![Rain and smiling boy with red umbrella, Bhutan](https://images.followalice.com/4TVPDmMW3M2yg5jJsm1YsA/99ff072f5540224e5933e21f0fbe8d65/Boy_with_umbrella_in_Bhutan.jpg?q=80&fit=fill&f=center&w=1200&h=1200)
Bhutan – not just a place, but a feeling
Where are the happiest people in the world? They're not stepping out with fresh botox into the sun of LA. No, no. Rather, they’re chilling in Bhutan besides a giant penis and thinking about death. Let us explain ...
![Bhutanese house with traditional phallus paintings near Punakha, Bhutan](https://images.followalice.com/1pLuv1RSggHqYor7gozq9A/c313263aa0e4f15d47b1124af981becb/Ours._S._Bhutanese_house_with_traditional_phallus_paintings_near_Punakha__Bhutan.jpg?q=80&fit=fill&f=center&w=800&h=534)
The upside-down country
Children greet you with "bye-bye". The number thirteen is considered lucky. The king (actually) abolished himself in favour of his son. Thimphu is the only capital city in the world without a single traffic light. Marijuana is fed to the pigs (it gives them the munchies, and they fatten). The national sport is archery. Tobacco sales and plastic bags are prohibited. Polygamy and polyandry are quite acceptable.
![archery Bhutan travel guide](https://images.followalice.com/2zS5yXJCjGRteyC5siXf9W/605bab00293d15d0d811219c798f84f0/Boy-with-bow-and-arrow-1024x683.jpg?q=80&fit=fill&f=center&w=800&h=534)
Sales aren't everything
![folded fabrics in a market in Bhutan](https://images.followalice.com/6AnwH7aWzx7TZTUsikWFfO/625c327dcfcc06e16de69fd55f702710/Folded-colourful-fabrics-in-Thimphu-Bhutan-1-1024x650.jpg?q=80&fit=fill&f=center&w=800&h=508)
It's good to think about death (often)
The Bhutanese are not constantly trying to make themselves look or feel younger.
![Ours. S. Buddhist stupas in Jomolhari base trekking, Paro, Bhutan](https://images.followalice.com/6Tijp3z3X5xgS5fYsQH0Kg/798a2cc746abdcbd2b0ad5490075387f/Ours._S._Buddhist_stupas_in_Jomolhari_base_trekking__Paro_Bhutan.jpg?q=80&fit=fill&f=center&w=800&h=533)
My best advice: go there. Think the unthinkable, the thing that scares you to think about several times a day.
A battle won is a time for mourning
Fortresses are now monasteries
![Rinpung Dzong, Bhutan travel guide](https://images.followalice.com/1ykbgDnwHaZfYUgwD1E04z/91b1abad586ca615629617b1ce648ce1/Rinoung-Dzong-Paro.jpg?q=80&fit=fill&f=center&w=800&h=533)
Monks outnumber soldiers
![Tibetan prayer wheel in hand of old Bhutanese monk, Thimphu, Bhutan](https://images.followalice.com/6VZGBVPQejW4s7ysOOvdmw/98ce8725b04794a082a06885d867fd29/Ours._S._Tibetan_prayer_wheel_in_hand_of_old_Bhutanese_monk__Thimphu__Bhutan.jpg?q=80&fit=fill&f=center&w=800&h=533)
You won't find an instant twit face
One of most powerful ways to cull happiness is to engage in comparisons.
![A Bhutanese farming village seen from a distance through the trees](https://images.followalice.com/2o0i4rjFYnbmtZYKdUFQS4/f2d88d0f27730057a289f076345fe2c1/Bhutan_farming_village_hillside_everygreen_tree.jpg?q=80&fit=fill&f=center&w=800&h=627)
Success is internal
A fairytale royal marriage
![King and Queen of Bhutan smiling with Smt. Sonia Gandhi, UPA, Chairperson in New Delhi (January 07, 2014)](https://images.followalice.com/412GrAEeWxXiPcjI5Jj3Wf/fb38e00afefc526e9679c9cc80a9135f/King_and_Queen_of_Bhutan_and_Sonia_Gandhi__UPA__Wikipedia_credit_required.jpg?q=80&fit=fill&f=center&w=800&h=619)
The Will-and-Kate visit
![Tiger's Nest viewpoint](https://images.followalice.com/6xBQQWHuFLpFbYplp8nzQc/28db11ebab261e37e892d9f620c90632/Tiger-s_Nest_viewpoint.jpg?q=80&fit=fill&f=center&w=800&h=450)
You're bald. Your nose is really big. We hope your private parts are as big.
![archery tournament Bhutan](https://images.followalice.com/4lAbk8vDF7xjKVPCUr1X1j/a5693797d4e38de51265575cf8020bd5/800px-Archery_Tournament_Lhuentse_Bhutan.jpg?q=80&fit=fill&f=center&w=800&h=600)
Travel as pilgrimage, not conquest
![Pur. Hiking path to the famous Paro Taktsang or Tiger's Nest monastery, Bhutan.](https://images.followalice.com/3HS3HXhd0oJIepQHTbuyqV/485b8e332420ed7869e4ecd55f7f2249/Pur._Hiking_path_to_the_famous_Paro_Taktsang_or_Tiger-s_Nest_monastery__Bhutan.__2_.jpg?q=80&fit=fill&f=center&w=800&h=531)
Don't expect a miracle salve
The world should not expect too much from us, and we should not expect too much from ourselves.