Trish Nicholson - Journey in Bhutan: Himalayan Trek in the Kingdom of the Thunder Dragon

BiteSize Travel is a series of relatively short e-books covering varying aspects of travel. Some titles are factual guides to a place or tourist attraction. Others are travelogues recounting an authors experiences on a journey or at an event.

All the ebooks are written by experienced writers who have a detailed knowledge and understanding of the subject they are writing about.

All the titles are extensively illustrated with colour photographs. These are just as fascinating when viewed on an ereader with a black & white screen. On many reading devices you can zoom in for greater detail by tapping or clicking on the picture.

The current titles in the BiteSize Travel series are:

• Dachau Concentration Camp A Guide to the Former Concentration Camp and the Memorial Site by Nicolas S Mitchell

• Masks of the Moryons Easter Week in Mogpog by Trish Nicholson

• Journey in Bhutan Himalayan Trek in the Kingdom of the Thunder Dragon by Trish Nicholson

Further titles are currently being prepared and will become available in the coming months.

Trish is a social anthropologist, and has worked or travelled in over 20 countries. She studied for her MA degree in anthropology at Durham University in the UK, and in 1991, while working in Papua New Guinea, she gained an MSc in rural development through the University of London. In 1997 she was awarded a PhD from the University of the Philippines for her research on culture and tourism on Marinduque Island. For this research, Trish lived with a family in the town of Mogpog and spent three years studying and participating in the spectacular Easter rituals called Moryonan.

After graduating at Durham, Trish followed a career in regional government in the UK and in Europe, moving into management development and consultancy before taking her skills overseas. She worked for 5 years in the West Sepik province of Papua New Guinea on a World Bank development project, and for 3 years as the Director of Voluntary Service Overseas in the Philippines. Trish went on to research the effects of tourism on indigenous communities in the Philippines, Vietnam, and Australia with the help of a research grant from the UK Department for International Development.

Trish is a keen photographer and trekker, and has completed extensive treks in Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet. Her travelling experience led to her co-editing and writing new material for the 1999 edition of the Green Travel Guide with Greg Neale. Her previous publications include a book on human resources management, a chapter in Anthropology of Organisations edited by Susan Wright, and numerous newspaper and magazine articles.

Since 2000 Trish has lived in New Zealand and now writes full time. She also writes short stories and has won two major competitions and been short-listed in three others. She is a member of the New Zealand Society of Authors.

Trishs website: www.trishnicholsonswordsinthetreehouse.com

Note: There is considerable variation in the spelling of many Bhutanese words and place-names; the Dzongkha language is derived from Tibetan, but has developed local differences. Phonetic interpretations into Roman alphabet produce further variables.

bharal native blue sheep ( Pseudois nayaur) known locally as nau

Bodhisattva a Buddhist at the point of Nirvana, who voluntarily undergoes rebirth to help others achieve Enlightenment

Bn shamanistic religion once dominant in the Himalayas, still practiced locally

chang beer brewed from barley or millet

chen local name for the snow leopard

chetrum unit of currency, 100 chetrums are equal to 1 ngultrum

choesham small domestic altar

chugo smoked, dried yak cheese

chhu river

choeku ritual in Bhutanese Buddhism involving small offerings, e.g. burning incense

chorten building (often circular) to house religious relics, or as a mausoleum, small ones mark sacred sites, miniature ones decorate altars

datse archery, the national sport

dochen stone paved courtyard in a dzong

doma betel nut comprising nut of areca palm and lime wrapped in a leaf and chewed

Druk Gyalpo Dragon King, title of Bhutanese monarchs

Drukpa a sect of Buddhism that named the culture and people of west and central Bhutan

Druk-yul Land of the Dragon, or Dragon Kingdom, the Dzongkha name for Bhutan

dungpa a sub-district, same word used for the officer in charge of it

dzo male offspring if a cross between yak and domestic cattle (female is a dzomo)

dzong fortified building designed for both religious and temporal government functions

Dzongdha administrator or boss of a district

Dzongkha official language of Bhutan (along with English)

gho knee-length wraparound garment of woven cloth, national dress worn by men

gompa a monastery with purely religious functions. In Tibetan: an isolated place.

gonkhang sacred area in the central tower of a dzong containing religious relics or artefacts

Je Khenpo head of the monk-body, spiritual leader and second in importance to the King

kera long, woven and embroidered belt worn by men and women as part of national dress

khemar broad red band painted under the eaves of religious buildings, dzongs, chortens etc

kira ankle length garment of folded, woven fabric, national dress of women

koma set of brooches with claws to fasten together folds of the kira at the shoulders

Kuzoo zangpo la general greeting, Hello, Good-day etc

Kuensel national newspaper published in main language groups spoken in Bhutan

La mountain pass. Also a term of respect equivalent to sir/madam

lama Buddhist teacher or priest, senior monk

laptse mound of stones anchoring prayer flags on poles, similar to a Scottish cairn

lha gyelo a phrase in praise of mountain deities spoken on high passes

lhakhang a temple which may include a monastery, purely for religious purposes

marcchu butter

mandala religious diagrams usually circular, describing cosmology e.g. Wheel of Life

mani wall stone wall inscribed with religious texts, may also contain prayer-wheels

metok-chharp literally blossom rain, simultaneous rain and sun: an auspicious sign

nau local name for native blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur)

ngultrum unit of currency (equal to 100 chetrum) and roughly equivalent to 1 Indian Rupee

Om Mani Padme Hum mantra, Tantric formula (the jewel in the lotus)

Shabdrung literally before whom one submits, title adopted by Ngawang Namgyel

Sharchopkha language of the Sharchop peoples of eastern Bhutan

shawm long wind instruments, usually of silver and copper, played in temples

sudja butter-tea, a brew of black Chinese tea with salted yak butter stirred into it

ta a fortified tower built as additional defence in association with a dzong

tashi-delek