The Lama’s Prophecy (Bhutan)
In a land far far away in
the mountains overlooking a small village, there’s an ancient monastery. Inside the monastery lived a mystical llama. This llama possessed great healing powers
that have been passed down many generations and a wisdom only attainable by those who
can read the past and predict the future. The people of the village trusted the llama
to keep them healthy, happy, and safe. My mission was to seek out this llama. I would travel across the world to the kingdom
of Bhutan. From there, I would travel two days and nights to reach that small village. In
addition to seeking the llama’s wisdom, I also hoped to obtain a sacred pot filled with blessed
grains and ancient herbs. This pot, it was said, had the ability to solve all the problems of
the one to whom it had been bestowed upon. If this is sounding like a fairy tale,
that’s also what it felt like. Bhutan might just be the closest thing you can get
to a fairy tale land in the modern world. In many ways, this tiny kingdom
tucked in the Himalayan mountains functions the same way it has since ancient times. A place where many people
dress the way they always have. The buildings look the way they always have. And the people deeply love their
king the way that they always have. But for as traditional as they might be, they’re
also known for being radically progressive, taking unique and sometimes unusual measures
to make sure both their people and natural habitat are able to thrive and prosper. The end
result is a high functioning traditional society. For example, most countries measure
their success with GDP. Basically, the value of all money and goods their
economy produces. But Bhutan does it differently. Instead of gross domestic product,
they look at gross national happiness. A system that measures things such as culture,
environment, community, and well-being. It’s not about how rich the country is.
It’s about how fulfilled the people are. Bhutan is also one of the only carbon
negative countries in the world. The people are not allowed to hike on their
tallest peaks to preserve them. And there is no fishing, trapping, or hunting of
any kind allowed in the entire country. It’s a good place to be a fish, dude. Bhutan is
just different. This is the only traffic light in the capital city, Thimu. You’ll notice it’s not a
light at all. It’s just a guy waving. Traditional, yes. Bizarre, yes. high functioning appears
to be. It can be really hard to compare it to other places. Just look at where it is in the
world. It’s surrounded by some of the most densely populated places on the planet. But not Bhutan.
There’s barely anybody there with well less than a million people in the entire country. And
although it is a small country, so you’d expect there to be fewer people, the population density,
which measures the average amount of people per square kilometer, is far lower than that of its
neighbors. We had a 2-day journey ahead of us to get to the monastery where the llama lived in
Boom Tang. We would have to drive east across the country to get there. Escorting us on our
adventure would be guide Tandeen and trusty driver Jigme. These two work together all the
time and they have a hilarious rapport together. And the country is 98% mountains.
So, as you might imagine, there’s a lot of winding roads, high
passes. Sounds intimidating, right? But no, in classic Bhutan fashion, this was
somehow going to be a comfortable journey. Super orderly place. Like the roads are perfectly
maintained. I could have fallen asleep in the car easily. And I’m used to on these trips being
bouncing around. Not here. Perfect roads. It felt like the car that we were in was an
electric vehicle because of how smooth it was. Not to mention that along the roads there’s
all these really nice signs. They’re like, “Don’t drive too fast. in a hurry,
don’t worry. Something like that. Also, our driver drives slow. He uses both hands
on the wheel and he drives really slow and it’s amazing. To all the drivers out there, drive
slower, please. It’s so much more pleasant. This is the only place I’ve ever been where
there’s just a cow in the middle of a perfectly paved road. I’ve never seen that. If a cow
is just like walking around in the road, like a cow that is unsupervised,
a cow that’s just he’s managed to get into the road in the middle of the road.
