0:00:06 > 0:00:08A Buddha once said
0:00:08 > 0:00:13that all suffering comes from the wish for your own happiness.
0:00:18 > 0:00:22I'm travelling to Bhutan, a mountain kingdom in the Himalayas.
0:00:22 > 0:00:26I want to understand what it must be like to live in a world
0:00:26 > 0:00:30where gods and ghosts rub shoulders with holy men and yak herders.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40But this would turn out to be a very different journey,
0:00:40 > 0:00:44one that would challenge some of my most fundamental values
0:00:44 > 0:00:49as I tried to see this land through the eyes of a Tibetan Buddhist.
0:00:56 > 0:00:58My name's Bruce Parry.
0:00:58 > 0:01:03I've been travelling to some of the world's most remote places
0:01:03 > 0:01:04to see how people there live
0:01:04 > 0:01:09and how they're adjusting to a rapidly changing world.
0:01:09 > 0:01:13I believe there's only one way to really understand another culture
0:01:13 > 0:01:16and that's to experience it first hand,
0:01:16 > 0:01:20to become, for a short while, one of the tribe.
0:01:35 > 0:01:40Heading deeper and deeper into the Himalayas,
0:01:40 > 0:01:44I've still got ten days' trekking ahead of me before I reach my destination -
0:01:44 > 0:01:49living with the Luna people, who are one of the highest communities on the planet.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52They're blocked off half the year by snow.
0:01:52 > 0:01:56The path just to get there is higher than I've ever been in my life.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59Right now it's still closed
0:01:59 > 0:02:02so it's touch and go whether I'm even going to make it.
0:02:04 > 0:02:08Bhutan is a remote mountain kingdom in the Himalayas
0:02:08 > 0:02:11with a population of only 650,000.
0:02:11 > 0:02:15It lies between India and Tibet.
0:02:15 > 0:02:19I'll be heading north to the most inaccessible part of the country,
0:02:19 > 0:02:21to Laya and Lunana,
0:02:21 > 0:02:26two villages separated by a series of dramatic 5,000-metre passes.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36From the low-altitude tropical forest,
0:02:36 > 0:02:42I will have four days of hard trekking before I reach my first destination - Laya,
0:02:42 > 0:02:47at an altitude of nearly 4,000 metres, three times the height of Ben Nevis.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54My guide for the journey will be Chimi Dorji,
0:02:54 > 0:02:58who has spent 20 years trekking through some of the most remote regions of Bhutan.
0:02:58 > 0:03:00- Are you Chimi?- Yes.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03Very nice to meet you, Chimi, at last. How are you?
0:03:03 > 0:03:07- Fine, thank you.- We've had a wonderful journey so far.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11- Have you been waiting here long?- Not long.- Are these your animals?- Yes.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14- 32.- 32?!- Yes.- Wow!
0:03:14 > 0:03:17And have you news of the pass? Is it good?
0:03:17 > 0:03:21Yes, the pass still closed. By the time you get to Laya,
0:03:21 > 0:03:26- probably, I think, we'll be able to get through, yes.- Oh, that's good.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28Fantastic. Well, let's get going.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01I have to take enough food for the trek in
0:04:01 > 0:04:04and to get me and the team across the mountain passes.
0:04:04 > 0:04:10After a long winter, I can't presume the villagers will have enough food to feed us all for month.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24These lush forests look so pristine and beautiful,
0:04:24 > 0:04:28but there's a nasty lurking in their midst.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36At least when I get leeched, I can pull mine off.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39This poor mule doesn't have that luxury.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43He's been leeched everywhere. Here's one here.
0:04:46 > 0:04:47Look at that.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58So, Chimi, when I pull my leeches off,
0:04:58 > 0:05:00I like to cut them in half as revenge,
0:05:00 > 0:05:03but I suppose as a Buddhist that's not allowed.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06- Just pull them out and leave it. - You just leave it?- Yes.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10- You don't feel any negativity towards it?- No.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13Well, you're a better man than I am, Chimi.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15Maybe I'll have to learn that.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26After two more days, we reach Gaza,
0:05:26 > 0:05:29the last significant town on our route.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32The people of northern Bhutan are Tibetan Buddhists
0:05:32 > 0:05:35and this is an important religious centre.
0:05:35 > 0:05:39But we are aiming higher, another two days' hard trekking
0:05:39 > 0:05:42and another thousand metres up the mountains.
0:05:54 > 0:05:58Wow! It's pretty, Chimi.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01So this is Laya.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05- Shall we say hello?- Yes. - This is the school, yeah?
0:06:08 > 0:06:10Hello.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17You've got gloves. Wise. ..Look at you.
0:06:17 > 0:06:18Hello.
0:06:18 > 0:06:19Hello.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22Can I have a look at your hat?
0:06:22 > 0:06:27- You like Laya?- I like it so far. I've just arrived.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30But it's very nice. And everyone is very friendly,
0:06:30 > 0:06:32especially you lot.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38Laya is my first destination.
