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  Bangkok          Bhutan        Mountains of Bhutan

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When you fly into Bhutan, it takes your breath away.

The Royal Bhutan Airways plane, winging and winding its way along the silver valley floor, flirts with the verdant mountain edges, dipping and turning in a dance as old as the Buddha himself. If happiness is being high, then we have achieved it at 7,500 feet.

Our University of Chicago Alumni group (along with alumni from other universities) flew in from Thailand on a clear and bright morning in October, 2008 after a stop in Kolkata, India. The swift ascent from sea-level, and the crystal clear air of Bhutan seemingly oozing from the green mountains around, made us feel light headed and refreshed. We were in the land of happiness.

For several days, I found myself stilled while gazing in awe at the peaks around me. At night I woke myself gasping for extra deep breaths. Other members of our group described the momentary oxygen deficit they felt at the slightest effort. We were learning to breathe again. In ways we never expected,  we were breathless in Bhutan.