Perfectly paved road. cow. Never seen that. Between the incredible landscape and the beautiful
Buddhist heritage scattered along the way, unsurprising since about 80% of the
population are practicing Buddhists, there was never a dull moment in
this drive across the country. My boy and I have an haircut here. The western part of the country where we
were starting is where most tourists tend to hang out. There’s a lot of cool
highlights like this giant Buddha. And also probably the most famous site
in Bhutan is the Tiger’s Nest Monastery, which is a Buddhist monastery that was built into the side of a cliff standing at about
3,100 m, which is over 10,000 ft. The hike to get to the top is pretty
perilous, but this guy here, 90 years old, so if he can do it, I think you can probably
do it, too. It was also made a little bit easier by people randomly singing beautiful
melodies along the way. It was very peaceful. Shout out to Jigme, our boy. Yeah, he’s down
there just looking good, combing his hair. They don’t let you film or take pictures inside
the monastery at all, which is the case in most monasteries in the country to preserve and
respect their sacred spaces and to protect them from thieves. They make you put all of
your stuff in a locker before you go inside. I actually watched one of the security guards catch
a woman trying to smuggle in her second phone. So, it truly is a pure experience. The boys
were worried that this long journey was going to be hard on us, but I don’t think
they realized how hard we were chilling. I think Jig May might be one of
the most effortlessly hilarious people I’ve ever met. Feeling good. Rich man. Bye-bye, darling. I was starting to get antsy about
meeting the llama. Would he even be willing to bless me with one of his magical pots? What sort of crazy things was
I about to learn about myself? We are continuing our Buddhist journey.
We’re going to again remote monastery in the countryside. We’re going to stay in a
farmhouse. We’ve been told that we’re the only people staying at the farmhouse. We’ll see
if that changes. Hopefully, it doesn’t because we’re sharing bathrooms and stuff. Looking forward
to continuing my journey to enlightenment. She’s You’ll notice the way this hotel looks
right behind me. And it doesn’t just look like that because it’s a hotel. There’s
a rule here where you are not allowed to depart from a certain architectural
style. So if you build a new building or whatever like it has to look basically
the way that that looks in some capacity. So this tree is so that’s the body tree.
So in India 3,500 years ago Buddha went under this tree for meditation and he got
enlightenment. So one of the saplings from India brought out here and they planted
out here in the summer. I mean I feel enlightened just looking at it. It’s an
amazing tree. Best guide in all of Bhutan. This is the Punaka Zong, one of the
biggest fortresses in Bhutan. There are a bunch of these around the country.
This one in particular was built in the 17th century and is still very active today.
They use it for both religious and government administrative purposes. It’s just another
example of Bhutan’s commitment to doing things the oldfashioned way as long as they
can tolerate it or as long as it makes sense. There are so many charming
examples of times where the Bhanese were late to adopting contemporary
technology. For example, in the 1940s, due to their isolation and lack of access
to modern techniques of communication, most people in the country had no idea World War
II was even happening. Meaning it started and ended while the entire Bhutanese population
was blissfully unaware. They were the last country in the world to adopt TV and internet
in 1999. Their first election happened in 2008, and most people didn’t even understand why they
couldn’t just keep the king. It was famously basically like pulling teeth to even get people
to vote because most of them were just like, “Can’t we just keep the king in power?” Does
the king ever come here? Yes, he does. There’s pictures of the king everywhere. He looks great
in all of them, by the way. They had like a ton of good family photo shoots. He’s flexing.
Good-look guy. The king sort of gracefully stepped down to modernize the country because
thought it would be good for a country which is a very enlightened king thing to do. You only
get an enlightened king every once in a while, dude. But people absolutely love it. Like it seems
like if the king were like, “All right, I’m going to be king again.” Everybody would be completely
fine with that. This is one of the stories that was told to me earlier today. Apparently during
co there’s a bunch of stray dogs in Bhutan. And since everybody was forced to stay inside
for a while, the king was worried about the stray dogs. So he sent the army out to feed the
stray dogs. Have you heard of a cuter thing in your life? That is like the sweetest thing I’ve
ever heard of. Plus this king, okay, he’s a stud. I There’s photos of him all over the place.
The guy looks great. He’s the firstborn male, so he’s the actual king. There’s a bunch of guys
in the family. They weren’t like, “All right, let’s pick the guy who’s the best looking and
make him the king.” Like, this guy just popped out the king. Occasionally that happens. You
get lucky and you get the guy who just looks like the guy. And this guy looks like the guy.
You could be an action star easily. Easily. And I’ve just been enjoying seeing him all the time.
