February 27th part 2 - Thimphu and Royal vist

First a little bit about the Royal family in Bhutan. The current King Jigme Khesar Namgyel was crowned in November 2008 at the age of 26 making him (at the time) the worlds youngest head of state. His father, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck abdicated the throne to his eldest son and (at the same time) announced parlimentary elections, smoothing the transition to democracy for this remote country.

The royal family is held in very high regard by the citizens of Bhutan. Pictures of the current king and his new bride, Jetsun Pema, appear everywhere, and above the doorway of every home.

The former King has four wives (all of whom are sisters), and a total of 10 children - five sons and five daughters. We met with Queen Ashi Tshering Yangdon Wangchuck, who is the mother of the current king. Also present were her two other children, Princess Ashi Dechen Yangzom, and Prince Dasho Jigme Dorji Wangchuck. We were also lucky enough to meet the newest member of the royal family, the little Princess daughter of Ashi Dechen Yangzom.

The former King and his 4 wives at the time of his marriage in 1979

Although it was special meeting the royal family, it was not at all unusual. A representative from the Royal family normally meets with all groups doing non profit work in Bhutan. This visit was significant, though, in that it came out of a special friendship that Dr Erica has with the Queen mother dating back to the time when her daughter attended Stanford.

After quickly showering and making ourselves presentable, we all piled into the bus for the hour long drive to Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan. The winding road follows downstream one fork of a river, and then upstream along the other fork through stunning canyons and valleys. The driver was quite rushed as it would not do to be late for the Queen! We arrived at the Royal compound with 5 minutes to spare, and were courteously ushered in by the palace guards.

For what had been scheduled as a 1 hour meeting, we ended up staying for 3 hours, and were absolutely captivated by the charm and graciousness of this amazing woman are her family. Even Sammy and Owen opened up, presenting pictures they had drawn of Buddha and a temple. We were served traditional Bhutanese food including momo's, deep fried waffles, and cake. I spent about an hour talking to the Princess about her time at Stanford, and about life in Bhutan. The little princess was captivated by Sammy, and spent the whole time following him around.

The Queen mother with her granddaughter

Sammy playing with the little Princess

Owen presenting a drawing to the Queen mother

Left to right. Jon Puro, Princess Ashi Dechen Yangzom and her daughter, Madeleine Traver, Dr Chris Traver, Arial, Dr Erica Weirich, Queen Ashi Tshering Yangdon Wangchuck, Cathy Leather, Owen Leather, Sammy Leather, me, Prince Dasho Jigme Dorji Wangchuck and his fiancee.

Around 7pm we checked into our new hotel in Thimphu and then headed downstairs for dinner. We were joined by Choki Lhamo, a good friend of Mike Hawley who was someone I worked with at Lucasfilm. She was involved with the project to create the worlds largest book - a 6 ft high collection of photos from Bhutan. We finally got to sleep around 10pm after the most exhilarating day of the trip.