Bhutan is a beautiful country

It's a kingdom and the king, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck

Believes that a country should be measured on GNH and not GDP

GNH being Gross National Happiness (GNH) 

It's a unique philosophy and measurement system that prioritizes overall well-being and happiness over purely economic growth

It is also a buddhist country, well an offshoot of buddhism 

Which is a story for another day 

Pretty ironic that I got hit with 2 scams while I was there in 2008

Scam 1 - When you check-in the room is a lower grade than the one you paid for

When we booked the holiday we decided that the first room in Bhutan we would want with a settee

So we could spread about

We picked the key up from reception and there was no settee in the room

We went back down to reception, showed them the paperwork and they changed the room

It was only later that we found out this often happened to travellers

Scam 2 - There's not hot water

We got to a hotel and the landlord apologised that there was no hot water

In the morning, accepting our fate, instead of a shower I went for a walk

And found the boiler room 

Now I worked as a electrician for a number of months, which is another story

In the boiler room was the boiler and a big switch that was off

I switched it on and the boiler started heating up the water

There was nothing wrong with the boiler

He was trying to save the money heating it up

Later on

The landlord accused me of “untemple behaviour” 

Which in a buddhist country that's a very harsh thing he said

Especially, considering he was ripping off people

What can we learn from this?

Bhutan is a wonderful place, with amazing sites and people

But as a beach trader said to me in the Bahamas

“You have money, I don't, my job is to get you to give me your money”

Travel is certainly about wealth distribution, so there is an element of truth there