You know when you just see a dude and you’re like, man, that’s like a great dude right there. This
is how I feel when I see this king. He’s on the money. There’s dozens of different family
portraits and he just looks amazing. Dude, this guy, the king rips. He is the man. I’d like
to meet him someday. I would I asked Tande where do you think he he goes on vacation? He’s like
he doesn’t really go on vacation. He has like too much king stuff to do. He has to like go
appear at things. He needs to go to funerals. I do think he went to Mongolia recently and he
seemed like he had a nice time. Like I want to get the king to the south of France. Dude, we had
to get the king on the yacht doing king stuffing the summer. There’s certainly no shortage
of bizarre, quirky, and sometimes kind of funny traditions around Bhutan. As we
made the journey across the country, I started noticing a very peculiar trend in
Bhutan. On the walls of the Bhutinist building, we can see the penis paintings. That’s
to what of the evil forces entering into the house of the home. Why the penis though? I
just don’t. And this is this penis is like it’s erupting. Right. Yeah. So this just keeps
the bad evil forces. So the evil eye, right? Right. Right. All the negative energies
to water off them. So people paint the penis on the wall. Is there But the penis specifically
in the 15th century there was a divine matt monk from Tibet. He came to Bhutan. He encountered
with many harmful spirits. So there he used his penis as a weapon to subjugate them to tame
them. Nice. Nice. So later on that culture came into our nice society. I would have loved to
be there for that guy’s like crusade like is that guy used is that guy using his his penis to
beat these that guy’s that guy’s awesome legend. During the next long leg of the drive, we
would finally enter Boomontang, where we would eventually pay a visit to the mystical llama
himself. I was definitely nervous. I kind of never wanted the drive to end. Maybe it’s because
this event that I had worked so hard to arrange was finally about to happen. I just really
wanted it to go well. As we crept eastward, we saw fewer and fewer tourists, and local
life appeared to become even more traditional. The Llama’s Village was like something out of
a fairy tale. Lush, green, gorgeous scenery. It felt more magical than something that could have come from a movie. It
was almost like a cartoon, like this monastery watching over the
town, protecting it from evil spirits. Adding to the allure, this monastery has no
digital footprint whatsoever. It’s not on Google Maps and doesn’t come up on any search engine.
And the idea that you had to travel to the top of the hill to reach the all- knowing powerful
force who could solve all of your problems. The llama already had a healing session tonight, so M would have to wait until tomorrow. But he
invited us to watch him heal a sick villager. How are you? How are you? Good
morning. The llama had arrived. Where should we start? He was going to treat a local lady who had not been feeling well. It was a
very cool thing to witness. Digging a Hello. Oh my. Oh man. I had never seen someone be so excited to
get water dumped on their head. This lady was so stoked about whatever just happened.
You know, I’m used to conventional medicine, so theoretically, I’ve been trained to think
that this kind of stuff doesn’t really work. But this lady certainly thinks it did. And
why not? I’m pretty open-minded. Let’s not forget that the reason that I’m here
to begin with is hoping that I can get my hands on one of these sacred relics,
with the llama’s permission, of course. And I’m very hopeful that it will actually
have a positive impact on my life. So, not very long from now, I was hoping to
be in a similar position to this lady. She seems so sweet and so grateful and looked like
she was feeling much better. I mean, I didn’t see her in the condition that she was in when they
originally brought her up here, unconscious and not knowing where she was. But this is a
cured lady. So, let’s see if we can cure me. Llama’s wife and his daughters were all at the house.
They were so welcoming. Thank you. Thank you for the hospitality. Thank you. Thank you. Thank
you. Thank you. Thank you. Bull, man. Yeah. Looking good. Looking good. See you tomorrow.
Good night. See you. Bye. Bye. See you soon. The farmhouse we were staying at was down
the hill in the village. Sam, the caretaker, greeted us at the gate. She was wonderful. The
light rain and foggy setting at night was such a cool way to arrive at the farmhouse, adding
to the charm and allure that I already expected out of this tiny village in the countryside. I
just couldn’t wait to experience waking up out here. This here is us. One here, one there. Oh,
amazing. Thank you. This is great. Beautiful. We are deep in the province of Bumontang. We’re
staying at a farmhouse, which I’ll be honest, I was anticipating. I don’t want to say
I was dreading because that would not be very Buddhist to me in my current current
state. You know, all discomfort is temporary, so it’s all good, right? But I was definitely
anticipating it. To our pleasant surprise, it is a welloiled machine, an intentional rustic
experience. Now, there are still things about it that would potentially be obstacles
for a typical Western traveler. Like the shower is unconventional. It’s also outside. The
bathrooms are like outside, but not an outhouse. And they’re nice bathrooms. They are catering
to us in a way that would put most places to shame. Can I offer you some black tea or do
I do anything? I would love black tea. Yeah, like I was brought tea in bed today. When was
the last time you got tea in bed? Unless it was from your your wife or from your mom. Seriously.
