Bhutan - Tashi, cookies and tea

Seems about time now that you should meet my friend, Tashi. Tashi is a highly respected naturalist in Bhutan who has authored the book A Field Guide to the Mammals of Bhutan. He is also a passionate advocate for GNH. How lucky I am then that he will be the writer of the text in the book about GNH ! ( The book is mentioned early on in these posts about Bhutan.)
I was fortunate too to have had Tashi with me, guiding me in every sense, for the majority of the time that I was in Bhutan.

Followiing the visit to the middle school, we were giving the girls from the neighboring farm houses a ride home from school. (These are the girls pictured in a lower blog about a visit to the farmhouse next to the hotel.) As we approached the hotel, a very upscale hotel I must add, Tashi suggested we invite the girls in for tea and cookies.
These girls had walked right past this hotel from the day of it's first stake. They had seen it rise on a spot long favored for overlooking the valley and had surely seen a stucture, while respectiful of local architecture, quite unlike any building that they had ever seen.
One of them had a brother who worked in housekeeping and both surely must have known others who worked at the hotel in some capacity.
I am fairly certain, though, that they never imagined going inside and surely never imagined being served tea there. Although the girls were practically speechless with anxiety, they did join us. I like to think that they were happy. At the very least the experience gave the girls something cool to talk about.

I have friends going to Bhutan in a few days who will deliver, along with lots of other images for the schools and other villagers, the above picture at the Gantay Amankora.