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

Unlock extras like souvenirs, itineraries, BTS, directors commentary and much more at HTTPS://PATREON.COM/NOTJULIO

PATREON – HTTPS://PATREON.COM/NOTJULIO
YOUTUBE- HTTPS://YOUTUBE.COM/NOTJULIO
STANDUP TOUR- HTTPS://BEACONS.AI/NOTJULIO

Socials-
https://www.instagram.com/notjulio/?hl=en
https://x.com/Notjulio

@notjuliog


https://www.facebook.com/Giuliogallarotti/
https://www.patreon.com/notjulio
https://www.youtube.com/@notjulio
https://snapchat.com/notjulio

47 Comments

  1. 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

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. Your narratives are amazing dude. I love watching your videos. This Yak fan has become a NotJulio fan by accident.

  5. 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.

  6. Thank you sir for visiting my country and seems like you have filled the sense of accomplishment in the journey.

  7. 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. 🙏 🙏

  8. 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. 🌻

  9. Dunno if anybody told you, but you look like Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington lol. Enjoyed your video alot. Kudos!

  10. 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! 😊

  11. Thank you for visiting Bhutan.you’re storytelling is amazing and it calm our mind and brings smile on the face.

Write A Comment