0:06:38 > 0:06:43At 3,800 metres, I need to acclimatise to the thin air.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45Chimi has sent word that we are coming
0:06:45 > 0:06:51and Kencho, the spiritual leader of the village, invites us to stay with him.
0:06:53 > 0:06:55- Come join us.- Yeah.
0:06:59 > 0:07:04Kencho, it's so very nice of you to let us stay in your place.
0:07:04 > 0:07:05Thank you so very much.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33Well, that says a lot.
0:07:33 > 0:07:38We are going to have to think about our plans.
0:07:38 > 0:07:43It's clear that I won't be getting over the passes to Lunana for a while yet.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46So Laya will be my home for now.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49And Kencho will be my host.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59Laya has a population of 700,
0:07:59 > 0:08:04with houses dotted along a shoulder of land just above the tree line.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07There's little good farm land here so the Layaps depend on yaks
0:08:07 > 0:08:10for cheese, meat, clothing and much else.
0:08:13 > 0:08:18Everyone sleeps in the main room in Kencho's large wooden house.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21This is luxury compared to many of the places I've stayed -
0:08:21 > 0:08:24yak wool blankets and an open fire.
0:08:30 > 0:08:32Can I help?
0:08:32 > 0:08:36I'm sure I'd put the fire out or something!
0:08:39 > 0:08:43Kencho's wife Amom shows me how to make yak butter tea.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46Let's have a go, see if I can do it.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50There's always some on the go in Laya
0:08:50 > 0:08:52and the teapot is something else.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57I can smell it.
0:09:03 > 0:09:05No lumps. It's a good job.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14It's nice serving you for a change, Kencho.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20Oh, just a little bit?
0:09:20 > 0:09:25There's me having drunk tea after tea after tea,
0:09:25 > 0:09:27thinking it's really rude to say no.
0:09:27 > 0:09:31Before I even pour it they put their finger on the spout
0:09:31 > 0:09:35so I just put in a little bit. They probably smelled my tea!
0:09:41 > 0:09:44Kencho was trained as a monk
0:09:44 > 0:09:48and while I'm here he will be my guide to Buddhism.
0:09:52 > 0:09:54Wow! What's this?
0:09:55 > 0:09:57Kencho, what are you drawing here?
0:10:30 > 0:10:34There's six - three positive and three negative.
0:10:34 > 0:10:39So, when I die, you say, all of my karma is added up
0:10:39 > 0:10:43and if it adds up to being positive, I'll go to this side,
0:10:43 > 0:10:46and if it adds up to being negative, I'll go to this side?
0:11:01 > 0:11:05If you're going to learn about Buddhism,
0:11:05 > 0:11:08THIS is the place to do it.
0:11:08 > 0:11:13One of the first teachings that the Buddha gave was about the noble truths.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16The first one of these is about suffering.
0:11:16 > 0:11:21We've all experienced suffering. My legs are on fire just walking up this hill! That's tangible,
0:11:21 > 0:11:25as is the suffering of bereavement or of lost love or whatever.
0:11:25 > 0:11:30But another area that is interesting is this suffering of change, as they call it.
0:11:30 > 0:11:32Imagine you'd just bought a car.
0:11:32 > 0:11:39You're so excited. Before you know you're putting in the petrol, the MoT, the tax and that's a nightmare.
0:11:39 > 0:11:44A few years later, it's rusty and you've got to buy another one, then you enter into this cycle.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48What they would say is anything you become attached to,
0:11:48 > 0:11:52after a while, will inevitably bring you some form of suffering.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55Now, that's quite interesting
0:11:55 > 0:12:00and actually quite at odds with how I live my life at home.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09As I get to know Kencho and his wife,
0:12:09 > 0:12:15I discover that married life in the highlands of Bhutan has developed in an extraordinary way.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18Kencho's wife Amom
0:12:18 > 0:12:24was married to both Kencho and his elder brother at the same time.
0:12:24 > 0:12:29Polyandry is one of the rarest forms of marriage in the world.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36Yes. So...
0:12:36 > 0:12:40- his elder brother...- Yes. - ..is the first husband.- Yes.
0:12:40 > 0:12:45- He is the second one.- And you have different houses?- No, one house.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48- One house.- Yes.- OK.
0:12:48 > 0:12:53- And from his brother, there are six children.- Six children.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55And from him, it's six children.
0:12:55 > 0:13:01- So there is 12 children, two fathers and one mother.- Wow.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05But his elder brother now... he expired.
0:13:19 > 0:13:23I hope this is not too cheeky, but is there any jealousy?
0:14:12 > 0:14:14WHISTLING
0:14:23 > 0:14:25I knew these girls were tough
0:14:25 > 0:14:30but when I was asked if I would go out collecting wood with them...
0:14:30 > 0:14:34I realised just how tough they were!
0:14:49 > 0:14:51Yeah?
0:14:57 > 0:14:58Again?
0:14:59 > 0:15:01Er...OK.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04Why don't I carry it long?
0:15:06 > 0:15:08You want to chop it here?
0:15:08 > 0:15:09OK?
0:15:09 > 0:15:13I've chopped wood... many a time before
0:15:13 > 0:15:15but this is something else, man.
