Family Travel Bhutan- Nomads
June 17, 2011
One of the best things about long term family travel is the people you meet, because they tell you a lot about the country and also about how much we have in common, no matter how different our lives are.
We came upon these Bhutanese nomad women, totally alone, in the middle of no where, living at a very high altitude on what looked like the edge of a very undisturbed world, during our Bhutan vacation. They were herding a large group of yaks and seemed as surpised to see us as we were to see them.
"Wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe" Anatole France
These Tibetan -Mongolian heritage, Himalayan nomads seem very happy, despite living in a very inhospitable mountain landscape with little or no money. Is this their GNH policy or just their nature? We found a real purity in Bhutan and know the Buddhism is part of what shapes this beautiful country.
WHAT CAN NOMAD LIVING TEACH US?
Our travel to Bhutan was an extraordinary experience and these nomads reminded us in a way of the first nomads ( Berbers in the Sahara) we met on our family world trip. There is something about nomadic people that touches my heart.
Maybe it is because we travel as a digital nomadic family, but I think it is deeper, as they teach us all about our selves and a simpler time of being self reliant and one with nature. Kindness seems more important than competition, relationships more important than money, harmony more important than willfulness , love more important than things and cherishing the TIME to appreciate the abundance all around us.
"I soon realized that no journey carries one far unless, as it extends into the world around us, it goes equal distance into the world within." Lillian Smith
This is a fun link for kids about nomadic people or learn more about Bhutan. Interestingly, after Bhutan, we went to Jordan where they have the ancient Bedouin nomadic people who also touched us.
"Traveling is brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that is familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things - air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky - all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it." Pavese
How about you? Have you met nomadic people when traveling? Do they touch your heart?
One of the best things about long term family travel is the people you meet, because they tell you a lot about the country and also about how much we have in common, no matter how different our lives are.
We came upon these Bhutanese nomad women, totally alone, in the middle of no where, living at a very high altitude on what looked like the edge of a very undisturbed world, during our Bhutan vacation. They were herding a large group of yaks and seemed as surpised to see us as we were to see them.
"Wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe" Anatole France
These Tibetan -Mongolian heritage, Himalayan nomads seem very happy, despite living in a very inhospitable mountain landscape with little or no money. Is this their GNH policy or just their nature? We found a real purity in Bhutan and know the Buddhism is part of what shapes this beautiful country.
WHAT CAN NOMAD LIVING TEACH US?
Our travel to Bhutan was an extraordinary experience and these nomads reminded us in a way of the first nomads ( Berbers in the Sahara) we met on our family world trip. There is something about nomadic people that touches my heart.
Maybe it is because we travel as a digital nomadic family, but I think it is deeper, as they teach us all about our selves and a simpler time of being self reliant and one with nature. Kindness seems more important than competition, relationships more important than money, harmony more important than willfulness , love more important than things and cherishing the TIME to appreciate the abundance all around us.
"I soon realized that no journey carries one far unless, as it extends into the world around us, it goes equal distance into the world within." Lillian Smith
This is a fun link for kids about nomadic people or learn more about Bhutan. Interestingly, after Bhutan, we went to Jordan where they have the ancient Bedouin nomadic people who also touched us.
"Traveling is brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that is familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things - air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky - all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it." Pavese
How about you? Have you met nomadic people when traveling? Do they touch your heart?
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good posts! Yes, I work with them -- the hilltribes who are immigrating into Thailand to escape persecution. They are people who are always moving and never call any place home. Home, I guess, is when you are with your clan, not a location.
In Thai the word for where you are living now, and where you are located at that moment is the same words. Sounds like Hursell the philosopher to me. :)
The sahara pictures are really sweet.
Posted by: Marlana | June 17, 2011 at 08:20 AM
Thanks Marlana! You are such an interesting person...I hope we can hook this coming winter when we are in Asia!
Where are the hill tribes in Thailand coming from?
Posted by: Jeanne @soultravelers3 | June 17, 2011 at 09:51 AM
Um, of course I mean hook up, not just hook. LOL
Writing too fast here in Barcelona!
Posted by: Jeanne @soultravelers3 | June 17, 2011 at 09:53 AM
GREAT post. I have never been to Bhutan, but after I saw your tweet about it a few weeks ago, I can't stop wanting to go!! Rajasthan, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka are at the top of our list!!
Posted by: Sattvic Family | June 17, 2011 at 10:22 AM
Thanks Sattvic Family! ( Sorry, I don't know your first name and can not find it on your website).
You'll love is as Bhutan is a very special place and different from any other place that we have been.
Posted by: Jeanne @soultravelers3 | June 18, 2011 at 02:42 AM