Where in the heck is Bhutan?

[Said1]

Never heard of the tiny country. Anyway, good for them!

GUWAHATI: The king of Bhutan has declared that he will step down as ruler in ’08, when the tiny Himalayan nation will hold national elections and become a parliamentary democracy, state media reported on Sunday.

In a surprise announcement that stunned the isolated mountainous nation, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck said he will be succeeded by his son, the crown prince, according to the government-owned newspaper Kuensel.

“I would like our people to know that the first national election to elect a government under a system of parliamentary democracy will take place in ’08,” the king told a crowd gathered in the isolated town of Trashi Yangtse, a three-day drive from the capital Thimpu. He was addressing the crowd on Bhutan’s national day, the anniversary of the date when the country’s first hereditary king was enthroned, in 1907.

In his speech, the king said he believed that during his son’s future reign “Bhutan will remain strong and glorious and our country will achieve greater prosperity with the sun of peace and happiness shining on our people.”

GUWAHATI: The king of Bhutan has declared that he will step down as ruler in ’08, when the tiny Himalayan nation will hold national elections and become a parliamentary democracy, state media reported on Sunday.

In a surprise announcement that stunned the isolated mountainous nation, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck said he will be succeeded by his son, the crown prince, according to the government-owned newspaper Kuensel.

“I would like our people to know that the first national election to elect a government under a system of parliamentary democracy will take place in ’08,” the king told a crowd gathered in the isolated town of Trashi Yangtse, a three-day drive from the capital Thimpu. He was addressing the crowd on Bhutan’s national day, the anniversary of the date when the country’s first hereditary king was enthroned, in 1907.

In his speech, the king said he believed that during his son’s future reign “Bhutan will remain strong and glorious and our country will achieve greater prosperity with the sun of peace and happiness shining on our people.”

Link

 

[KarlMarx]

A tiny country near Nepal, both are between China and India and in the Himalaya Mountains

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhutan

 

[Simon Gunson]

A country without cars, smog, muggings, con artists, make-up, reality TV, no TV even, no advertising... a place where you can see beautiful sunsets, painting the mountain snows with a palette of pinks and reds, where you can hear the birdsongs, see the stars at night, hear yourself think.

Yeah real backward place...

Good thing nobody knows where it is, or the outside world would spoil it

Somewhere near Shangrila I think... haha

 

[KarlMarx]

A country without cars, smog, muggings, con artists, make-up, reality TV, no TV even, no advertising... a place where you can see beautiful sunsets, painting the mountain snows with a palette of pinks and reds, where you can hear the birdsongs, see the stars at night, hear yourself think.

Yeah real backward place...

Good thing nobody knows where it is, or the outside world would spoil it

Somewhere near Shangrila I think... haha

Yeah... but they don't have any pizza parlors, what good is that?

 

[CSM]

Yeah... but they don't have any pizza parlors, what good is that?

It is indeed a pristine and beautiful place. It is also primitive. Life expectancy is an average of 54.9 years; no technology to speak of and no industry (logging and farming mostly). The country has a grand total of 22,000 phone lines which may sound like a lot but is totally inadequate. The Bhutanese tourist industry is geared primarily towards tree huggers.

 

[USViking]

It is indeed a pristine and beautiful place. It is also primitive. Life expectancy is an average of 54.9 years (emphasis added); no technology to speak of and no industry (logging and farming mostly). The country has a grand total of 22,000 phone lines which may sound like a lot but is totally inadequate. The Bhutanese tourist industry is geared primarily towards tree huggers.

I couldn't believe 54.9 was correct for the life expectancy,
so I looked it up:

http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/bt.html

and it is indeed correct, with apologies to CSM.

It also has an appalling infant mortality rate of 100.44 per 1000,
and an appalling illiteracy rate of 57.8% (43.7% for males,
71.9% for females).

Yeah, a real backward place- one of the worst dumps in the world,
in fact, the scenery notwithstanding.

 

[CSM]

I couldn't believe 54.9 was correct for the life expectancy,
so I looked it up:

http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/bt.html

and it is indeed correct, with apologies to CSM.

It also has an appalling infant mortality rate of 100.44 per 1000,
and an appalling illiteracy rate of 57.8% (43.7% for males,
71.9% for females).

Yeah, a real backward place- one of the worst dumps in the world,
in fact, the scenery notwithstanding.

No apology necessary; you got your verification the same place I got my facts...I should have posted the link myself.