To Thimphu or not to Thimphu

I don't like Thimphu city very much. I enjoy going to Thimphu once in a while and meeting up with my family or catching up with my friends but I don't like the pretentious air, the over crowded with bigger than your pocket vehicles and most of all I don't like how the capital city has moved to become very dirty and dusty. Capital city of Bhutan is heavily populated with civil servants but everyone seems have this artificial income that I fear will soon burst like the bubble. Adam Smith said the economy of the market should be let to the forces of the free hand of the market. The free hand that seems to in equilibrium of demand and supply is the imported goods. No complains here. I have learn to savor the flavor of sea-weed. I love it. And do you know the one made in olive oil is bit expensive? Or the the noodles from Korea where I pay another atrocious price of Nu.80 per packet where as waiwai or maggie cost you like Nu.10 or 12 per packet. Sigh!! I love eating out too. I love spaghetti or tom yum soup. I love cakes...ohhhh yes...those delicious yummy creamy cakes. And I like buying products with strange language where I can't understand what its is or can't see the expiry date. For all I care, it might be saying you will die as soon as you open the packet or this product was manufactured during the dinosaur time. These are the few things I like in capital. Otherwise, I like Samtse despite its heat and people working at the snail pace or getting angry at some Indian people I think is ripping off me. In terms of shopping Thimphu is over priced place. I wait for my office to send me to one of the trainings that comes by...like in maybe five years or so. Hehehe. Face it. Trainings are always grabbed by the Thimphulites. Whereas the people serving outside Thimphu, Paro and Phuentsholing are often ignored or simply forgotten. And I find that capital city of Bhutan is become very ugly and unplanned city. Look at Changjiji and Babesa area. It could have been a very planned area than the Thimphu town.But when you face through the national highway (??), the roads are not properly planned, some of the buildings are too close and the construction taking place looks too haphazard. If properly planed Changjiji could have been properly planned area and maybe could have looked beautiful that befit the name as capital.

Anyways, Thimphu city- the place where I grew up and have family living there and somehow I just simply can’t muster the feeling of appreciation is a place I have to eventually move to. I often used to want to get away from the mountains. Sometimes, I thought I will never get away from the mountains. The beautiful mountains used to feel like prison and I wanted to see plains. You know..just look out and try to see to make out the horizon. Sometimes, when I go to Gomtu, I will go to the lhakhang and just gaze out. Its on a small hill and when you look out, you will see plain land sprawling in front of you. And you take a deep breath and think yes this is space- no boundaries. Just you, sky, land and the feeling of the presence of now. Now the disadvantage of staying in place like the least developed Samtse is education for your child. Everyone is now saying I should send my lil' darling to Thimphu for his education. Thimphu has the best daycare school, Thimphu has the best educated teachers, Thimphu has this and that...yea yea I get it. As a parent I am responsible to give the best that I can provide. But, as a family we have only short time to stay together. When he is 18 or 16 or 13 he will no longer need me. He will become independent and would want the space. And I feel till he is independent we should stay as family and share the joys of him growing up in front of my eyes. So the case now is - I should get a transfer. The problem of transfer? No one wants to move their ass from Thimphu. They just want to stay in Thimphu. And once I move to Thimphu, I need the government to pay half of the house rent because how on earth am I going to afford all those imported stuffs, eh?