Also, I’ve been sleeping with a little hat on, dude. My head is very cold at night. And now I
wear a little hat just like a cartoon character. I’m like a cartoon bear. Cartoon bears only
wear pajamas. They wear clothes to bed, but not throughout the rest of the day in the story
of the cartoon. I have a little hat and a candle. And with that, we began our short
journey up the hill to see the llama. What an incredible treat to get to
experience the beauty of this natural landscape. My entire day promised to mimic an
olden time. This tiny village surrounded by unaltered nature paired with the llama’s
ancient techniques that had been passed down for centuries. If I was lucky, maybe
get my hands on one of those sacred pots. It was finally time for my session with the llama. No more. All right. Oh, thank you. Thank
you. It’s a nice setup you got here. It’s very nice. Yeah. Solid. Very
beautiful. It’s amazing. Honestly, also so good. What is that? Yeah. Today weather
also so good. Oh yeah, it’s amazing. Perfect. Yeah. Keeps you awake. I brought for him from the town. It was finally time for me to
ask the llama for some guidance. He started by breaking the ice with
a classic joke. Guessing my age wrong on purpose. You need to know your age. Okay. Well, first of all, can you guess my age?
Late 40s, 49, something like that. The actual guest was much closer. 1988 1986 1986 years ago. The guy made some pretty good
calls about me. I got to be honest. There were very specific things like specific
years that was crazy. It’s true. Like I was doing very well. You think that I’m on
the right path? Do you think I should focus more specifically on, you know, one? I
knew you’re probably going to say one thing, but one or two things? What about
two? Could I focus on two things? Okay. Well, is it is it wrong that I want to be more successful? Is that to
go against Buddhist teachings? by spending too much time
trying to be ambitious and work, then I’m leaving I’m leaving
my family behind basically. This is good. This guy’s good. You’re good,
dude. And what a character that guy is. And my favorite thing is he would say some like
really profound thing and then he would just go like amazing knew the times of the day that I was
stressed out. He just knew a lot. They look what they do the volage and
the excess maybe some of the stuff he couldn’t got lucky. How does he know I
have a neck injury? You you suffer from nick neck pain something like that. How
does he know that? How do you know that? Great. He’s like, “You like drinking?”
I’m like, “How do you know, dude?” You think your direction of your bed also, but
you can’t sleep. You’re reading right in my soul. It’s crazy, bro. You’re right. I drink sometimes.
I mean, look, I like it. I mean, I like drinking. I like drinking. And I’m like, can I drink a
little? You know, just a couple couple drinks. What do I do? How do I fix this? How do I What
are some simple ways? You’re right. Like there are nights where, you know, I go to bed,
I’m a little sad, I’m stressed about work, which makes like every other problem worse,
right? So, is there something that you think I can do to just get on a positive path so
then all of those bad things will go away? Got it. 36 37year-old me from five me ago was
apparently a dog. Dude, good for him. You know, somebody’s got that. Maybe I was the monk who was
out there using his penis as a sword. It sounds like, but also it’s like, are you serious?
Pass me. Can you like get it together? Like, why am I now paying for that? You might also
be wondering, how is it that the llama has a wife? I guess there’s like different schools
of Buddhism. And like the old school form of Buddhism is like super laid-back. That particular
monastery is not government administered. So like he’s practicing the same form of Buddhism that
his father did and his father before that. That’s true. That’s true. In that particular
case, I guess it it goes by family lineage as opposed to in other scenarios, you know, the
it’s believed that the llama is reincarnated. Like the Dollaly Lama is a reincarnation
of the previous Daly Lama. So, you know, there’s slight variations just like with any
religion, but this particular guy is holding it down for the fam. So I need to get rid of
the negative energy in my life. But how do I do that? The old me was making mistakes
obviously 36 37 you know robe came off and I started you know acting a fool. How
do I prevent the old me from punishing the current me cuz I feel very I feel very close
to living like the exact life I want to live. As long as I keep it in my house,
all good. Do I believe that? 100%. Thank you. I appreciate it. All right. Great. Thank you very much for having us. This uh
this is fun. This is crazy. Catalina. Uh, New York. New York. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. New
York City. New York City. Yes, sir. Next time I come in your house, hit me up. Yeah,
please. We’d love to have you come over, man. We also then got hammered together. Oh, he was
going to love it. I am black. You is white. Cheers again, my brother. Love it. He was like
a cartoon character, man. That guy is the man. Cheers. Cheers. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Cheers. Cheers. Then finally shine. I am black or
in this no chemical the local good all natural as he said uh the good [ __ ] he didn’t say that
first time first time I love it see again next time was you coming coming your family you have
a one boys and one girl and your wife total four men coming I like it I like it in boom Yeah, we’ll
be back. Yeah. I told my wife already. I was like, “You’re going to love your wife this age.”
