189
Brief apology
Dear Reader,
BHUTAN - WHY NOT?
ROBERT NIELD
If you wish to read a learned article about a little-known Himalayan culture, its people, history and religion, you may stop here. Also stop here if you want to add to your already in-depth understanding of the Kingdom of Bhutan. There is not much on the following pages that can be described as "in depth." Moreover, for a general introduction you should read instead the guidebooks that most people seem to refer to, namely the Lonely Planet guide and the Inside Pocket Guide; these were valuable sources of reference during my visit,
What does follow is an account of the observations and recollections of one member of the 27-person Royal Asiatic Society study tour of Bhutan, that took place from 8 to 19 February 2002. All aspects of this logistically demanding tour were organised most ably by Dr Brian Shaw and his wife Felicity. I must record here my thanks to Brian for his help in ensuring that at least the factual content of this narrative is not too far off the mark. All other observations are mine alone, and indeed might be at variance with those of other members of the tour.
The source of the Nile
The first announcement for the RAS trip to Bhutan appeared in the Society's newsletter in about September 2001. I looked at it and thought that I would think about it. After all, where was it? What was it? Why go there? Sure - I had heard of it and I knew that it was somewhere like Nepal, Assam or Sikkim. The adventurer in me said that I had to go, simply because I had not been there before. So I thought I would do some reading about it - and then decide. Inevitably I did not quite get round to doing the reading. I looked at a few web sites, and found myself side-tracked into some antiquarian book dealers' offerings, imagining what it must have been like to set out to discover the source of the Nile. At least I knew that the Nile did not originate in
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Page 241
189
Brief apology
Dear Reader,
BHUTAN - WHY NOT?
ROBERT NIELD
If you wish to read a learned article about a little-known Himalayan culture, its people, history and religion, you may stop here. Also stop here if you want to add to your already in-depth understanding of the Kingdom of Bhutan. There is not much on the following pages that can be described as "in depth." Moreover, for a general introduction you should read instead the guidebooks that most people seem to refer to, namely the Lonely Planet guide and the Inside Pocket Guide; these were valuable sources of reference during my visit,
What does follow is an account of the observations and recollections of one member of the 27-person Royal Asiatic Society study tour of Bhutan, that took place from 8 to 19 February 2002. All aspects of this logistically demanding tour were organised most ably by Dr Brian Shaw and his wife Felicity. I must record here my thanks to Brian for his help in ensuring that at least the factual content of this narrative is not too far off the mark. All other observations are mine alone, and indeed might be at variance with those of other members of the tour.
The source of the Nile
The first announcement for the RAS trip to Bhutan appeared in the Society's newsletter in about September 2001. I looked at it and thought that I would think about it. After all, where was it? What was it? Why go there? Sure - I had heard of it and I knew that it was somewhere like Nepal, Assam or Sikkim. The adventurer in me said that I had to go, simply because I had not been there before. So I thought I would do some reading about it - and then decide. Inevitably I did not quite get round to doing the reading. I looked at a few web sites, and found myself side-tracked into some antiquarian book dealers' offerings, imagining what it must have been like to set out to discover the source of the Nile. At least I knew that the Nile did not originate in
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