Smithsonian Folklife Festival (Bhutan), June 2008

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The Kingdom of Bhutan is a landlocked nation in South Asia. It is located amid the eastern end of the Himalaya Mountains and is bordered to the south, east and west by India and to the north by China. Bhutan is separated from Nepal by the Indian state of Sikkim. The Bhutanese call their country འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul (land of the thunder dragon).

Bhutan is one of the most isolated and least developed nations in the world. Foreign influences and tourism are regulated by the government to preserve the nation's traditional culture, identity and the environment. In 2006, however, Business Week rated Bhutan the happiest country in Asia and the eighth happiest country in the world. After centuries of direct monarchic rule, Bhutan held its first democratic elections in March 2008. (Wikipedia)

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items are from 28 Jun 2008.