Yeah. Younger. Younger. Yeah. Yeah. You’ve been to America before. You got to come to New
York, bro. Cool. Come stay with me. Yeah. Got extra bedroom for you. Come over. Come over.
Yeah. Well, we’d love to have you. I am come in New York in your house again. Chase. Okay.
Yeah. And he said when he comes to New York, I better get him I got to get him some drinks.
So, I was like, “Bro, I got you. Don’t worry.” But he also said a couple drinks good, too
much. Two drinks good. Three drinks like truly unpredictable amount. Four and above, forget
about it. Life ruining for an extended time. Now he’s drunk. Two hands on the wheel. I’m just old man went drunk. I was not expecting such a
comprehensive explanation of my entire life. I have a disc and injury in my neck. He doesn’t even
know that I was wearing the Buddhist clothes. He doesn’t even know that I was literally in the robe
doing it. He doesn’t know that. That’s insane. So, for him to know that I was doing
that and just to be very confident, he he’d say it and then he’d go and he look out
the window. Holy man behavior all the way. Very cool. And live in Phoenix. Yeah. Yeah. You see in
in in New York your job? Yeah. What’s it? Well, I make making videos first of all, but also I
I’m a performer. I do comedy, standup comedy. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We’ll show them. Yeah. I
don’t have service. Stand up comedy. Yeah. Yeah. Send Give him Send him my special. Yeah.
Not long. Yeah. We’ll send you. All right. left. Oh, he wanted to There’s something a
little different about the all, hey, you’re a comedian. Tell me a joke when it’s coming from a
generational holy man. I can I can just for him, but like for him. I don’t I don’t even know
which one should I hit him with, dude. Cuz I want I want him to like it. All right. Well,
tell him. All right. I’m trying to get in shape, right? I’m trying to get in shape, but it’s hard,
you know? I mean, all this negative energy. But I said that now that I’m almost 40 years old, I no
longer am trying to get in shape with my shirt off. I just want to look good with my shirt on
so that when I go to the party in the summer, I don’t have to show up and be this guy. Hey, how’s
it going? What’s going on? That’s the joke. So, I want to show up to that summer party wearing
a thin t-shirt and not have to be this guy. Hey, what’s going on? You like that? Because otherwise
this gets stuck and you look bad. You got to keep Well, tell him I only whenever when people
ask me that, usually I don’t do it. Uh, but since you know he’s the holy man, I I do
it for him. Otherwise, he he will destroy you. So, they are going to have a meeting out here,
gathering out here. The monks were about to have a meeting to discuss local affairs. Me,
too. Looking good. Looking good, boys. Yeah, baby. I was thinking about popping some of
that bal nut leaf, but Tandine explained to me. He’s like, “Dude, you immediately get
addicted to it and it’s not that great.” Plus, it messes up your teeth. It’s not worth it. I was
like, “Okay, noted.” He was testing me. He’s like, “You want more of the drink?” I’m
like, “No, too much is too much, dude. I learned my lesson.” Otherwise, I might
have had more. These two are too funny, too, dude. Once I get that pot of magic grain,
it’s going to change my life, dude. I believe they’ve been feeding us here a lot. Like the food
is coming out big family style situation and like big portions rice and pasta and a bunch of other
stuff. So eating like kings. Speaking of the king, great pictures of him all over the
farmhouse as expected. By the way, not a rule. people just love the guy, which I
think is an important distinction because a lot of the time when you’re in a place where the king
is on every wall or the president’s on every wall, you’re like, “What’s going on here?” Not
the case here. Everybody’s just like, “This is our this is like Michael Jordan for
us or whatever.” Like the guy is everywhere. There he is. Okay. Yes. Looking good.
