Amazing Bhutan: Free Healthcare, No Homeless People, No Traffic Lights

[Music] imagine a country tucked into the Himalaya Mountains between the giant countries of India and China and closed off from tourism until 1974 a country that decided to measure national happiness as completely free health care and nobody living on the streets sounds unbelievable but this is all true about Bhutan and that's just the tip of the iceberg counting down from number 16 no homeless people at all in Bhutan there's no one stuck living out on the streets if a person loses their home they just need to go to the king and he'll give them a plot of land where they can build a house to live in and plan a garden to eat from 15 free health care each Bhutanese resident has the right to free medical care the country's Ministry of Health has made it their goal to become a nation with the best health and it looks like they're achieving just that a person could decide whether to receive traditional or classical medicine as a method of treatment that's all completely free 14 unplugged TV and Internet were officially banned in Bhutan until 1999 that is the Bhutanese people take their traditions and unique culture very seriously and that came took great measures to protect his people from outside influences but they became impossible to isolate the whole country from modern technologies so the king finally decided to lift the ban as a result Bhutan was one of the last countries in the world to start using television the internet arrived shortly after 13 national dress code speaking of traditions Bhutanese people are required to wear traditional clothes in public this nationwide dress code has existed for over 400 years men wear a heavy knee-length rope called a go and women wear a long dress known as a Kyra you can even identify a person's social status by the colour scarf they wear draped over their left shoulder ordinary folks wear white scarves and noble people in monks wear yellow ones twelve no smoking in 2010 the king enacted a law prohibiting the cultivation harvest and sale of tobacco making Bhutan the first country in the world with a total ban on tobacco it's impossible to buy it there and you can't smoke it in public areas tourists lucky enough to gain entry into the country have to pay a huge fee for bringing their smokes with them and if they get caught trying to smuggle in tobacco they can expect a huge fine or even criminal charges 11 ecology is everything Bhutan is really concerned about ecology in nature according to a local law at least 60% of the country's total area must be covered with woods at the moment that number is at about 71% so they're doing just fine it's no surprise really since this is what locals want in 2015 Bhutan even sent a world record when its people planted 50,000 trees in just one hour thanks to that it's the only carbon negative country in the world meaning it absorbs more carbon dioxide than it produces Wow way to go Bhutan 10 they like it hot the most popular ingredient in almost every Bhutanese dish is chilies the Tourism Council even noticed Bhutanese people would not even enjoy a meal that was not spicy the country's official national dish is called M Adachi it's a yummy mix of spicy chilies and a local cheese called dachi it's a common staple in most meals and can be changed up by adding potatoes green beans mushrooms or ferns and if you really want to mix it up you can use yak cheese yep from a yak 9 touring obstacles remember Bhutan takes preserving their traditions and unique culture very seriously that's why they make visiting their country very difficult and expensive you can only go to Bhutan in groups of three or more technically you can go as a couple or by yourself but you got to pay extra if you do all documents and visas are issued by a state-appointed company and before you can get the permit you have to pay all of the expenses in advance including transportation hotel fees tour operator and guide services visa and insurance a tour guide will be with you the entire time and they'll only allow you to visit places specifically designated for tourism if you're already thinking about booking a trip then make sure you save up to $250 per person for each night you'd like to stay 8 ladies first women are respected and honored in Bhutan their tradition of inheritance proves that all property and belongings like their homes cattle and land go to the eldest daughter not son men are expected to earn their own fortunes seven 100% organic not quite but they're well on their way and could get there soon it's already illegal to import or use any chemical products there whatsoever everything they use is cultivated within the country and is all natural sex they keep food on the roof winners are pretty harsh in Bhutan so they have to take advantage of the warmer seasons to make sure they have enough food to make it through the cold months in the fall it's not uncommon to see roofs covered with red chillies drying for the winter piles of rice stalks and cone like structures in the fields are also everywhere they don't have enough time to thrash the rice straight away so they keep it like that until they can get to it chilli and rice are something that Bhutanese can happily survive on all winter long five only the best pilots are allowed to fly to Bhutan this time it's not a matter of privacy or an attempt to preserve an ancient culture but a matter of skill and safety Harrow Airport the only one in the country is in a fantastically beautiful location with breathtaking views of the Himalayas but it's also one of the most dangerous airports in the world not every pilot can maneuver between mountain tops and land on a 6500 foot long highway right by people's houses add strong winds to the challenge and you'll understand why takeoffs and landings are only allowed during daylight hours and there are only eight pilots in the world that can do this together they transport around 30,000 people a year for wedding rules if you visit Bhutan you may fall in love with the land but try not to fall for a local or else you'll get your heart broken it's prohibited to marry foreigners when to happy Bhutanese people fall in love and get married monks read mantras during the wedding ceremony they believe this tradition helps newlyweds to build a tight mental connection there's also a shameful ritual which is the offering of a locally grown brew to the deities after the offering the remaining brew is served and shared by the bride and groom once the rituals are performed the couple becomes a family then as a rule the man moves into the woman's home and only when he earns enough money can they move into a new house 3 the Ministry of happiness in 2008 the gross national happiness committee was formed in Bhutan to take care of the people's inner peace Bhutan is the only country in the world that has an official Ministry of happiness they believe GNH or gross national happiness is just as important to measure as GDP also known as gross domestic product in 2015 they organized an extensive survey interviewing people about how happy they are even the census questionnaire has a column where you can indicate whether you're satisfied with your life or not the result of the 2015 survey showed that 91 percent of the population consider themselves happy and 43 percent are deeply or extensively happy the quality of life in the country is determined by the balance between their financial and mental values to the road less travelled all the road signs in Bhutan are drawn by hand till fooled of the country's capital is the only one in the world that has no traffic lights at all in fact there are no traffic lights in the entire country traffic police control vehicle movement manually and the officer in his booth on the Main Street is one of the city sights no tourist wants to miss one gingerbread like houses Bhutanese people love to decorate their homes they draw birds animals and different patterns on the walls making them look like real-life gingerbread houses their houses are small three-story structures the ground floor is a place to keep animals the living space is on the second floor and the third floor is used to store hay probably makes for great insulation - despite all the bans and strict rules Bhutanese people are very friendly and happy and the natural beauty of this country is breathtaking so if you plan a visit I'm willing to bet it'll be an unforgettable trip so would you like to visit Bhutan let me know down in the comments if you learn something new today then give this video a like and share it with a friend but hey don't go anywhere just yet we have over two thousand cool videos for you to check out all you have to do is pick the left or right video click on it and enjoy stay on the bright side of life

Channel: BRIGHT SIDE

Views: 7,403,845

Rating: 4.9100246 out of 5

Keywords: Bhutan, the Kingdom of Bhutan, Bhutan travel, South Asia, Bhutan Airlines, culture of Bhutan, bhutan ministry of happiness, health in Bhutan, Thiumphu, smoking in Bhutan, Bhutan laws, free healthcare, bhutan food, Himalayas, Paro Airport, Bhutanese people, Gross National Happiness, traveling, travelling, traveling tips, other countires, different countries

Id: Au3QBbuyc2M

Length: 10min 9sec (609 seconds)

Published: Tue Jun 18 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/nonosam9]

Interesting video, but some of this is not correct.

[u/StonerMeditation]

I've always wanted to visit Bhutan (have been to India and Nepal several times), but the cost is prohibitive for me.

Bhutan might not be perfect, but it's close to it...

[u/trey30333]

This can't be serious LOL

Only 8 pilots in the world can land at Paro.

That is as absurd as most everything else in this idiot's video.

You found this on Youtube so it must be fact.