0:15:15 > 0:15:20It's like anything out here that raises your pulse just a little bit
0:15:20 > 0:15:22takes it out of you so much.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27I'm just made to look like an idiot,
0:15:27 > 0:15:31compared to these cool girls who are just beavering away
0:15:31 > 0:15:33without even the slightest puff.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35HE LAUGHS
0:15:38 > 0:15:40So what are we doing?
0:15:42 > 0:15:44This? Here?
0:15:44 > 0:15:46Oh. What are we doing?
0:15:47 > 0:15:51Oh, my God. I think we're gong to collect some flowers. Fantastic!
0:15:56 > 0:15:59Zam, what are these for?
0:15:59 > 0:16:03For the house? For you?
0:16:03 > 0:16:04- Yes.- For you?
0:16:06 > 0:16:10This is the quandary - two very pretty girls, one bunch of flowers.
0:16:12 > 0:16:14It's all in the balance.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18Seriously, could you have a better day in the hills? Check this.
0:16:18 > 0:16:20THE GIRLS SING
0:17:06 > 0:17:12One thing I'm interested in is that a lot of the women in Laya have more than one husband.
0:17:12 > 0:17:16Is this something that you see will continue for many years to come?
0:17:16 > 0:17:19Or is this the old ways, do you think?
0:17:29 > 0:17:31What do you think about having two husbands?
0:17:31 > 0:17:34Is that something you might contemplate?
0:18:07 > 0:18:11The second noble truth that the Buddha talked about
0:18:11 > 0:18:14was the understanding of the true nature of desire.
0:18:14 > 0:18:20Now I know desire in my life - of course, the senses, I overload them every day at home.
0:18:20 > 0:18:24Love, taste, lust and all these things, we feed on them.
0:18:24 > 0:18:28But, to Buddhists, all forms of desire are wrong.
0:18:28 > 0:18:32And what I'm going to try and do in some small way while I'm out here,
0:18:32 > 0:18:34freaky as it sounds,
0:18:34 > 0:18:41is try and live my time without any desire at all.
0:18:50 > 0:18:54Ah, my God! I thought I'd got the trick right.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58'I've been here ten days now.
0:18:58 > 0:19:04'The passes to Lunana are still closed, but every day I spend here in Laya,
0:19:04 > 0:19:09'I'm learning more and more about the Layaps and their beliefs.
0:19:10 > 0:19:15'Like all Tibetan Buddhists, the villagers believe in reincarnation -
0:19:15 > 0:19:21'that your behaviour in your past lives determines what you've become in the present.'
0:19:26 > 0:19:29I'm just about to meet the village astrologer,
0:19:29 > 0:19:33who is not only going to tell me what I was in a previous life,
0:19:33 > 0:19:38but also, depending on the path I take, what I could be in a future life.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41It's quite a big thought for me,
0:19:41 > 0:19:45and I'm not entirely sure that I even want to know. But here goes.
0:19:58 > 0:20:00HE CHANTS
0:20:42 > 0:20:46Leave it open, it's good, it's good.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53Things have just started to change and a wind has picked up.
0:20:54 > 0:20:58Now he's going to talk about your coming life.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00- My future life?- Future life.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17So your next life will be monkey.
0:21:17 > 0:21:21- A monkey?- Monkey. - And is that confirmed?
0:21:21 > 0:21:23How about if I have a good life?
0:21:23 > 0:21:27Do I have an option of going up? I have six realms.
0:21:27 > 0:21:32- No, I think he will probably explain how to improve your...- Oh, I see.
0:21:32 > 0:21:38He says, after monkey, probably then you will come to a rooster or a hen in a house.
0:21:46 > 0:21:50My plan is to go to the valley of Lunana.
0:21:50 > 0:21:54I was wondering if there was any chance you could give us some advice?
0:22:19 > 0:22:25- Some problem or something might arise at the destination.- OK.
0:22:25 > 0:22:31And also that it's a hard route. I knew it would be a hard route and that doesn't deter me.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34But could you tell me, just you and me,
0:22:34 > 0:22:38um, if we were, if...
0:22:38 > 0:22:44is it disrespectful to listen to the advice and then say we will go anyway?
0:22:44 > 0:22:48My whole thing is I must be culturally sensitive
0:22:48 > 0:22:53and I wasn't expecting him to say, don't go because it's bad.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56That would be... that's quite a big thing for me.
0:22:56 > 0:23:00So, um, you know, just what's your advice?
0:23:00 > 0:23:04Do you think that this puts a new angle on even going?
0:23:12 > 0:23:16Chimi and I decide to give it another week.
0:23:16 > 0:23:21At least that way I can get to know more about life here in Laya.
0:23:24 > 0:23:29In recent years, the villagers of Laya and Lunana have struck it rich
0:23:29 > 0:23:34by collecting a weird caterpillar fungus called yatso gimbo.
0:23:34 > 0:23:40It's a highly prized Chinese medicine that can only be found at these extreme altitudes,
0:23:40 > 0:23:44and it's about the strangest gold rush I've ever heard of.