Looking good. Welcome. Welcome back. Welcome back. Welcome back, boys. Dinner
with the boys was hilarious every time. And of course more. No, you said less. It’s good. Yeah. Lama is
strong. This is good. The llama is strong. Strong. I’m driving. No things. Okay. We’re not
worried. We’re not worried. You meaning it’s not once doesn’t want us to come too early cuz
he’s going to have big night drinking. Yeah. Next morning, we headed back up the hill to
finally get our hands on the holy vessel. Foreign speech. Foreign speech. Foreign speech. I not been doing that. Now you are the next build
yet. But unbeknownst to me, taking the sacred pot back to America
might not be that straightforward. Yeah. Again. The llama wanted to make sure he showed me all the
beautiful shrines on the property before we left. Very beautiful. Thank you. This is the oldest one
from when the monastery was first established, which is like 300 years ago. So, very
cool. It’s still here. His great great great great great grandfather
or whatever. Six generations. These banks they have Tibet. Tibet over there. Pretty cool. You ever go one?
You got a go view? I have no like this. Wow. This is fishing. Nice.
Nice, mama. Thank you. This is There really were ravens everywhere
in this town. Fairy tale bird fitting right in with this fairy tale
land. Thank you. See you later. Thanks. Bye-bye. Thanks. Bye-bye.
Yeah, the beak wipe. Pretty sick. Ah. physical therapy. We got Jigman needs to get in on this. Yeah. Let’s go. Yeah. Look out. Look out, llama. Oh, dude. Too good. Always working out. Getting
it in. Although his is like proper exercise, but it’s just rehabilitative. Pincher is no joke,
dude. Lama said. Yeah, I’ll try. I’ll try to do this guy. It’s going to be too hard for me though,
probably. Yeah. Wow. This is actually perfect for this kind of [ __ ] This is the farmhouse. It
is glorious. It is really, really great. Bunch of good spots to hang. Coming into it, our like
fixer dispatcher person, she was like, “Look, like it’s pretty rustic. Are you sure? This
is significantly nicer than I expected based on what I was told. I feel like a king. Feel like
a rural king. Similar to our boy up on the hill, the llama, who I bet is deep in some right now as
well. To the llama. Drinking. Getting ready for my hot stone bath that I’m about to take. We’ve
been drinking a lot of this since we’ve been here. Very popular. It’s sort of like a rice wine
situation. This one’s pretty mild compared to what the llama’s drinking up there. Guys, guys drinking
some serious stuff. This one’s a little more approachable. Uh, that one is great, too. I mean,
I love I love a strong drink, but like the nice pink the rosé variation of the lady who is taking
care of us here keeps like apologizing saying, “Oh, like I know this is like isn’t what you’re
used to.” I just want to say we had the best say and I it was amazing. I’m concerned that you were
worried that we didn’t like it. We loved it. This is the best day we’ve ever had. you know, like I’m
just I I’m just worried about the rooms and the food that I have served. You know, it’s perfect.
It’s literally perfect. But I understand. I’m sure it must be like stressful, but yeah, we loved it.
Everything’s really rustic, but like really clean, really makes sense. It’s so pure. And I’ve
never actually seen the two worlds married so well. And now I’m about to rip a hot stone
bath where they figured everything out. In fact, they put the hot stones in from the back so that
I can maintain my privacy. How nice is that? I can’t think of a better way to celebrate a
successful mission than a little relaxation. We did technically still need the letter from
the llama to bring the pot back to America, but I wasn’t going to get stressed about
that right now. It is hot in here. There’s a hot stone bath. They literally heated these
stones over four hours and they bring them into the back and then it heats up the bottom
and just a bunch of sticks and bark and herbs according to this thing here. Very
solid healing properties. We love to say love an ancient cleansing ritual. It’s
supposed to relax, you know. So, but we got the PET in before just in case he pushed
a little too far. It’s being rehabilitating. Oh my god. It’s like you get
adjusted to the heat and then you move back one second. You enter
this new area of heat and it’s like crazy. The people who work here are some of
the nicest people I’ve ever encountered. If they see us idle, they’re worried. Like we were
sitting out just enjoying the view. They’re like, “Are you bored?” I’m like, “No.” Like not
at all. Like I’m I’m so sorry that you were worried about that. I’m actually having the
best time I’ve ever had. just staring off into the distance. Not been any younger.
