. Before teaching any course, one needs to have a deep knowledge of the industry itself.

Here, I happily share the findings for the benefit of all sentient beings in the tourism industry since it is holy Saka Dawa month.

1. Intentional versus Informational.

These days information is everywhere. Tourist guides need to provide more than just information. They need to move beyond what is already there in Wikipedia. That can be achieved by making the tours more intentional and not an information session—in the sense that we need to move away from rushing from one cultural site to another to a more meaningful and mindful exploration of a place. It is quality over quantity, more human connections, and local impact.

At the very least, don’t treat temples like museums where you just walk through. Make them sit and let the blessings sink in.

2. Travel versus tourism.

Post-COVID, there are fewer tourists but more travelers. One must know the difference. People’s taste is shifting from fulfilling the bucket list to filling the bucket. So, don’t pack too many things in the itinerary. Make it honest. Host them well. And take it slow. That is what Bhutan can be naturally good at. Turn our weakness into a product.

3. The Quiet Escapes.

The world is burnt out. As if the capitalistic and market-driven life was not already fast enough, Silicon Valley has made it faster, and life is now traveling at breakneck speed. People are sick of running, tired of capitalism, and exhausted with everything happening in the world. They are overwhelmed with being smacked on the face with everything happening everywhere every time.

Hence, demands for wellness retreats will surge. People will just come to Bhutan to slow down, sleep, and do nothing. Believe me!

4. Gen Z from the region.

The world’s economic center of gravity is shifting towards Asia. China and India will join Japan, South Korea, and Singapore as countries filled with the nouveau riche. With that, of course, the ills and ailments from overconsumption and being consumed will creep in to their society.

Bhutan can offer some quiet time for them to recover from the stress and strains of the newfound wealth and reset their life and recharge their battery. Welcome them with open arms. It is a big market.

5. Specialize and expand.

The world and the skills market will keep changing. And things will change very fast. So, on one hand, you need to specialize in areas such as food trails, river guiding, trekking, birding, skydiving, or agro-tourism. Do not stick to one skill, one product.

And on the other hand, you need to expand to, or base out of, Gelephu, where you can venture into other travel-related enterprises like food, yoga, meditation, medicines, and even laundry and transport services.

Lastly, don’t forget to have fun!

If I have to name my favorite pilgrimage place in Bhutan, it is Chumphu Nye. It is tucked away in a corner of Paro Valley, hence off the normal tourist trail.

This sacred site, Chumophu (literally meaning “female waters mountain”), is dedicated to Vajravarahi (Dorje Phagmo), the queen of all the dakini and mother of Buddha. It is thus a very powerful place. In Vajrayana Buddhism, the Dakini practice is the last stage towards liberation from Samsara.

The first temple was established by Sacha Rinchen (1710-1759)—the ninth Je Khenpo and perhaps the greatest scholar in Bhutanese Buddhism. There are three main relics, and while Sacha Rinchen discovered one, the other two are attributed to Terton Tseten Gyaltshen and Terton Drukdra Dorji.

Chumphu was built as Tsari Nyipa (Second Tsari)—with reference to the famed Tsari (Crystal Mountains) in Tibet, which is believed to be the eternal abode of Dorje Phagmo. Story has it that Sacha Rinchen, in his vision, saw Dorje Phagmo telling him that in the future the first Tsari would see a decline, and Chumphu Nye would be her main abode.

The main statue—a 5-foot-tall Dorje Phagmo (Vajravarahi), according to one legend—is rangjung (self-arisen) and not man-made. The other legend is that it was discovered in a lake—located some 30 minutes up from the temple.

Whichever be the true story, the marvelous thing about this statue is that it is levitating—meaning it is floating.

The walk and the experience of entering this valley are always enchanting and surreal. Although it’s been 16 years since I have visited this place, it is always like the first time. Very emotional trip. 🥹🥹🥹

More details of Chumphu Nye are in my blogs.

It rained heavily on the morning of the 13th of April—the second day of the Sixth Volunteers Program organized by the Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC) project. However, from the window of my room, I could see volunteers walking in the rain and laughing and cracking jokes. It was a sight to cherish—so much solidarity, so much pride.

That night the laughter and some music filled the air as members of the Bhutanese Sandalwood entertained the crowd with songs, dances, and jokes.

Two days later, with the program having ended and the participants making their way back to their homes in other parts of Bhutan, Gelephu felt a bit empty. But not as empty as it was during Covid.

1. Business is picking up; cyclists and joggers—even Chhillips cycling and jogging—are a common sight, and hotels are doing brisk business as the spiritual projects organize long prayer ceremonies and blessings and volunteering works.
2. You can’t get a flat in core town. It is houseful. The sharp demand for housing came mainly from the airport construction, where much of the leveling work looks done.
3. The location of each of the 108 chortens has been cleared. And the GMC Building is for now the star attraction in the old town.