0:23:50 > 0:23:53That small? Really? Just tiny, tiny...
0:23:55 > 0:23:57So it's a sort of browny red.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00All right, let's have a look.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04Is that cool? Good luck?
0:24:06 > 0:24:08OK, well, wish us luck.
0:24:08 > 0:24:10Oh, right, he's off already!
0:24:10 > 0:24:13He obviously knows what he's doing.
0:24:34 > 0:24:40It's quite cold on the old hands as well, all day long, frozen ground.
0:24:46 > 0:24:48Oh, my God!
0:24:48 > 0:24:51That is so not what I was expecting.
0:24:51 > 0:24:53Is this still alive?
0:24:53 > 0:24:55- Er, it's kind of like it's dead already.- OK.
0:24:55 > 0:24:59Oh, my God. Well, I don't want to touch it because I might break it
0:24:59 > 0:25:02but show us how you take it out.
0:25:02 > 0:25:04You don't need to excavate it?
0:25:04 > 0:25:06Oh, you just pull it out!
0:25:06 > 0:25:08My God, look at that fat one.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11So this is the caterpillar that was alive underground,
0:25:11 > 0:25:17but the fungus has infected it, it's growing out of its head - poor thing, imagine what that's like!
0:25:17 > 0:25:21And this is about mid-growth. But it would be up to about here, maybe with a head.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25And at that stage, when it's fully grown,
0:25:25 > 0:25:28the caterpillar is consumed and gone.
0:25:30 > 0:25:31Oh! Ooh, ooh!
0:25:31 > 0:25:34- Is that one?- Oh, yeah!
0:25:34 > 0:25:37Yeah, baby, look at that! I've found one.
0:25:37 > 0:25:39Can you believe it?
0:25:39 > 0:25:42I managed to spot that - that! -
0:25:42 > 0:25:44amongst all of this.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47I am actually quite impressed.
0:25:47 > 0:25:52Check that baby! That's worth a million bucks!
0:25:53 > 0:25:56How much is this one worth?
0:25:58 > 0:26:00- Eight rupees.- Eight rupees?
0:26:00 > 0:26:02About 10p?
0:26:03 > 0:26:05Oh, no, this is not...!
0:26:05 > 0:26:08That is not really a gold rush.
0:26:08 > 0:26:12My Lord, I'm going to have to collect a lot to make my fortune.
0:26:15 > 0:26:20The third noble truth is that once you've understood
0:26:20 > 0:26:26that all suffering actually comes about because of desire,
0:26:26 > 0:26:31then you're beginning to rid yourself of that ignorance which causes desire in the first place.
0:26:31 > 0:26:36Until you understand that, you're always going to be brought back
0:26:36 > 0:26:41in this endless cycle of birth, death and re-birth.
0:26:48 > 0:26:54There's a rumour around camp that we're finally off. Can you believe it?
0:26:54 > 0:26:59We've got a six-day, incredibly hard trek ahead of us over four of the highest passes around.
0:26:59 > 0:27:03Everyone says were never going to make it - I kinda think we are.
0:27:03 > 0:27:08We're setting off pretty much in time with what the astrologer said,
0:27:08 > 0:27:11but the biggest thing is, if we do make it, we still have
0:27:11 > 0:27:14no idea what our reception on the other end will be like.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23We're taking Chimi's ponies some of the way,
0:27:23 > 0:27:27but soon we'll have to rely on the yak herders from Laya.
0:27:27 > 0:27:321,000 metres higher up, and we rendezvous with Kencho's son Pianki,
0:27:32 > 0:27:34an expert herder.
0:27:34 > 0:27:39He's mustering the male yaks at base camp ready for the ascent.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41We'll need all their skill and knowledge of the route
0:27:41 > 0:27:45to have any chance of crossing the 5,000-metre passes.
0:27:48 > 0:27:52The fourth and final noble truth is Buddha's methodology
0:27:52 > 0:27:56for living out your life as correctly as possible.
0:27:56 > 0:28:01What the Buddha said was, all desire is just a mental construct anyway,
0:28:01 > 0:28:04so if we want to overcome that and combat it,
0:28:04 > 0:28:08we have to go into our mind and fundamentally restructure
0:28:08 > 0:28:11the organisation of it - through meditation.
0:28:11 > 0:28:16If we can do that, we'll not only overcome that desire,
0:28:16 > 0:28:21but all the pain and suffering that comes with it.
0:28:27 > 0:28:30By next morning, the yaks are loaded and ready
0:28:30 > 0:28:32and we begin the real climb.
0:28:34 > 0:28:39These yaks, I just love them! Look at them, they're so amazing!
0:28:39 > 0:28:42There's more innate Himalayan knowledge in one of those
0:28:42 > 0:28:45than any amount of humans who have climbed Everest.
0:28:45 > 0:28:49These guys can just smell the danger. I love 'em!
0:28:54 > 0:28:565,000 metres, Chimi?
0:28:56 > 0:28:58It's almost 5,000.
0:28:58 > 0:29:00Almost 5,000?
