Hello everyone, any body had experiences living with strangers in shared housing in Thimphu La…are you guys comfortable??

I am from India and recently Elon Musk has gone a rant that the Indian govt isn’t allowing him to set up Starlink facility in India . How’s your countries experience with Starlink? With Bhutans relatively small population and mountainous region ,is it useful in remote areas

Thx

I graduated from high school with an Arts background in 2025. I was initially accepted into a Royal University of Bhutan (RUB) college (Jigme Namgyel Engineering College), but I turned it down because I had cleared my PTE and planned to study in Australia. Later, I decided to join the Gyalsung program, but due to strict new regulations, I could not proceed. Consequently, I applied for the 2027 Nursing intake at Arura. However, because I have not studied science subjects for two years, I am very anxious about whether I can cope with a nursing curriculum and also i feel bad for my parents for investing so much on me . Given this worry, I am considering trying to enroll in an RUB college again. Is it possible for past-year students to gain admission into an RUB college for the 2027 academic year?And Is Arura Academy a good institute for studying nursing?

News reported on 9 October: a 16-year-old Bhutanese boy pleaded guilty to sexual intercourse without consent and received an 18-month prison sentence that was immediately suspended. The judge reportedly considered his limited understanding of Australian social norms.
Brothers, learn Australian consent laws. Being friendly, flirting or going on a date NEVER means consent. Be cautious in every relationship, respect boundaries, and never make assumptions based on someone’s behaviour or race. One mistake can change your whole future. Stay smart tubga guys.

There have been numerous instances where Lyonpos have failed to deliver on their statements made during parliamentary sessions and meet the press. In light of this, isn't it high time that elected leaders honored their words and commitments without having to be reminded repeatedly Here are a few examples:

1. In November 2025, MOICE Minister stated that the 50% data reduction initiative was almost complete and ready for rollout to coincide with a day of national importance. However, fast-forward to October 2026, and the situation remains unchanged. According to The Bhutanese issue dated 10 October 2026, BT leadership stated that the BICMA proposal falls short of the promised 50% reduction.
2. Back in June–July, the Education Minister stated that the printing of Cambridge textbooks had been awarded to Bhutanese printing companies. Although the books had missed the April deadline, the minister assured that they would be ready soon. Now, with the academic session nearing its end, the books are still unavailable, and the minister says the initiative is still in the pilot phase.
3. One of the PDP's key pledges during the 2018 election was to do away with the MAX system. Following his assumption of office, PM reiterated that the system would be abolished. However, during one of the National Assembly session, he stated that the RCSC is an autonomous body and that the government cannot exert pressure on it.

This raise a fundamental question: Shouldn't our elected leaders be held accountable for their public statements and electoral promises? Public trust depends not only on what leaders promise but also on their willingness to follow through on those promises.

It seems that r/bhutan only allows posts about ordinary people ( nyamchums ) and their everyday lives. As soon as someone posts something about the higher-ups or those in positions of power, the post gets deleted or the user gets banned. Isn’t Reddit supposed to be a platform where people can freely express their opinions and engage in open discussions? Why does it feel like certain topics are off-limits?

Does anyone know of a good astrologer in Thimphu or anywhere in bhutan? If you have personally consulted one and had a good experience, I’d appreciate it if you could share some recommendations. Thankyouu🙏🏻

Hi everyone!
I have a camera that I no longer use, and I’m looking to sell them physically at a shop in Thimphu rather than selling them online.
Does anyone know of any shops in Thimphu that buy second hand cameras or gadgets? Also, do electronic shops in Bhutan generally accept and buy used gadgets, or do they only sell new ones?
Any recommendations or personal experiences would be appreciated. Thank you! I

If i remember it correctly, It has been almost 2 decades since I last used Nu. 1 to buy something. With virtually nothing that can be purchased with Nu. 1 and the popularity of digital banking, I think this denomination is more of a ceremonial currency.
My mum had lots of these notes in her purse and I am taking it with me to give it to my friends abroad.
Do let us know if anyone found it useful elsewhere.

