4 TRAVEL & INDULGENCE THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN, AUGUST 13-14, 2011www.theaustralian.com.au

A barrio on the outskirts of Buenos Airescomes wonderfully alive on Sundays

MARIAN McGUINNESS

PHOTOLIBRARY

A gaucho and his dance partner at the Feria de Mataderos

Dancing in the streets, gaucho styleHe addresses mein passionateSpanish and my newfriends laugh asthey tell me I’ve justbeen proposed to

WITH so much history andbeauty in Buenos Aires, it mightseem odd that I’m in a taxi headingto the western fringe of the city.

I’m leaving the beaten touristpath of the Argentine capital forthe barrio of Mataderos, formerhome to the kilometres ofabattoirs where cattle heads usedto hang around the neighbour-hood like washing on clotheslines.Some stockyards are still workedby the gauchos, but come Sunday,the cowboys celebrate their cul-ture at the Feria de Mataderos.

‘‘It’s the real people who comehere,’’ says my cab driver, wholocks the doors whenever he slowsdown at an intersection.

‘‘It’s not created for the tourists.People come to meet, to dance,

to talk about the good and thebad things.’’

After 30 minutes of pinballingthrough the traffic along a geo-graphic cross-section of the city,I’m abandoned on a street corner.It’s as if I’ve stumbled on to a time-warp movie set where the wideavenues are arcaded by lime-green tipa trees filigreed againstthe ocean of sky.

The buildings and corrals arewhitewashed or painted in thebrightest pink. My chatty driverhas already enlightened me to theuse of ox blood in colouring thewalls of the slaughterhouses.

The same method created therosy hue of the 19th-centurypresidential palace, the CasaRosada of Peron fame.

It’s only mid-morning andMataderos is in full swing. Thegauchos, portenos (locals) andmigrant workers from neighbour-ing Bolivia, Uruguay and Para-guay have come to the crossroadsof Avenida de los Corrales andAvenida Lisandro de la Torre, tothe square of the Resero where thebronze statue of a gaucho on hishorse watches over the festivities.

The national anthem is played,the blue and white Argentine flagis raised above a makeshift stageand hundreds of people leavewhat they are doing to sing withgusto. In the centre of the cobbledsquare the music starts up for thezamba, the national dance.

The young, old, handsome andhomely circle each other like pairsof wild birds in courtship. Witharms raised, they flirtatiouslywave white handkerchiefs whilewhirling around each other, butnever touching.

Everyone joins in up and downthe street; many are dressed in

traditional costumes, others ineveryday clothes. Then the menbreak into rhythmical tap-dancingin their gaucho boots and every-

one cheers. The oldest gaucho —82-year-old Rodolfo, with a face asleathery as a saddle — is dressed infull regalia. He is revered like a god

as people stop and salute himwhile he dances.

Meanwhile, as I’m chatting to aromantic dancing couple, Rubenand Beatrice, a gaucho approachesme. He addresses me in passionateSpanish and my new friendslaugh as they tell me I’ve just beenproposed to.

I set off to wander the fourblocks lined with more than 300artisans’ stalls selling leather,silver jewellery and just about any-thing you can imagine that couldbe made from a cow’s hoof.

Three barefoot kids clip-cloppast on their stocky horse.Another horse follows; ridingbareback is a small dog.

A man leads a llama dressed inwhat is apparently the latest llamafashion of ribbons and beads. Itchecks me out with its doubleeyelashes and rolls its fleshy lips.There must be a lot of local wineflowingas I’mtappedon theshoul-der by a man who gestures to hisheart and lets me know that hiscasa is only a few blocks away.

Alas for him, it’s my stomachand not my heart that calls, and Ihead off to suss out the smoky par-rillas where giant forks of sausagessizzle on hot grills, and myriadstalls selling empanadas, tamalesand humitas.

At 3pm the crowd moves to linethe Avenida Lisandro de la Torrefor the Carrera de Sortija, or theRace of the Ring. Gauchos of allages ride at breakneck speed downthe sand-covered street. Such istheir skill that while standing intheir stirrups at full pelt, they aimsmall wooden lances at a tiny ringsuspended from an overheadframe. The winner holds the ring

aloft to the cheering crowd as hesearches for a beautiful senorita tooffer it to.

But my story ends where itbegan. As I sit in the back of thetaxi returning to the city centre, Ientertain the cabbie with my taleof Mataderos.

Instead of locking the doors atan intersection, he stops, calls aflower seller over to the windowand buys a beautiful posy of jas-mine. And presents it to me. Ole.