0:29:00 > 0:29:02- So this is our first big pass?- Yes.
0:29:04 > 0:29:08- Cool. Do we have one of these for every pass, Chimi?- Yes.
0:29:08 > 0:29:13This is called Lapsa, asking for the protection from the new valley,
0:29:13 > 0:29:16- that the local deities from the new valley...- Sure.
0:29:16 > 0:29:21- ..and giving our thanks to our previous deities from the other valley here.- OK.
0:29:21 > 0:29:23Cool,
0:29:23 > 0:29:25wonderful.
0:29:28 > 0:29:34Getting people and goods over this terrain is how the Layaps have traded for more than 500 years.
0:29:34 > 0:29:39But at 5,000 metres, even yaks can run into trouble.
0:29:44 > 0:29:46Hi!
0:29:46 > 0:29:49What's the problem, my friend?
0:29:49 > 0:29:50How are you?
0:29:50 > 0:29:52Tell me, what's the latest?
0:29:52 > 0:29:55It's too high, up here, really.
0:29:55 > 0:29:58So what's the solution, do you think?
0:30:53 > 0:30:58CHIMI: Yaks can sense danger sometimes, so sometimes they dig the horns through the snow
0:30:58 > 0:31:03and they don't move, no matter you whip them, they sometimes they just lie down here, what you see there.
0:31:03 > 0:31:05They know, don't they?
0:31:05 > 0:31:10- We can walk and see...- Yeah, let's go and have a look.
0:31:10 > 0:31:16There's no other way around it either side? Yeah, you can see here.
0:31:23 > 0:31:27Thing is, the yak just goes in much further than us, doesn't it?
0:31:27 > 0:31:31Could we not shovel it, or make a path? How far is this? It's not that deep,
0:31:31 > 0:31:37it doesn't seem that bad. I don't want to push anyone because it's not my place,
0:31:37 > 0:31:39but I was wondering if there's any option?
0:31:39 > 0:31:46If there was any option it would be good. But I don't, you know, we can't push anyone.
0:31:46 > 0:31:51But if we can come up with an idea, or maybe our people shovel a path.
0:31:52 > 0:31:55It's something. It would help them,
0:31:55 > 0:32:00but it's up to you, my friend. I don't want to put any pressure in any direction,
0:32:00 > 0:32:02I just want to offer advice or help.
0:32:12 > 0:32:18Not to be defeated by deep snow, the guys have spent the last few days digging out a path
0:32:18 > 0:32:22and, er, today is our fifth day of trying to get over this pass.
0:32:22 > 0:32:26And, er, I'm hoping - well, we're all hoping -
0:32:26 > 0:32:28that finally we're going to be successful.
0:32:31 > 0:32:34WHISTLING
0:32:43 > 0:32:45This really is the moment of truth.
0:32:45 > 0:32:49It's taken the guys two days to build this path up this really steep bit.
0:32:52 > 0:32:57Yeah, come on, baby, come on, come on, come on, come on, you can do it, you can do it,
0:32:57 > 0:33:02you can do it. There's this one at the top here, it's just stuck,
0:33:02 > 0:33:06it's up to its waist, but they won't let me help it. If the yaks see or smell me
0:33:06 > 0:33:08they just run off in the opposite direction.
0:33:08 > 0:33:11Unfortunately there's nothing I can do, it's really annoying.
0:33:11 > 0:33:14Yes! Well done guys, well done, yeah.
0:33:20 > 0:33:22That's such good news, this is such good news.
0:33:22 > 0:33:27If these yaks make it over this bit, there's only two or three other elements in the next few days
0:33:27 > 0:33:29before we get to Lunana, that are like this,
0:33:29 > 0:33:35and if we can succeed here, it's a really good sign for the rest of our journey.
0:33:51 > 0:33:56But it looks now, finally, like they're going to make it over this pass. That's fantastic news.
0:34:02 > 0:34:08The guys are even wearing sunglasses made from yak's hair. I love these animals!
0:34:18 > 0:34:24I'm above the clouds now and there's only one major pass between me and Lunana,
0:34:24 > 0:34:29the 5,100-metre Gangala Chu.
0:34:29 > 0:34:31WIND HOWLS
0:34:31 > 0:34:34It's in the sun's shadow for most of the day,
0:34:34 > 0:34:37making it the most treacherous of all the passes.
0:34:39 > 0:34:44And we're so close to Lunana, and so rather than go back,
0:34:44 > 0:34:48- we will try and make a yak motorway. - HE LAUGHS
0:35:00 > 0:35:03HE PANTS
0:35:03 > 0:35:04It's this ice here -
0:35:04 > 0:35:09it's a real difficulty, it's cos
0:35:09 > 0:35:11it's just beneath the surface
0:35:11 > 0:35:14and the yaks will just get no purchase.
0:35:17 > 0:35:20It's going to be like this all day I think.
0:35:52 > 0:35:54The path we've cut today, genuinely, honestly,
0:35:54 > 0:35:58what is your view of the yaks getting over that path?