The Mindfulness City project is far from over, though. In fact, it has just started. The journey will be hard and long, but it is a journey worth embarking on, and a venture—if delayed by another 10-15 years—will miss its mark. For now, patience and belief will do us some good.

What needs some improvement is public communication and better public awareness. Confusions still reign.

GMC is our hope to take Bhutan to the next level. No hope can become a reality if there is no sense of ownership among the very people the project is supposed to benefit. The series of volunteer programs helps to adequately achieve this vital goal—of bringing together a nation towards a common vision.

So, we keep moving, with patience and conviction.

A day after the volunteers had left the town, I was interviewed by a foreign journalist. He asked me to define GMC in one sound bite. I replied,

“Simply put, GMC is prosperity with purpose. That’s my definition. For far too long we have been sacrificing economic growth in favor of the environment. We need to find a better balance to address the dissatisfaction among our people, the youth especially. Covid exposed that imbalance.”

Today I made my long-awaited visit to the ancestral home in Bebena belonging to my former work colleague Phuntsho Dendup.

Phuntsho and I worked together in His Majesty’s Secretariat between 2009 and 2013. We share many stories and memories – especially of state visits to India and other countries.

Visiting his house is like walking into an architectural marvel and the modern history of Bhutan. The house is a little over 60 years old and was built by his father, Shaab Dophu, who served as palace attendant of the Third King before he was appointed as Haa Ramjam (sub-district officer) and then in Dungna and finally in Chapcha. He was the attendant who walked alongside the visiting Indira Gandhi during the historic visit of Indian PM Jawaharlal Nehru in 1958. (See photo)

What is striking about the house is the perfect proportion and the intricate details of every corner, both inside and outside the house. The interior mural paintings, the mud walls, the windows are all classy and tasteful. Phuntsho’s father must have been a perfectionist like him.

Phuntsho is the most organised person I have ever worked with. All the personal effects of his father, and all the items from his time with His Majesty are neatly displayed like in a museum. His proudest moment is witnessing the signing of the 2007 Treaty Signing between Bhutan and India in Delhi of which he carries an autographed memento from our King.

The ancestry. The past.

Phuntsho’s mother, Aum Pem, traces her ancestry to the legendary master craftsman Pinsa Dewa, who is credited with making bronze statues for Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel in the eighteenth century.

Her father, Lotey, served the First and Second Kings as a palace retainer. The Third King appointed him as the chief commissioner of a new royal initiative—the Institute of Zorig Chusum. He personally crafted the golden pinnacle of Tashichho Dzong and of Dodeydrak Temple.

The only statue-relic of Guru associated with Pinsa Dewa and held by the family was offered by Phuntsho’s parents to be the main inner relic of the large Buddha Shakyamuni statue in Tashichho Dzong when it was expanded in 1968.

Here and after.

Phuntsho retired from his last position as Acting Director in the Ministry of Information, in 2022 and now lives with his wife and dedicates his time to prayers and spiritual activities. He is proud to inherit the house and has no plans to tear it down despite the land being a prime real estate area of Thimphu.

However, he says,

“I don’t know what the future holds for this masterpiece. I have done my part by maintaining it. My children will do what is best for themselves.”

“If such houses are taxed like they do now, my children will be tempted to bring it down and build a more commercially viable five-storied building. I don’t know,” he adds.

My hopes and prayers are that this house and other traditional houses in Thimphu valley receive some sort of heritage status and subsidy from the state and are preserved for posterity. For these houses have a soul – a character that reflects our collective past, history, and culture. New concrete buildings are modern but without the warmth and class as these houses.

And above all, these houses tell our story. The story of an ordinary family associated with Pinsa Dewa, of a family offering their only treasure to the state, and of a palace retainer who walked the visiting foreign PM over the mountains of Bhutan. And of his son being the third generation to serve our monarch in a simple capacity.

With each house being replaced by a hollow building, a part of us is lost forever.

(11-16 April 2026)

It rained heavily on the morning of 13th of April – the second day of the Sixth Volunteers Program organised by the Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC) project. However, from the window of my room, I could see volunteers walking in the rain, and laughing and cracking jokes. It was a sight to cherish – so much solidarity – so much pride.

That night the laughter and some music filled the air, as members of the Bhutanese Sandalwood entertained the crowd with songs, dances and jokes.

Two days later, with the program having ended and the participants making their way back to their homes in other parts of Bhutan, Gelephu felt bit empty. But not as empty as it was during Covid.

