I Hijacked This Man's Day

Namgay and I are back in Bhutan and going around meeting friends and family and getting reacquainted with the mountains. There's some bureaucratic business to attend to. I told Aum Tshering at the bank this morning that I loved doing business in Bhutan. She looked up from the enormous ledger she was writing in. "Really?" she said. "Absolutely," I said watching her perfect, neat handwriting. It might take a little longer than going online in the U.S., but the actuality of paper is infinitely satisfying, not to mention the face-to-face conversations. And tea.

 Here's the form to get a license tag for the car.  

At the Immigration Office I ran into Gelay, the man pictured above and the one whose day I hijacked. He's a friend of my nephew Chencho and they were college mates. As we chatted he took my passport and my MC card (MC is short for "Marriage Case," of which I am one), and various papers. He made calls of inquiry on his phone, met twice with the visa officer, loaned me the equivalent of $25 which I'd forgotten to bring to get the stamp in my passport, and even offered me a ride home. He'd come to the Immigration Office on completely different business, which didn't happen because he helped me.

There's quite a bit of economic uncertainty here as the Bhutanese sort out their currency crisis.  And there are a lot of changes afoot in the country. Economically it's not a wealthy place. But for me there is still a great sense of abundance that manifests itself in the way people so gladly and generously help each other. It gives me a sense of contentment I can't find anywhere else.

Old Delhi

We went to the Hay House offices in New Delhi and met lovely Rajalakshmi and her coworkers, one of whom suggested we go to Old Delhi to find paint brushes for Namgay. We took a rickshaw from the Red Fort into this alternate universe. Crowded, dusty, noisy, chaotic, crazy, ancient place. In other words, the highlight of our visit to Delhi.

Auto parts

Here's a tiny school bus pulled by rickshaw. See? It is full of tiny children.

Here's Namgay bottom center buying brushes.

Then back to the Imperial for some first flush tea.