在20世纪的大部分时间，喜马拉雅山下的不丹王国几乎完全为世界遗忘。诚然，对一个到1999年才允许使用电视和网络的国家而言，20世纪已经与不丹擦肩而过。这是一片布满深谷与宗堡（当地一种相当于要塞的建筑）、落在摇摇欲坠的山巅上的土地，是世界上最隔绝、最不发达的国家之一。今天它依然与世隔绝，然而这不再是一种偶然——不丹的传统文化受到严格保护，游客受到细致的管理。这是世界上唯一禁止出售烟草、连首都也找不到交通灯的国家；在这里体验一个被时间遗忘的地方，这种机会不是一次寻常假期，而是一种特殊礼遇。

Once upon a time in a country far, far away lived a most unusual king who proclaimed that in his tiny Himalayan kingdom, "Gross national happiness is more important than gross national product." Although most of us give lip service to the cliché, "Money can't buy you happiness," in our hearts we believe a big pile of cash can make a sizable down payment and put smiles on our faces. To us, if a country's economic development isn't measured in dollars, it doesn't make sense. So the story of Bhutan sounds like a fairy tale.

Even Bhutan's nicknames—Land of the Thunder Dragon, the Kingdom in the Clouds, the last Shangri-la—evoke a fantasyland. I've come here for a reality check, to immerse myself in Bhutanese culture, to see if fairy tales do come true and people can live happily ever after.

It's not Sunday, but I'm in church, or rather, a Buddhist temple inside our hotel in the city of Paro. The monk is conducting a ceremony, offering us blessings for a safe journey and giving us packages of prayer flags to take along. Their significance becomes clear a couple of days later when I arrive at Dochula Pass just above 10,000 feet on a fog-shrouded, narrow, no-shoulder highway. Religion isn't just "A Sunday Kind of Love注" for the Bhutanese. Buddhism is part of daily life, the foundation of the culture.

Isolation from the outside world used to shelter Bhutan's unique culture, but that's changing. A 94-year-old local tells me, "When I was younger, I kept hearing stories about big powerful machines called trains that could carry people quickly over long distances. I wanted to see one for myself, so I walked six days to the Indian border. There I hitched a ride on a truck, which was the first motorized vehicle I'd ever seen, and rode ten hours to see my first train."

Bhutan still doesn't have its own trains, but in 1962 it got its first road and in 1983 its first (and only) international airport. Now I'm one of only about 25,000 tourists who find their way here each year. Far greater outside influence arrives via satellites and computers thanks to King Jigme Singye Wangchuck—the fourth Dragon King of Bhutan—having lifted the ban on television and the Internet in 1999. Will this new technology "bring good things to life," as the TV commercial goes? I can only report that for the half hour I spent watching people watch TV, the crowd was mesmerized by the latest episode of Bhutanese Idol.

Traveling the country, I visit the village of Kingathang, where a local farmer invites me to try some fresh- brewed arra, the local spirit. He gives me a tour of his home and introduces me to the 12 family members, covering four generations, who live together under one roof. It is a scene I will see repeated again and again—old caring for young, young helping old, and all regarding it as the natural order. While visiting people in their homes, I also visit monasteries and temples to try to understand the philosophy that shapes the culture and inspires the national policy of Gross National Happiness.

I save the best temple for last, the Tiger's Nest Monastery, nestled 10,200 feet high on the side of a cliff. According to legend, Guru Rinpoche, who is credited with bringing Buddhism to Bhutan, was carried here on the back of a flying tigress. The monastery followed in 1692, built to mark one of the most holy sites in Bhutan. Fortunately, given today's shortage of flying tigresses, I can follow a foot trail to the top. I planned to ask a monk some grand question about the meaning of life. Instead, once I arrived I had more pressing concerns and simply requested a new set of knees so I could make it back down the mountain. I'm not sure I gained any insights into the secret of Gross National Happiness up here, despite the great view.

Who knows whether the people in the faraway Kingdom of Bhutan will live happily ever after, but for now it's official government policy to foster that goal. And according to people who measure such things, the Bhutanese are in fact the happiest people in Asia and among the happiest in the world. My advice: See this country before it changes. There aren't many places like it. Some of the contentment here may be contagious. A bit of it even rubbed off on a cynic like me—at least for the time I was in Bhutan.

不丹趣闻

不丹王国，简称不丹，是位于中国和印度之间喜马拉雅山脉东段南坡的一个内陆国，首都为廷布。该国的国名在当地语言叫“竺域”，意为雷、龙之地。梵语中，“不丹”解作“吐蕃的终结”。不丹人口67万，不丹族约占总人口的50%，其余为尼泊尔族等。西部不丹语言“宗卡”和英语为官方用语，南部操尼泊尔语。不丹的教育、医疗等社会服务都是免费的。为了保留传统文化，民众上班、上学必须穿着传统服装，建筑必须遵从传统的风格。射箭是不丹的国术。

不丹于英国莱斯特大学的“世界快乐地图”（World Map of Happiness）获得全球排名第八。2004年12月17日，不丹政府宣布全国禁烟令，这是世界上第一个全面禁烟令。不丹也是世界上最后一个开放电视与互联网的国家。注：《星期天的爱》（A Sunday Kind of Love）是一首1946年的经典流行曲，后被多次翻唱。