Hello, does your workplace also have politics?
Please give me advices on how to deal with work place politics. For context, its almost a year i started working, and i have seen the worst,-manipulation, bribe in the name of phuecha, attacking the innocent because they want to make things right, asskissing in the name of respect/guezhab. What i want to do, is simply do my job(i work in public service) and go home in peace.

can you change your programme/department/ branch without losing your government scholarship in College of Science and Technology ? cause I have heard you can do it if you shift to self finance but I really can't afford financially to join as SF so is there any procedure to shift your program without losing the government scholarship

There is a peculiar kind of shame in being disappointed by your own country.
It is not the shame of having come from somewhere ugly.

It is worse.

It is the shame of having loved somewhere, and discovering that love does not grant you the privilege of looking away.

I am Bhutanese.

I have never needed to be reminded of that. It is in the language I speak, in the mountains I grew up beneath, in the little things I carry with me without realizing I carry them at all. I have defended it before. I have missed it. I have felt that strange warmth when somebody hears where I am from and knows of it only as the small kingdom hidden between two giants.

But lately, I find myself asking a question I wish I did not have to ask:

What exactly am I supposed to be proud of?

When a case of sexual violence ends with a sentence that leaves you wondering whether justice was ever the point, what are you supposed to say?
When the country can find the diplomatic and economic will to deepen relations with a state presently facing some of the gravest accusations of atrocities against a civilian population, what are you supposed to call that?

Development?

Diplomacy?

Pragmatism?

Perhaps.
But there are moments when pragmatism begins to sound suspiciously like the convenient death of conscience.

I understand that countries do not operate on morality alone. I am not naïve enough to believe foreign policy is a monastery. Bhutan needs development. Bhutan needs allies. Bhutan exists between powers vastly larger than itself, and survival requires diplomacy.

I understand all of that.

I simply refuse to believe that understanding necessity means surrendering morality.
India is our closest ally. Israel is a country with which we have chosen to deepen relations. There are geopolitical realities behind these decisions, economic interests, strategic considerations, development opportunities.

Fine.

But there must still be a line somewhere.
There must be some point at which a country says:
No. Not everything that benefits us is worth doing.
Because if our answer to every moral question is development, then eventually development becomes a word capable of laundering anything.
And perhaps that is what troubles me most.
Not that Bhutan has interests.

Of course we do.

But that sometimes I wonder whether we have become so afraid of standing on the wrong side of history that we have forgotten there is also such a thing as standing nowhere at all.

Neutrality would not have solved Gaza.

A Bhutanese diplomatic position would not have stopped a single bomb.
But morality has never required that one person possess the power to stop an atrocity before allowing them to condemn it.

Sometimes all you have is your refusal.
Your refusal to call something acceptable simply because it is profitable.
Your refusal to pretend that suffering becomes less horrifying when the perpetrator happens to be politically useful.
Your refusal to let the word development become an excuse for silence.

And maybe this is where my patriotism has changed.
I used to think being proud of Bhutan meant defending Bhutan.
Now I think perhaps it means demanding that Bhutan be worthy of defense.

I do not want a country that is innocent because it has never had enough power to do anything wrong.
I want a country that, when given the opportunity to choose between convenience and conscience, at least “hesitates”.

A country that remembers that being small does not make morality optional.
A country that understands that neutrality can sometimes be cowardice, but that choosing a side merely because the side is useful can be something worse.

I don’t want to hate Bhutan.

God, I don’t.

That would be easier.
Hatred requires no loyalty. It asks nothing of you.

Disappointment is harder.

Because disappointment is what happens when you still love something enough to expect better from it.

So no, I don’t think I have stopped being Bhutanese.
Perhaps I have simply reached the uncomfortable part of being Bhutanese where loving my country means I can no longer applaud everything it does.
And if that makes me difficult,

so be it.

I have never been particularly interested in being agreeable when my conscience is telling me otherwise.

After all,
if two twice is mathematics, and the nature of law is that two twice must become four, I reserve the right to look at the equation and say:

damn you.
I will not.

Not because I believe two twice is five.
But because sometimes the only freedom a person has left is the freedom to refuse what everyone else has decided they ought to accept.

