Are you ready for mountain Buddhist art and culture? You know you are!!
This is the funny guy in the mask who invaded the food tent.
I was impressed by the hand lettering on the signs. Okay, hand lettering is utterly pointless, but it's also beautiful. You don't see it in the U.S. anymore.
Bhutan has universal health care. Yes, free health care, in a tiny Indo-Tibetan country with a smaller GDP per capita than Turkmenistan. The government has thus documented and nationalized the production of herbal medicine, which apparently really works.
Moxibustion device which was used in the old days.
More dangerous-looking tools from the old days.
Some of the raw herbs with medicinal properties. Another display showed pressings and descriptions.
I asked the monk in the miniature temple on the Mall if the Buddhist art you see here was a reproduction or made originally for the temple. He seemed confused. "It's the same art you can find in any temple," he said. "We copied it from a standard design." Eventually he did say that yes, they drew and painted it specifically for the exhibition. But he thought little of it-- wouldn't any other country do the same? Wow...
This incomplete sketch gives you an idea of how the art is made.
Dung Dorji wrote my name in Bhutanese script.
The morning procession. It was really hot! The Bhutanese had agreed to wear their traditional clothes, but they were sweating all day long.
Only a few people came for the morning parade but it was pretty impressive.
This guy makes me smile even today. He was the hawker who invited people to step on up to the food tent. He had a good speaking voice and made Bush jokes. Unfortunately I don't remember his name.
Monks making the "sand" mandala which they wash away as soon as it's completed.
Traditional dance of Bhutan.
Traditional quilt of Bhutan. There were others, but they were Indian influenced. I liked this one for how peculiar it was.
The poster of plants and animals was also hand-drawn.
The inside of the yak herder's tent.
This is the funny guy in the mask who invaded the food tent.
I was impressed by the hand lettering on the signs. Okay, hand lettering is utterly pointless, but it's also beautiful. You don't see it in the U.S. anymore.
Bhutan has universal health care. Yes, free health care, in a tiny Indo-Tibetan country with a smaller GDP per capita than Turkmenistan. The government has thus documented and nationalized the production of herbal medicine, which apparently really works.
Moxibustion device which was used in the old days.
More dangerous-looking tools from the old days.
Some of the raw herbs with medicinal properties. Another display showed pressings and descriptions.
I asked the monk in the miniature temple on the Mall if the Buddhist art you see here was a reproduction or made originally for the temple. He seemed confused. "It's the same art you can find in any temple," he said. "We copied it from a standard design." Eventually he did say that yes, they drew and painted it specifically for the exhibition. But he thought little of it-- wouldn't any other country do the same? Wow...
This incomplete sketch gives you an idea of how the art is made.
Dung Dorji wrote my name in Bhutanese script.
The morning procession. It was really hot! The Bhutanese had agreed to wear their traditional clothes, but they were sweating all day long.
Only a few people came for the morning parade but it was pretty impressive.
This guy makes me smile even today. He was the hawker who invited people to step on up to the food tent. He had a good speaking voice and made Bush jokes. Unfortunately I don't remember his name.
Monks making the "sand" mandala which they wash away as soon as it's completed.
Traditional dance of Bhutan.
Traditional quilt of Bhutan. There were others, but they were Indian influenced. I liked this one for how peculiar it was.
The poster of plants and animals was also hand-drawn.
The inside of the yak herder's tent.
