It turned out that Bhutan is a country of good people, great culture and beautiful nature. I think what is underlying all these is the sense of respect.
Bhutan is a Buddhist country. They learn the teaching of Buddha since childhood and it becomes an integral part of their life and their way of thinking. I did not see it as a blind dependence on a religion, but I think they naturally respect the deities, nature and people.Once in Bhutan, one can easily see that people LOVE and admire the current 5th King and his father the 4th King. Their photographs are everywhere including temples. I see why. When the 5th King visited Japan in November 2011, he visited the areas affected by the earthquake and tsunami of the previous March, including areas near the destroyed nuclear power plants. People who watched the news and who actually met the King all felt his compassion and sincerity. You cannot just act it. The Bhutanese people must be proud of having such a leader.
I was also impressed to learn that a good part of the country's income comes from the sales of hydro power electricity to India. Clean energy. How advanced is that.
Almost all the people in Bhutan speak English besides their own dialects. They do internet and Facebook and have iPhones, and stay clad in their traditional costumes.
I once asked my Bhutanese guide,
"Are people happy?"
He thought for a second and replied,
"Yes. I think in general people are happy."
Can we even say that when asked about our own country?
At night I looked up to the starry sky through the clean air. It is a small country with a population of 700,000 but has many things we don't have. I hope to go back one day and find more keys to happiness of the Earth.