0:36:44 > 0:36:47Cool, well then that for me, then the final decision,
0:36:47 > 0:36:52no more umms and aahs, the final decision is we'll will go with the yaks tomorrow,
0:36:52 > 0:36:54we'll try with a few up front to see if they work.
0:36:54 > 0:36:58If there's any problems, if they turn around, it doesn't work,
0:36:58 > 0:37:02- we come back and we go home. And that is it, we won't try again.- OK.
0:37:03 > 0:37:07HE EXPLAINS
0:37:27 > 0:37:29BELLS RING
0:37:42 > 0:37:46Come on guys, come on you can do it.
0:37:51 > 0:37:55This is the moment of truth.
0:37:55 > 0:37:57Come on.
0:37:59 > 0:38:01It's not too bad, it's not too bad.
0:38:08 > 0:38:10My heart is in my mouth really,
0:38:10 > 0:38:13But so far, so good. Brilliant.
0:38:22 > 0:38:25Right, they're moving it, that's fantastic. C'mon.
0:38:31 > 0:38:34Oh, no. No!
0:38:37 > 0:38:38Damn.
0:38:42 > 0:38:45Damn, damn, damn, damn.
0:38:47 > 0:38:51What happened? Too much? Too steep?
0:38:55 > 0:38:57- One just slipped.- Yes.
0:38:57 > 0:39:01And the second one started to push off the last one...
0:39:04 > 0:39:06HE SIGHS
0:39:17 > 0:39:19A whole month I've been wanting to go to Lunana,
0:39:19 > 0:39:22and I feel like it's a failure, frankly.
0:39:22 > 0:39:25Um, I feel disappointed and frustrated.
0:39:25 > 0:39:28I'm not used to that. All my life, whatever I set myself I go for it
0:39:28 > 0:39:31and I nearly always succeed, especially physical challenges.
0:39:31 > 0:39:33And this just feels awful.
0:39:35 > 0:39:38But, in a funny kind of way,
0:39:38 > 0:39:39what have I been talking about?
0:39:39 > 0:39:42What's this journey been about the whole way?
0:39:42 > 0:39:43What would the Buddha say?
0:39:43 > 0:39:46Well, he would be laughing at me, wouldn't he?
0:39:46 > 0:39:50Because I'm feeling suffering, I'm feeling pain and anguish
0:39:50 > 0:39:56and that has come about because of my blind desire to get to Lunana.
0:39:56 > 0:40:02Well, Bruce, if you can't work that one out, then what good are you, frankly?!
0:40:02 > 0:40:05Because that is it, the penny has finally dropped.
0:40:05 > 0:40:08It's... I can talk about it forever,
0:40:08 > 0:40:11but now, here and now, I've finally realised
0:40:11 > 0:40:16what it is that I've been saying. It's desire that's caused my pain.
0:40:16 > 0:40:20And desire, man, it's a tricky thing.
0:40:23 > 0:40:25Come on, Chimi, let's go home, man.
0:41:14 > 0:41:17We need to get back to Laya
0:41:17 > 0:41:19but, for now, we have to wait at base camp
0:41:19 > 0:41:24until Chimi's horses are brought back up to collect us and our gear.
0:41:24 > 0:41:28We may be here for a few days so Pianki suggests I stay
0:41:28 > 0:41:30with his 78-year-old uncle -
0:41:30 > 0:41:34he lives here during the summer months looking after the yaks.
0:41:34 > 0:41:37- What's your uncle's name?- Pencho. - Pencho?
0:41:37 > 0:41:39Pencho. OK.
0:41:43 > 0:41:45Incredible structure.
0:41:45 > 0:41:50If it's very big storm, if it's really raining, does this still keep you dry?
0:41:50 > 0:41:51IN TRANSLATION:
0:42:28 > 0:42:31I'm just about to do my daily chore of collecting the yaks.
0:42:31 > 0:42:35Only today I'm doing it with Pencho who's 78 -
0:42:35 > 0:42:37that's over twice my age -
0:42:37 > 0:42:41and I'm worried sick whether I'll be able to keep up with him.
0:42:43 > 0:42:45Are we OK, Pencho? Shall we go? Up here?
0:42:48 > 0:42:50I'll follow you, my friend.
0:42:50 > 0:42:52BRUCE SIGHS
0:43:12 > 0:43:14He's just nails!
0:43:14 > 0:43:20Can you imagine at 78 climbing these steep hills? It would just absolutely knacker me.
0:43:20 > 0:43:24BRUCE'S LABOURED BREATHS
0:43:24 > 0:43:27I think Pencho's just spotted blue sheep.
0:43:27 > 0:43:29Look.
0:43:30 > 0:43:32Wonderful.
0:43:34 > 0:43:35(That's amazing!
0:43:36 > 0:43:39(I've so wanted to see blue sheep on this trip
0:43:39 > 0:43:42(and this is my first sighting of them.)
0:43:45 > 0:43:49Blue sheep are incredibly rare and only live here in the Himalayas.
0:43:49 > 0:43:51Maybe my luck's changing.
