MaHB Travel Embark on your wildest adventure It’s about time you threw caution to the wind and escaped the daily grind. And where better to do it than in a country that has its own Gross National Happiness Index. My horse was stuck chest-deep in mud. Above: This is the Bhutan you haven’t seen It had been raining all night and into time seems to have stood still in Bhutan. and it’s where we were headed. the morning. We were 3,300M up in Mountain gods, it’s the nickname the Himalayas, with four hours left of level. The path to Laya is made of steep given to the Layap Bhutanese, who daylight; barely enough time to reach piles of rocks, and muddied paths worn travel with ease from as far as Paro our destination. over time by the footfall of the Layap through mountain passes and towering There are no roads to Laya Village, people and donkeys as they traverse to rocky climbs up to the kingdom’s most the highest settlement in the kingdom and fro from the main cities to trade. remote villages, where the nomadic yak of Bhutan, and one of the most remote Besides helicopter, no vehicle can herders and cordycep harvesters live. Words and photographs by Victoria Cheng Victoria by photographs and Words villages beginning at 3,800M above sea access the settlement. Even so, this is also home to the tallest 151 151-153 MAHB Travel Blue Sky ESQSGOct18jd.indd 151 9/13/18 10:09 AM MaHB Travel unclimbed mountains in the world—the predicament was preceded by what we economic contributor in the landlocked Bhutanese respect the mountains and thought was the worst of it; comically kingdom that imposes a USD250 fee dare not disturb nature. They are to chased by a swarm of angry bees daily on tourists. Bordered by Tibet remain unclimbed. Despite warnings, a whose hive had been disturbed. The and India, with an arc of Himalayan group of Japanese tourists attempted horses were generously loaned to us mountains reaching altitudes of over to ascend the snow-capped mountains, by the governor of Gasa, a fine modern 7,000M, Bhutan was formerly quite and met a dark fate after torrential rain politician who is modelling some of isolated and has only recently opened and mud slides; a testament to the the district’s future infrastructure after its doors to tourism. As a gift from the Bhutanese superstitions. Singapore’s. The term ‘horse’ is a bit of a previous king, Internet and television I’m here in the kingdom with Blue stretch; our mighty steeds looked more was introduced to the country only Sky Escapes, a boutique travel agency of a cross between donkey and horse, in 2000. that specialises in customised itineraries and had been through a lot of hardship. Gasa was one of the poorest to allow their travellers to access the We were scouting an alternate route districts prior to 2004, but now inaccessible. “It’s the sole remaining to Laya Village. The most traversed route stands as the wealthiest per capita, Himalayan Buddhist kingdom, which prior to our journey was the infamous thanks to the harvesting of the highly is carbon negative with a population 24-day Snowman Trek—by traversed, I valued Himalayan cordyceps, an herb smaller than the Maldives. What’s there mean less than 100 tourists every year used in Chinese medicine. With that not to like?” explains founder and embark on the trail. The Snowman Trek wealth comes change, along with the CEO of Blue Sky Escapes, Krystal Tan. is one of the most beautiful and difficult introduction of electricity to Laya two Together her partner and co-director, treks in the world, due to altitude, years ago. Customs unique to the Chervin Chow, Martin Yeoh (our distance and duration in the Himalayas. village, such as conical bamboo hat videographer) and I followed them on a However, we were looking for a weaving, yak herding and tent making, recce trip to discover much more than different route that should have taken are disappearing, but with these new we bargained for. four days. We began via vehicle on initiatives such as the new annual Only five aircraft fly internationally winding roads from Paro to Thimphu Highlands Festival, the royal family is from Bhutan, with even fewer pilots who to Punakha and finally Gasa. The road seeking to preserve tradition. are specially permitted to land in what ended there, and we switched to the Wary about the over-reliance on has been the most stunning landing Bhutanese way: by foot. cordeycep harvesting, which is scarce I’ve experienced to date. Weaving We had passed construction works and seasonal, the governor of Gasa is through mountain landscapes and on the earlier parts of the trek, indicating developing other enterprises to develop sharp turns that brought me close to the amount of change happening in the district, such as organic farms. Gasa experiencing an atmospheric barrel roll, Gasa in order to make the mountains is one of the first in Bhutan to encourage it’s simultaneously an impressive and more accessible for new initiatives to pesticide-free farming. terrifying commercial flight. preserve the Bhutanese traditions, such Back in the mud, after pushing and And here is where I found myself as the Laya Run and Highlands Festival. exclamations by one of our guides, my with my horse stuck in mud. Our Tourism is now the second largest horse finally found the motivation to 152 151-153 MAHB Travel Blue Sky ESQSGOct18jd.indd 152 9/13/18 10:09 AM MaHB Travel tents where we were able to stand up fully. Thick rugs were rolled out over the ground in our tents, and warm water bottles were provided in the evenings before we slept, to ensure not a single toe got too cold in the chilly dampness of the mountains. Bespoke travel companies are on the rise, especially with the digital age of information overload. “There’s a trend of people wanting to get away from cities, like New York, Paris, even Cinque Terre; they want to go deeper and get the local experience. The idea of novelty has become a priority for the traveller now,” Tan observes. She points out how Iceland is a prime example of how social media has inspired people to venture out and explore, with tourism in the small country expanding exponentially in the last five years as a direct result. “Holidays are no longer about finding an upscale resort, spending the day by the pool with cocktails; people are now searching for new experiences and want to be cured of boredom. They want to be challenged and come back with a story to tell.” Experience has become the new luxury. As Tan and Chow cover remote destinations that are less travelled, they understand that the level of business orientation on the ground is not as sophisticated as we’re used to in Singapore. “You need to be madly obsessed with the details and always on your toes, especially since you’re designing somebody’s once-in-a- lifetime journey.” Once-in-a-lifetime journeys are what people are seeking, if her company is any testament to that. She was still juggling her full-time career as a corporate mergers and acquisitions lawyer, and while working on the company part-time, Blue Sky Escapes broke even in 20 months. It was then that Tan decided to take the plunge into dedicating all of her time to help The dress of the Layap women consists of yak wool garments with a unique conical pointed hat. her clients reach extraordinary far-flung Facing page: journeying through Bhutan’s unique topography and picture-book landscape. destinations. “It’s about the journey. We want you to come back with a story to tell and a different outlook on life.” help himself climb out of the recently point of undertaking such a journey— Far-flung indeed, for just as dusk formed mud pool. We hadn’t anticipated you’re giving yourself to the wild and fell, our trusty steeds reached a small days of rain, which had led to slippery, interacting with your environment.” village tucked between the mountains, precarious trails. The start of our journey Seeing firsthand the kind of overlooking the clouds. We had had been delayed as we were hoping dedication Tan and Chow put behind crossed mud slides, rushing rivers, for the rain to stop and the mud to dry. curating each experience is impressive. I meadows and forest. We had climbed “Even with regular Blue Sky journeys, was struggling to get one foot in front of treacherous rocky inclines to find this the experiences are unpredictable. the other later in our climb. Yet, without quiet settlement. There will be situations when a car is so much as losing her breath as we As we slipped off our horses and stuck at a river crossing in Mongolia, for ascended higher into the mountains, Tan stretched out our arms, we looked out example. When you’re dealing with such always had an eye out for minute details, over the pillows of clouds and pockets destinations, you could be caught in a and directed our troupe of guides and of blue sky. Where we stood, there was really remote place where it’s starting to helpers on how to make the Blue Sky nothing between mountaintop and the hail or snow, or the ground gets slushy. experience more comfortable for clients. universe. We had escaped to the top of There’s a degree of uncertainty—like While our shoes were caked in mud, the world.