The Buddhist way. Shout out to the llama. How’d you sleep? You sleep good. What?
You sleep good? Yeah. I went with you. Oh, yeah. Like a rock. It’s great. The bath
put me out, dude. God, dude. [ __ ] mama. Unbelievable. Unbelievable. For our last stop in Boom Tang, we were heading to the school in the village to watch
the llama conduct an annual ceremony. He gave us a quick call to assure us that he would provide the necessary documentation to
bring the sacred pot back to America. Good morning. Good morning. Good
morning. Good morning. Good morning. Oh, we just had breakfast. Thank you
so much. So, you can just Okay, I’ll taste it. We’ll taste it. Yeah. Yeah.
Thank you. Thank you. Nice. Where are you from, sir? From New York. New York. Yeah. Yeah.
Him, too. Yeah. Yeah. Nice to be here. So, you’re doing some kind of ritual thing
this morning that our boy, the llama, is administering. He’s also got to come give
us a letter so he can bring back his magical pot to America without them thinking it’s some
kind of contraband. But this is pretty cool. Cool way to end the the stay in Boom Tang
in in the area. It’s been a big success. Really special. There he is. Morning.
How are you? Nice to see you. Thank you. The final documentation had
been secured. Hopefully, we wouldn’t have any problems. After hanging
so casually with the llama for so many days, it was interesting to see him in his element
as an important religious figure. Also, I would argue that the llama has a pretty
good llama voice, even without a microphone. But when you add the microphone to the
mix, the took it to the next level. Ceremonies like this aren’t part of everyday
school life. The event is attended throughout the day by the students and the people of
the village. As well, the llama conducts these rituals periodically to mark the start
of a new term, an auspicious date, or simply to renew good energy within the community. In
Bhutanese life, it’s understood that even good spaces can become heavy over time with stress,
conflict, or just the weight of daily living. The puja, as it’s called, helps to clear that,
to refresh the atmosphere and remind everyone of their shared intentions. It’s not just
about faith, it’s about balance. And for me, I was happy to reap the benefits of this renewal,
too, because I think the llama was right. Maybe the weight of some of my surroundings had
been bogging me down. I wanted to simplify things as a baseline, have enough respect for
myself to do the things that I need to do, even when it’s really hard. I couldn’t simply bank
on the pot to do all the work. At the same time, it’s so easy to dwell on your shortcomings and
all the things that aren’t going right in your life. And I really wanted to take a second to be
grateful for this adventure and for the amazing adventures that have been on all over the world.
And to the people of this village and the people of Bhutan for the wisdom and hospitality, but
also for reminding me that it’s okay to be different. And furthermore, that it’s okay to be
stubborn. Sometimes you just got to let her rip. And with that, we bid the
llama farewell. Hopefully, we’ll see him again sometime. Every great
religious leader has to have like a special voice. I don’t know if you just heard
the llama in action there, his sort of like rasp was like 3x with the microphone
cuz even in his place, now listen to this. You are Lord of all. This was an amazing experience. I mean, it was
not super straightforward to arrange the hang with the llama and to get to pick his brain and
it was quite a journey. Kind of think about some of the Buddhist principles that I’ve learned and
then ultimately the end just getting a copout. He’s like, “Well, instead of improving yourself,
you can also just get this wonderful magic pot, which I look forward to displaying in
my apartment.” I’m like, “Great. Doesn’t mean I won’t keep trying, but nice to have a
little accompaniment as well.” Not to mention, if you are looking for a great place to
visit that is super authentic and preserved, but also extremely easy for a traveler, this
is the place for you. The accommodations are all great. They know how to take care of
visitors. We’ve made some great friends. We’ve had a great time hanging out with all
of them. Jigme and Tandine. You’re my guy. Great duo of those two. And so now I’m at
the farmhouse. That was so special. I mean, we got treated like kings. It was so
amazing. Thank you very much. Thank you. Appreciate it. And just seeing all the
incredible things that Bhutan has to offer. Shout out to the llama llama kinga legend.
If you’re looking for a good next trip, Bhutan could be it. Now that our
hero had retrieved the ancient relic, the most sacred of all pots filled with the grains
and herbs of long ago, how would he put it to use?