0:44:03 > 0:44:06PENCHO WHOOPS
0:44:07 > 0:44:11Pencho and I spend the whole afternoon
0:44:11 > 0:44:13bringing down the smaller female yaks.
0:44:13 > 0:44:15PENCHO CALLS YAKS
0:44:15 > 0:44:17PENCHO'S CALLS ECHO
0:44:20 > 0:44:24Later, there was work with the mighty male yaks.
0:44:25 > 0:44:28- SPEAKS IN LOCAL DIALECT - Hey, I've got him.
0:44:28 > 0:44:34One thing I wasn't expecting to be doing on my journey to Bhutan was wrestling yaks.
0:44:34 > 0:44:36IN TRANSLATION:
0:44:41 > 0:44:44This looks barbaric but what we're doing is giving it salt.
0:44:44 > 0:44:47And the only way to give a big animal like this salt
0:44:47 > 0:44:52is to get it on its back and, er, it's not as easy as it looks.
0:44:52 > 0:44:56Or, in fact, it's about as hard as it looks. Let's put it that way.
0:45:02 > 0:45:04IN TRANSLATION:
0:45:45 > 0:45:47At ease?
0:45:47 > 0:45:48Yeah?
0:45:51 > 0:45:55Obviously all animals need salt but I think that they force-feed these ones salt
0:45:55 > 0:45:59as a kind of fattening process to encourage them to eat.
0:45:59 > 0:46:02Pianki, can I have a go at the...?
0:46:02 > 0:46:03Yeah?
0:46:03 > 0:46:05MEN CHUCKLE
0:46:08 > 0:46:10IN TRANSLATION:
0:46:23 > 0:46:25OK, so...
0:46:30 > 0:46:32IN TRANSLATION:
0:46:36 > 0:46:37YAK LOWS
0:46:44 > 0:46:46MEN CHUCKLE
0:46:59 > 0:47:01It's strong.
0:47:14 > 0:47:15That wasn't so hard.
0:47:17 > 0:47:19Thanks, Pianki.
0:47:19 > 0:47:21I know he really didn't want me to do that.
0:47:21 > 0:47:26He was quite worried that I might get gored
0:47:26 > 0:47:28but it wasn't so hard.
0:47:29 > 0:47:33I just hope the poor old hairy wee beast isn't feeling too bad
0:47:33 > 0:47:36after his, er, compulsory dose.
0:47:46 > 0:47:50Back at the tent, Pencho offers to make me a brew of yatso gimbo -
0:47:50 > 0:47:53the caterpillar fungus we'd collected out on the hill.
0:47:55 > 0:47:58Tell me, w-will I feel anything?
0:47:58 > 0:48:02Will I suddenly be overcome with a sensation of health,
0:48:02 > 0:48:04or will I feel any different tomorrow?
0:48:04 > 0:48:06W-w-what should I expect?
0:48:06 > 0:48:08IN TRANSLATION:
0:48:48 > 0:48:51So I think we're melting butter.
0:48:51 > 0:48:55We're going to add the yatso gimbo to the butter, I believe. And then,
0:48:55 > 0:49:00I think, we're then going to stick them in some whisky.
0:49:01 > 0:49:03Yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:49:03 > 0:49:05Wow, you want the whisky already.
0:49:07 > 0:49:09There. It's a screw top.
0:49:10 > 0:49:16I'll let you pour it in because I don't want to be accused of kicking the arse out of this.
0:49:21 > 0:49:23Ah, hubble-bubble.
0:49:27 > 0:49:29OK, this is, um...
0:49:29 > 0:49:31You want a bit more? I thought you might.
0:49:31 > 0:49:33There you go.
0:49:37 > 0:49:38BRUCE CHUCKLES
0:49:38 > 0:49:41That wasn't just a little bit more, that was half a bottle.
0:49:41 > 0:49:45How many of us are having this? I don't suppose your two nephews are having any.
0:49:45 > 0:49:46My Lord!
0:49:46 > 0:49:49Looks like it's going to be a good night after all.
0:49:49 > 0:49:53Now I know why everyone thinks these things are waterproof -
0:49:53 > 0:49:56because you're so pissed you don't know what's going on!
0:49:56 > 0:49:59HE CHUCKLES
0:49:59 > 0:50:01That's a mug of whisky!
0:50:01 > 0:50:02Oh, my god!
0:50:02 > 0:50:04We are gonna sleep well!
0:50:04 > 0:50:06- That's quite... - HE CHUCKLES
0:50:09 > 0:50:12Oooh! Some might call this...
0:50:12 > 0:50:16butter-fungus-caterpillar-whisky,
0:50:16 > 0:50:18but I call it yatso gimbo.
0:50:18 > 0:50:19Now...
0:50:19 > 0:50:23You've got a tiny bit!
0:50:23 > 0:50:25What are you trying to do?!
0:50:51 > 0:50:54Ten days after we left,
0:50:54 > 0:50:56we are back in the village.
0:50:56 > 0:51:00Maybe one day I will make a film in Lunana,
0:51:00 > 0:51:02but for now I am rather pleased to be back in Laya.
