Spitting Red Images

One of the most striking cultural shocks for foreigners in Bhutan is the extended habit of people, both men and women,  spiting a red liquid everywhere. Big signs on public buildings and government offices warn visitors NOT to  spit on the floor and the red stains are well extended all over the floors.

 
"Doma Pani" is an addictive habit of chewing and spitting areca nut and betel leaf with a dash of lime. The colourful mix (areca nuts, bettel leaves and lime /calcium hydroxide) is a traditional addictive entertainment food in India (paan) and Bhutan and many other East Asian countries for centuries.  The remains of the chewing is then spit on the floor,  disposed of by spitting, producing bright red spots everywhere.
  

Areca nut is the seed of the Areca, a plant found in dried, cured and fresh forms. In the tree, the husk is green and the nut inside is soft and can easily be cut with a knife.

Areca nuts are chewed with betel leaf for their effects as a mild stimulant, like the coca leaves in the Andes, they cause a warm sensation in the body and heightens alertness, as if you had several coffees. 

The areca nut contains the tannins and alkaloids with obvious vasoconstricting properties, like cocaine.

The bhutanese claim the mix aids digestion and they are probably right through the Lime. In fact, mexicans cook corn with cal, the Nixtamales, which increases the natural availability of niacin, it is makes it tastier and easier to digest.

The good fat! a Yak Burger

This is my dinner. It looks like a fast food classic, but its not. It has all the ingredients of a hungry and happy people meal, like myself today. Its a Yak Burger.

Yaks are tibetan cows, they have a bulky frame and sturdy legs, and they can jump as goats,  rounded cloven hooves a species of long haired bovine living in South central Asia and the himalayas, similar to a hairy bison. Yak meat is my dinner tonight. 

Yaks have very lean meat because, like bison, their fat is a separate layer outside the muscles that is easy to separate (unlike cows that have fat marbled with muscle).

Yaks are exclusively grass-fed (and are very efficient food processors—a yak eats only about 1/3 of what a cow eats) and very disease resistant, they do not need antibiotics, and they are not treated with growth hormones. The little fat that yak meat does contain, like any grass-fed meat, has very high percentages of omega-3 fatty acids and Conjugated Linoleic Acids (good fats).

In Tibet, yaks are a central part of the culture.Today they are a central part of mine. A tibetan cow is the solution to Michale Polan's omnivores dilemma .

Obscured by clouds

Landing in Bhutan has been spectacular today.   Always spectacular for different reasons. August is the peak of monsoon rains here in Bhutan. The monsoon weather, is an avalanche of rain,  from drastic changes in atmospheric circulation and water precipitation and heavy rains coming from the south in Bengal Bay. The Bengal Bay blows the wind up north crossing India and crashing against the Himalaya and here I am watching. 

I am standing today, underneath the crash,  under  the heavy rains, high humidity, flash floods and landslides, in one of those typical monsoon misty, overcast days. The views of the Himalayas in this seasons are completely obscured by clouds and rain.

Before Bhutan, I have a stop over for a couple of days in Delhi to discuss the scope of work with the Contractors.  This "strategic" commute allows me to take my favorite customary visit to Chandni Chowk in the Old Delhi: street food paradise! Karim's mutton Seekhkebab, Tandoori Roti, Paranthas in Nirmal's, Raj Kachori...  Very Deliciuos! 

the kingdom of bhutan

The Kingdom of Bhutan, is an "island" up in the eastern end of the Himalayas, floating up in the mountains, surrounded by mysterious journeys, remote isolated lands such as Sikkim (India) and Nepal, or Chinese Tibet. 

In recent years, Bhutan has undergone major political changes by shifting from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy and by introducing a move towards democratic Government. Bhutan has opened to the world after years of  concealment. The young democracy is curious. Citizens are eager to understand how it works.

The first General Elections, the National Assembly Elections, took place in March 2008, and the
new Bhutanese political system and its young democratic institutions are aiming at moving
towards good governance, decentralised decision making and development.

Measuring Happiness and harmony

The Royal Government's development strategy is marked by its unique philosophy, such as measuring Gross National Happiness, which emphasizes harmony between material well-being and spiritual, emotional and cultural well-being.