1. Business is picking up, cyclists and joggers – even chhilips cycling and jogging, are a common sight, and hotels are doing brisk business as the spiritual projects organise long prayer ceremonies and blessings and volunteering works.
2. You can’t get a flat in core town. It is houseful. The sharp demand for housing came mainly from the airport construction where much of the levelling works looks done.
3. The location of each of the 108 chortens has been cleared. And GMC Building is for now the star attraction in the old town.

The Mindfulness City project is far from over, though. In fact it has just started. The journey will be hard and long but it is a journey worth embarking on, and a venture – if delayed by another 10-15 years, will miss its mark. For now, patience and belief will do us some good.

What needs some improvement is public communication and better public awareness. Confusions still reign.

GMC is our hope to take Bhutan to the next level. No hope can become a reality if there is no sense of ownership among the very people the project is supposed to benefit. The series of volunteers programs helps to adequately this vital goal – of bringing together a nation towards a common vision.

So, we keep moving, with patience and conviction.

A day after the volunteers have left the town, I was interviewed by a foreign journalist. He asked me to define GMC in one sound bite. I replied,

“Simply put, GMC is prosperity with purpose. That’s my definition. For far too long we have been sacrificing economic growth in favour environment. We need to find a better balance to address the dissatisfaction among our people, the youth especially. Covid exposed that imbalance.”

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(Disclaimer: views are my own. And not of any organization I represent or lead)

This stupa will probably be the last thing I will remember when I am at the end of this earthly journey.

Of course, I didn’t build it. Dorje Phagmo Rimpoche did. What I did was to kickstart the process.

In 2013, fresh out of my last job in the government, I found myself in front of her for the first time. She shared a prophecy wherein she was supposed to build this chorten before anything else to “resume” her Dharma activities in this lifetime. But fate had been cruel to her. She didn’t have any major support. She was not even given the construction permit. Things simply didn’t take off big.

I had Nu. 59,000 in my account. Like many average government employees, I had a skinny bank balance. In spite of that, and without a second thought, I offered 50,000 to start the fulfillment of the prophecy.

Rest, as they say, is history.

Construction started in 2018. Over 4,000 people joined in with donations of modest amounts. One villager offered Nu. 6. Together we built this monument. Later, as my finances improved by leaps and bound, I offered more.

The project was suspended in 2019 after a major setback. However, covid-19 hit, and I was stuck back home from my position in Macau. I personally oversaw the resumption of the construction and its completion. Just as I had started, I also sponsored the final touches—the external carving and gold-painting. It was completed as the world reopened in 2022.

If you are traveling in Zhemgang, Buli, or Tingtibi, this stupa and monastery are just 30+ minutes from these places (road conditions permitting). It has some of the most unimaginable treasure relics buried in it—from the personal effects of Buddha to Guru Padmasambhava to Pema Lingpa to Penor Rimpoche.

Flew into this sparkling fresh Paro Valley that was rinsed by the incessant rain of recent days. For those missing our beloved home, this is the latest picture from this morning.

Back from a superb three weeks of a mixed trip of business, fundraising, another billion-dollar investment deal in the making, identifying architecture firms and experts, and a denting-painting of my teeth (for free). And some Vipassana meditation and Tom Yum soup.

In Thailand I also visited some top retreat centers in the Khao Yai area. It is mainly to help us do the final designs for the spiritual center in the Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC).

The spiritual centers in GMC, in my view, should go beyond a temple caretaker and just ritualistic practices. They should inspire Buddhism in action and an alternative way of living and being in the world—not only sustainably but also in a regenerative manner—all founded on the Vajrayana ideals.

There should be infrastructures to organize festivals and fairs to bring communities and countries together – thus creating not only harmony and solidarity in the world but also direct employment opportunities for our people and an economic system around it that indirectly sustains a couple of thousand families.

My dream is to see something like Boudhanath in Kathmandu, where around the stupa countless people make an honest living, and thousands more are welcome there regardless of race or nationality.

That’s my vision to help fulfill the greater vision of GMC.

Picture: The red roof square building is Rinpung Dzong. The cluster of red-roofed houses is Paro College of Education.
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(PS: All my travel expenses are from my own savings and income, and for now I don’t gain anything monetarily out of these. But I am gladly doing it as my humble contribution to the project in GMC, and along the way I am also able to support the greater cause of selfless service and nation-building. I have, of course, no doubt that in the long run anything done with good intent pays off.

My earlier post on my life coming full circle attracted a lot of admiration, goodwill, and a few envies. I thank you all for that. I am also glad many young people were inspired that at a time when people struggle with making inroads with one career, I had three “successful” ones (whatever success means).

While my life seems to have been a breeze, it was actually far from it. I had my fair share of struggles and strain, often characterized by difficulties and injustices that seemed insurmountable at times. People I recruited myself would betray me. I was ousted from making documentaries two weeks after I won an international award. I had to leave the organizations that I built with my own hands. These all felt cruel and unfair.

Some of my career changes were my own choice, while others came by because of certain people and circumstances. One thing that I want to stress upon here — especially for our younger generation that is less resilient than us, the GenX, is that everything that happens to you – places you go, and people you meet, all serve some purpose. Therefore, take every moment—both good and bad—every struggle and every betrayal as a message from the universe trying to put you on your predestined path. And not as a punishment for your bad karma, or you as a victim.

Do not overthink or kick yourself for the damn luck. Don’t linger in there for more than what is necessary. We must always remember that we suffer more in our imagination than in reality. What happens, and people do to you, are beyond your control. What is in your hands is how you respond.

Likewise, when the going is great, do not celebrate for too long—otherwise failure will be at your door the next morning. Keep moving on from both happiness and hardships. Internalise the concept of impermanence.

As for me, somewhere along my life, and early on, I learned to take life as a package—of happy and not-so-happy moments. There is no such thing as good or bad when it comes to learning from it. Everything is an experience. Every experience is an opportunity to grow. And with every growth, you find the joy of living – the raison d’etre.

Of course, I am not a Buddha. When things start crumbling around me, or when I feel betrayed, my first reaction obviously is anger and sadness. That is normal, but I quickly switch to: what is the universe trying to tell me? Is it time to move on? Yes, although moving away from the familiar feels scary. Most of the time, I really don’t know where I am going, but I keep going anyway.

One thing is for sure: my principle is not for sale. My dignity may have been battered several times, but my conscience is intact. This is not to say that I am perfect, but the beauty of being human is continuously working on your imperfections— just as courage is not the absence of fear, but your ability to work around it.

And finally, I changed my career from engineering to filmmaking to media and public relations to communication scholarship. I now find myself having to do all of these – especially in the new project that I am leading. Maybe the universe was preparing me all along for this big assignment — through all the trials and tribulations, through becomings and unbecomings, and through all the people and places I have come across.

Maybe my life until now was just a warmup.

😎😎😎

Some 20+ years ago, I left the engineering and project management stuff after building BBS FM Radio and BBS TV. I must say I was a bit fed up with meetings and negotiations and fundraising, or dining with donors and contractors, and preparing GANTT charts and spreadsheets, although my organization (BBS) was benefiting.

I moved to documentary filmmaking and journalism. As a producer and filmmaker, I did some watchable documentaries and anchored my own talk shows on BBS TV. I introduced the talk-show culture on Bhutanese television. Before me, no one wanted to talk on the public media.

I also went on to collect a few prestigious international awards here and there before I was inducted as palace staff in 2009 to lead the communication and public relations. Glory days, indeed. Greatest honor.

After I was relieved from that role in 2013, I became an adjunct professor and also went back to school to study for another higher degree—in communication and social science this time, which included a heavy dose of cultural studies and Buddhism.

In 2022, I left my jet-setting life in Macau and the classrooms behind. I thought I was done with everything I had to do—made my fame and fortune, achieved what I had to achieve, and tasted both fun and failures. I retreated back to Bhutan to a quieter life of mantras and building some stupas and temples. Everyone was leaving. I chose to return.

One year back I was accidentally made the chairperson of an ambitious spiritual project in GMC—one of the 14 that received the Royal Decree.

To cut it short, I am now back to meetings and negotiations and fundraising and dining with donors and contractors and preparing GANTT charts and spreadsheets. And on the move again.

There is a line from the movie Kung Fu Panda that best describes my story.

“You meet your destiny on the road you take to avoid it.”

In Buddhism, time is believed to be cyclical and not linear. It indeed seems to be that way. It is back to the future.

This is Yindhum Chorten in Dorje Phagmo Dratshang in Zhemgang.

A few years back I had put marbles around the stupa after a conversation with one of the resident nuns there, who is in a wheelchair. She has permanent birth defects.

During my recent trip there, however, as I was sitting on this spot and observing the people going around the stupa, I just realized how a simple innovation like putting flat tiles around a stupa can mean so much not just for the disabled but for the old too. How easy and pleasant it makes for the elderly to do their circumambulating.

One guy came up to me and told me how his father-in law loves going around this stupa because the floor is smooth. For those of us living in the cities such facilities are often taken for granted. In far flung places it is a luxury.

Doing good things does not necessarily mean you need lots of money, and you have to do great things. Great things are great, but not all can afford. Small and simple projects such as this, but meaningful, do not cost much and can give you an equally great sense of joy and fulfillment.

For those of my age who have had their share of fame and fortune and are seeking some greater meaning in their life (not those who are struggling still), all you need to develop is mindful seeing and observations, coupled with empathy and service to others. And to slow down with accumulating wealth and power and vying for more.

There are so many simply joy you can bring to the world.

Next project: to make the temple and the stupa wheelchair friendly.