0:51:02 > 0:51:06It feels a bit like coming home.
0:51:06 > 0:51:08The annual festival is about to happen
0:51:08 > 0:51:13and Kencho is keen for me to get involved.
0:51:29 > 0:51:31I feel like an Elizabethan queen.
0:51:31 > 0:51:33Ooh!
0:51:33 > 0:51:37HE LAUGHS
0:51:37 > 0:51:41Is there a reason why they make the cuffs so long and have it wide?
0:52:00 > 0:52:03OK.
0:52:09 > 0:52:10Fantastic.
0:52:10 > 0:52:13Kencho, that's so... That is so lovely.
0:52:13 > 0:52:15Show me how you do that - that's such a good move.
0:52:15 > 0:52:19KENCHO SINGS
0:52:42 > 0:52:46Kencho, one quick question. Have you ever won this competition?
0:52:47 > 0:52:49You have?
0:52:49 > 0:52:51And how many times have you won it?
0:53:02 > 0:53:04- Four times, not by himself, but...- His team?
0:53:04 > 0:53:06His team. Wow! Well...
0:53:10 > 0:53:11That's a nice shot.
0:53:11 > 0:53:12Kencho...
0:53:12 > 0:53:17KENCHO SINGS
0:53:52 > 0:53:54Everyone runs for cover.
0:54:01 > 0:54:04It's a bit of a wobbler but it wasn't too far off.
0:54:04 > 0:54:06My second shot.
0:54:06 > 0:54:09HE LAUGHS
0:54:09 > 0:54:10You are brilliant.
0:54:10 > 0:54:12Let's make a move.
0:54:32 > 0:54:34Wow!
0:54:34 > 0:54:38This here is the beginnings - it's still early morning -
0:54:38 > 0:54:40of the annual village festival.
0:54:40 > 0:54:43A half spiritual affair, half fete.
0:54:43 > 0:54:50And, of course, at the helm as ever, is my wonderful host Kencho.
0:54:50 > 0:54:54HORNS SOUND, BELLS RING OUT
0:54:54 > 0:54:57COLLECTIVE WHOOPING SOUNDS
0:55:01 > 0:55:04The festival is an intense three days,
0:55:04 > 0:55:08starting with offerings to cleanse the village of evil spirits.
0:55:12 > 0:55:16MAN SINGS
0:55:22 > 0:55:27Before I came on this journey, most of my readings had been about the original Buddha himself
0:55:27 > 0:55:30and his spirituality, his lifelong journey,
0:55:30 > 0:55:33his reaching of enlightenment and his philosophy as such.
0:55:33 > 0:55:36And although, of course, that is very prevalent here
0:55:36 > 0:55:40the interesting thing is that the day-to-day activities that I see all the time -
0:55:40 > 0:55:43and even festivals like this annual ceremony -
0:55:43 > 0:55:48aren't about that at all. They're all about I would consider almost like an animist belief.
0:55:48 > 0:55:51HORN SOUNDS
0:55:51 > 0:55:57It's all about the appeasement of spirits and gods that come from the sky and the ground
0:55:57 > 0:56:03and effigies and devils and demons, and it's all that sort of stuff.
0:56:03 > 0:56:09And I just had no idea about that, it's so much more complicated than I'd ever given it credit for.
0:56:15 > 0:56:18MEN: Ohh ooh ooh!
0:56:18 > 0:56:22THEY ALL JOIN IN
0:56:23 > 0:56:25Ho!
0:56:25 > 0:56:28Ahhh, my friend!
0:56:42 > 0:56:44I never got near my targets on this journey
0:56:44 > 0:56:50but by coming back to Laya, I feel I have got much closer to Kencho
0:56:50 > 0:56:54and I think that I have understood something else.
0:56:54 > 0:56:58Life doesn't have to be all about achieving your goals come what may.
0:56:58 > 0:57:04If the pass hadn't been blocked I would have missed out on so much here in Laya.
0:57:04 > 0:57:12But as it is, I have come to realise just what a remarkable community this really is.
0:57:25 > 0:57:28You've all looked after me so well, I've got to know you.
0:57:29 > 0:57:32Amom, Amom, what can I say?
0:57:32 > 0:57:36Thank you for everything, you are so lovely, thank you so much.
0:57:36 > 0:57:38And Kencho, give me a hug.
0:57:50 > 0:57:55OK. Well, Kencho, let me tell you that...
0:57:56 > 0:57:57..I have learnt so much from you.
0:58:09 > 0:58:12You don't come any further, Kencho. It's very muddy here.
0:58:12 > 0:58:14Thank you so much.
0:58:14 > 0:58:18You really have changed me as a person. You've made me think so much about my life
0:58:18 > 0:58:20and for that, I'm really very grateful.
0:58:20 > 0:58:22Thank you all.
0:58:22 > 0:58:23No, no, you stay. Stay!
0:58:23 > 0:58:26Stay, stay, stay.
0:58:26 > 0:58:29OK. It's muddy, Kencho.
0:59:01 > 0:59:04Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:59:04 > 0:59:07E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk