Notes on Bhutan

As much as I appreciate Bhutan's ideas around happiness and its style of sustainable development, I feel Bhutan being a tiny hilly country is what allows them to work. Add to that the gift of Hydroelectric power, which alone contributes 1/4th of government revenue, and was responsible for 14% of its GDP[1]. Its population is less than a million, where as even tier-3 towns in India have a couple of million people living there.

A large country, with a large population, has far fewer options other than supporting economic development at a scale.

[1]: https://thewire.in/world/south-asia/bhutan-hydropower-electr...

I was there a couple of months ago. It's truly a beautiful and extremely calm place.

There's one quote from our guide that I remember: "We are a small nation. We watch what our neighbors are doing and pick what will work for us."

Another impression I got (and I may be totally wrong) - the locals genuinely love the royal family. There are pictures of the king, his wife, and children literally everywhere. As someone who grew up in a communist country and is familiar with seeing portraits of "beloved" leaders everywhere, this seemed like something totally different.

The people are very respectful - no one tries to sell you things or bother you in any other way.

Highly recommended destination. Hope it doesn't change anytime soon.

Interestingly, Bhutan is the fifth highest country in Bitcoin holdings.

https://bitbo.io/treasuries/countries/

https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/economy/2025/4/14/bitcoin-king...

I've been fascinated by Bhutan ever since reading "Beyond the Sky and the Earth". I wish them the best, but with the exodus of young people it's difficult to see long term success. The population is tiny. Will future growth only stem from tourism?

Didn't Bhutan kicked out some people?

Despite all that happiness push, young people still prefer more opportunities (and money) abroad.

I don’t think Bhutan has ever had any relationship with the Dalai Lama, there Buddhism is derived from Tibetan Buddhism but is a different school. The article is weird to suggest that Bhutan has some sort of role in the future relating to Tibet Buddhism leadership, it’s much more likely to come from India.

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Bhutan sounds cute, but I wonder what the reality is. The city sounds like another one of these globalist smart city projects like Neom in Saudi Arabia, or Rwanda's African showpiece. I'm sure said city will have cameras on every corner, and probably 15 minute city aspects.

Every place in the world is a mix of two things - the background and the foreground. The background is the natural stuff (terrain, greenery, water bodies, climate etc) and the foreground is the areas where people settled.

The people areas (houses, streets, work places) are dependent on the economic activity, prosperity and culture. And they look the same as any other place in the world with the same parameters.

Outside of people's areas, it depends on terrain (hill station), latitude (for climate) and greenery. Again for it looks the same as any other place in the world with the same parameters.

So, every place is a combination of these two things with different parameters. Sometimes, the foreground has dependencies on the background.