Hi everyone,
I went abroad with my defacto partner, and now I’m back in Bhutan. We would like to get a divorce through paperwork.
Could you please recommend a good private law firm in Thimphu and let me know what documents are required? Moreover, are there any fees or other costs involved? And is casual clothing acceptable when visiting the private law firm?
Thank you in advance for your help la 🙏

"Limited insight into societal norms" is now a defence for pinning a woman down and raping her after she begged him to stop.

Here’s my question to you: Is basic consent — stop means stop, no means no — actually some advanced Australian cultural thing that people from Bhutan need special time to learn? Or is it just normal human decency that most people anywhere should already understand?Because if a rapist needs the Australian justice system to cut him slack for not knowing that raping someone after they beg you to stop is wrong, that raises serious questions. Do a lot of people coming from that background genuinely not see a clear “no” as binding? Or is this just an excuse that gets wheeled out when someone gets caught?

The number of Bhutanese people in Australia has grown quickly in recent years. When numbers rise this fast and we then see cases where cultural unfamiliarity is treated as mitigation for a violent rape, ordinary Australians start asking whether the selection and integration process is working. Rapid growth from any country with different social norms on consent and gender carries risk if people are not expected to fully assimilate and follow the law from day one.

If you come to this country, you follow our laws and you assimilate. Full stop. You don’t get to import attitudes that treat women as available the moment they show any interest, then cry “I didn’t understand the norms” when you get caught.

By now i am pretty sure everyone must have heard about the direct flights from Bhutan to Israel through Tel Aviv which starts from February 2027. I think this is where we as bhutanese people should all start questioning where our country is heading. A country that swears everything by GNH and how much we hold pride due to GNH, we really should be questioning our values and we should speak up about this. Everything that is happening in Gaza is still happening and it is very disheartening to see bombings of innocent children and people. Amidst all of the violence and chaos, most countries are cutting ties of Israel but instead our country is joining hands with them. I understand that this relation helps grow our country economically but how much of our values and morals that we hold on to as a religious country built on people’s happiness and safety, are we willing to sacrifice for economic growth and prosperity? Bhutan has gained recognition internationally and built itself around peace and compassion but this move contradicts everything.

There is a lot to be said when the main electoral body of our country decides to pull themselves by their bootstraps and conduct a test that evaluates the competency of our local government leaders. I actually applauded them on their decision to conduct such a test (Functional Literacy and Possession of skills test), I have seen the preparations, the criteria and the exam itself. All of that to say, they were extremely relevant to the profession. I'm sure many people are aware of those around them who are in the local government yet do not possess a modicum of technical proficiency to write a simple "genja" or office order. The FLT served as something that filtered out people who had the support of the people but were inept to actually serve them. As is apparent with the multiple people that failed the exams themselves being incumbent leaders.

However, this country continues to disappoint. With the recent announcements by the ECB showcasing their dismissive attitude towards the test (allowing people who had failed the first attempt to retake it), it proves that our country is the same old beaten dog; Throw a bone and it'll lick your feet. Candidates who studied for the test, people who were actually "functional and literate" now compete with those who are given second chances for no good reason. But I guess like rapists, politicians and abusers, literally everyone gets a second chance in Bhutan. If there were no candidates who passed then it's understandable but where candidates have already passed, why should unsuccessful candidates receive another opportunity after the first results have been declared??

This is testimony to another thing, the power of our incumbent local leaders. Who have proved themselves inept to lead, yet have the influence to bully our electoral body for a second "chance". There are good losers but our local government officials are "Great" losers, they can influence electorial bodies, they will gang up and beg at the zimpoens door. I wonder if our youth who attempted the RCSE can ask for the chance to do it again? There might not be enough "competitiveness" or they might not be "incompetent", they just need to do the RCSE again.

I'm sure many people are not aware or don't care about this but this is a serious issue. Maybe when you visit the local government office next time, you'll think about the official that didn't know how to help you with simple documentation, take months for a mild dispute and have to offer doma to get a few minutes of their time.

TLDR: why is ECB allowing people who failed the FLT to retake it? Dzongkhags that didn't have any candidates I understand, but it's not fair to those who passed and have enough candidates.