I traveled to the Kingdom of Bhutan in search of a Mystical Lama and the ancient relic he had in his possession. They say this relic could solve all the problems of the one to whom it had been bestowed upon. The Lama’s monastery has no digital footprint whatsoever, it’s not google maps and doesn’t come up on any google search. This is one of the great quests I have been on and I think you’re gonna love it. Bhutan itself is the perfect setting for such a fairytale. It’s one of the most traditional places in the world. They just do things a little differently over there.
A cinematic travel film.
Comment below if you have questions and thanks. And also hit us with a like, comment and a subscribe.
And stay at the farmhouse – https://www.rentbyowner.com/property/lemo-farmhouse-under-alpine-organic-farmhouse/AB-30256295
Directed and edited by me
Shot by Zak Ray
Sound Mix by Miguel Carrascal
VO at MONOLisa Studios
Thumb by Brian Stefanik
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47 Comments
Thanks so much for watching and commenting. This might be our best work yet. Also come see me on the road-
11.7 Houston
11.20 Stamford CT
12.4 Cinci
link in description
Hi ,nice edited
Giulio and wonton Don. Please
Here's one new sub (gotta thank the vase lama gave you)
This ruled! Check out New Platson next.
Incredible stuff Giulio. Keep up the good work man!
That was so nice of you. I really loved your cinematography skills and how you presented our small country to the world within that short span of time. Honestly, I have never been to this beautiful place although I am a citizen of Bhutan. After watching your video I felt I should visit this place and lama once because I also experience a similar fate like you. Thank you so much for the worth watching video and loving our country.
When you’re stubborn, suffering follows like a shadow, one must be flexible and fluid. If you practice meditation on interdependence, it will subdue your stubbornness.
Love the videos keep it up G
Glad seeing you in Bhutan and yes keep get back to Bhutan 🇧🇹 Love from Bhutan #7
This was amazing. Very inspiring.
Your narratives are amazing dude. I love watching your videos. This Yak fan has become a NotJulio fan by accident.
Love from Bhutan 🇧🇹❤
thanks for the awesome video showing me somewhere i didnt know existed. please get Sas in the next video please. ill subscribe when i see Sas on the screen.
10x. Great having you on the Yak this week.
How this dosent have several million views is beyond me
Thank you sir for visiting my country and seems like you have filled the sense of accomplishment in the journey.
So good!!!!!!
Perspective
Gulio is the man 👏👏👏 Thank you for your work sir👍
Amazing video. Amazing dude. Wow.
Editing is insane on this one
Brov, im from Bhutan and your take on our king was hilarious and brilliant brov… much love to you and glad that you had an awesome time there. 🙏 🙏
Bhutan is the lovely country in the world🇧🇹🇧🇹❤
🙏🌷🇧🇹🥰
unbelievable work
Giulioooo 🐐
really enjoyed this giulio!
Great watch!
It’s wonderful to see you back in the U.S., bringing with you the relic pot, that the Lama gave you. I watched your entire video and truly enjoyed it, the story of your previous life and the Lama’s prediction felt like a real movie unfolding before my eyes. I’m sure your life will continue to prosper as long as you keep your faith in it. I’m from Bhutan myself, and I’m also deeply devoted to such spiritual beliefs. I’d love to know how things have unfolded with the Lama’s prediction. Wishing you a bright and fulfilling life ahead, filled with peace, purpose, and endless blessings. 🌻
Next time I’m back home, I’m planning to explore it as a tourist! 😢
nice bro, so warmth in you video
😮
Dunno if anybody told you, but you look like Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington lol. Enjoyed your video alot. Kudos!
Beautiful shots!
I loved the interviews, this is great content
Omg !! You are so underrated…
Your story telling is a piece of art
Enjoyed the video! The end was beginning of something new
Love from bhutan 🇧🇹 ❤️
Moving to Bhutan! ❤
Sorry.. drukpa Kinley the divine mad man is from Bhutan.. not Tibet..
❤❤❤❤
Unique and heart-warming. Thank you, Giulio and team, for making this incredible video of my home country ❤
Thanks for visiting our country. May your wishes come true. Watching from Bumthang.
Keep going @bro
Loved this! I can't wait for your next one.
As a Buddhist, this might be weird but i hope his prediction is wrong this time… Your story telling and cinematography will surely lead you to success! 😊
Thank you for visiting Bhutan.you’re storytelling is amazing and it calm our mind and brings smile on the face.