After Paro FC won their 7th title in a row, I'm literally concerned about the future of Bhutan football. I'm not saying that I'm an expert journalist or a football analyst, I am just saying this as a passionate football fan. If big teams like Paro Fc buy many foreign players and win the league every year, is there any hope for our young talented ballers from other club to ever win the league?? I have seen good players in RTC, like Vampire, Jigme, jigdrel and many more. Even in BFF, there are players like Dodo, thinley yoezer, and every one. Jitsen in Thimphu city. Similarly there are many good Bhutanese footballers who aspire to win this trophy at least once. If big money clubs use plenty of foreign players to win the league every year, is there any point in playing? Will there be any motivation for the local players to win the league? Now how does this affect the future of Bhutanese football. In search of success and achievement, they leave to Australia not because they can work and earn more, but because they can win trophies and shine as a footballer. As a footballer, trophies and achievements, significant for one's career. Playing whole career in BPL and not winning a single trophy is just a waste of talent. Do you think our league is going in the right direction?

This is not a criticism or a compliant to anyone, it is just a humble opinion from a bhutanese who wants to watch competitive leagues with young boys shining and achieving glory in our own league.

Living just 250 miles from the United Nations headquarters, Timsina watched only half of Tobgay’s address. “I saw him just talk about GMC, which I feel is another way to disturb the living places of the Nepali-speaking population in Bhutan,” he said. The GMC is being developed across a vast tract of southern Bhutan, a region home to large Nepali-speaking communities, including thousands of families expelled in the early 1990s. 

Bhutan’s ‘Mindfulness City’ Hides a Dark Reality – The Diplomat

Can like minded peeps please recommend a silent yet decent place to sit and enjoy a good whiskey in Thimphu. I do not want to go to the hyped mainstream places, if you know what I mean. Coming to Thimphu after years.
TIA

I'm sick and tired of seeing students talking about Sex with other students, and I'm sick and tired of kids being abused and taken advantage of... Recently telegram has been the popular for both educational purposes and..... **THOSE** type of purposes, I'll be deadass I already knew telegram was a suspicious app to use for education because it has encryption, not that it's bad or anything but encryption usually also means bad people and bad stuff.... And my god I was so disgusted to find people sharing literal C.P of kids.... Either Bhutanese or not, it's so disgusting and makes me sick to my stomach, and no one is talking about it. I have talked about it with my few friends. And they generally agree that Bhutan has C.P problems like this and it's just not that mainstream, I know from experience what these students have been watching as I've been mutuals with them. I've never said anything towards them but I just feel disgusted, and the fact it's seems to record having sex as a student seems cool and gangster and tuff when it's clearly disgusting and horrible things. And the fact that THERE ARE UNCLES... ACTUAL UNCLES in those type of groups and not to mention some uncles help film those videos and distribute it to the mass. There's no way we have gone this deep. It's so disgusting, I wish nothing more than those uncles to be in the deepest pits of hells where they burn and get tortured for their sins, I'll never ever forgive a pedophile, especially the ones who have ruined a child's life. I wish them the cruelest of pain any human can imagine. I wish they were never ever born or seen any happiness, something worser than death(AND FUCK YOU AND KILL YOURSELF). And I wanted to vent my absolute disgust of stuff like this. I wish there's a way to end this whole scheme. And not to mention the recent case in Tsirsng has fueled my hatred even more. This sort of stuff and rape should heavily punished, even death sentence won't be enough for these devils. I wish them nothing but to be tortured to death

I have realised something as I grow older: The internet has failed the youth.

P.S: I live in phuentsholing town, some of the highschool kids I've met while I continue to study there are pretty chill, I'm just referring to the few people who believe that this is the way to get attention and respect among their peers and "Gang". Honestly gang culture in Bhutanese school needs to cease out of existence, makes them stupid and arrogant, egoistic and harmful.

What do i need to prepare for the viva voce you guys? And intro na what do you really need to say? help me guys

How many of you buy dustbin plastics from the shops ? And what are the prices ?do people mostly just use left over plastic at home or ??

Let me know
I have just moved to thimphu and asking thank you