ChecklistThe Feria de Mataderos takesplace every Sunday from April toDecember (11am-8pm). InFebruary and March, a smallerversion is held on Saturday nightsfrom 6pm. More:destinoargentina.com. Small-group escorted tours of Argentinaare available with Australian-based South American specialistBlanco Touring Company. More:blancotouringcompany.com.

PHOTOLIBRARY

Taktshang Goemba, or the Tiger’s Nest monastery, perched precariously on a cliff, is Bhutan’s best-known tourist attraction

Out inthe openThe once-closed Himalayan kingdomof Bhutan is evolving at a lively pace

AARTI BETIGERI

PHOTOLIBRARY

A shop selling trinkets and handicrafts in ParoAP

King Jigme Wangchuck will marry Jetsun Pema in October

INDIA

BHUTAN

BANGLADESHADGL D

CHINA

Thimphu

ParoSarbhang

Tashigang

G r e a t H i m a l a y a R a n g e

Brahmaputra River

MY guide, Thinley, tells me: ‘‘WeBuddhists believe that you mustwork for the good things in life.’’We are trudging across a vibrantgreen paddock dotted with graz-ing ponies, thickets of pine treesand a gurgling stream.

Above us is Bhutan’s most pop-ular and recognisable attraction,the Tiger’s Nest monastery, orTaktshang Goemba, perchedprecariously atop a sheer cliff. It’sbeen an arduous five hours climb-ing through mud and rain. Thinleymentions that the Tiger’s Nestburneddownandwasrebuiltmorethan a decade ago, and a cable carerected to expedite buildingmaterials to the mountaintop wasdismantled in 2004.

‘‘Why?’’ I wail, my toenailsaching from the steep climb. ButBhutanese are devoutly Buddhist:no pain, no spiritual gain.

Bhutan, that once reclusivekingdom tucked between Indiaand Nepal and ringed by theHimalayas, is like no other place.Its geography quarantined it fromoutside influences and only inrecent decades has it started toopen up, albeit cautiously. There isonly one airport — in the pictur-esque town of Paro, nestled in oneof the larger valleys, which is dot-ted with paddy fields, the odd re-sort and clusters of farmhouses inthe classic Bhutanese style.

It is compulsory for Bhutanesebuildings to incorporate elementsof traditionaldesign, at leaston theoutside, so all structures are whiteand ochre, with timber supportsand carved window frames. It’sone of many dictums conceived byBhutan’s rulers to retain its uniquecharacter as it opens up. Govern-ment and tourism-sector workersare required to wear nationaldress: a tunic called the gho formen, and for women a straightwoven skirt (kira) paired with asilk jacket (toego).

Television was permitted onlyin 1999, and the first democraticelections held in 2008. Bhutan has

always been known as a mysticalland of low-hanging clouds hug-ging hilltops, of saffron-robedmonks and steep mountain passes,a Shangri-la where the environ-ment is mercifully free of plasticbags and marijuana grows wild.

Even now it clings to thequalities that set it apart. Maha-yana Buddhism permeates allfacets of daily life: prayer flags andchortens dot the countryside, andthe world’s biggest seated Buddhais being built atop one of the manyhills overlooking Thimphu. Whilethe 2008 constitution demands60 per cent of the country becovered in forest, the actual figureis almost 72 per cent and Bhutan-ese are ever-mindful of the impactthey have on the environment.

Despite efforts to keep foreignvisitors at arm’s length, Bhutannow wants to build up its tourismsector and aims to attract 100,000tourists next year, although it ismaintaining its policy of a $US200($186) tariff per day. To reach thatgoal, resources are being pumpedinto the tourism sector, two dom-estic airports are being built andhotels are under construction.

Back in town, Thinley takes meto one of Paro’s only momohouses, a small teahouse near thecentre, for some post-trek fortifi-cation. It’s here I encounter the

first of Bhutan’s many surprises —its first transgender. DechenSeldon is tall, willowy and with anarrow, beautiful face fringed by astylishly cut curtain of straightblack hair. At just 19, Seldon hasbeen dressing and living as awoman for five years. ‘‘I’m the onlyone in Bhutan, there’s no one elselike me,’’ she declares. ‘‘Well, inParo or Thimphu anyway. I wouldknow them. Maybe in a smallvillage out there,’’ she adds, with awave of her hand.

After a battle to be accepted byschool authorities — Seldon wasforced to approach the educationministry to help her gain per-mission to wear the kira to school— she found an unusual level ofacceptance. ‘‘I’d like to be a rolemodel. I want people to think,‘Well, if she could do it, so can I’.’’

Whereas Paro is small butspread out, mostly rural with just afew main streets, the capital,Thimphu, is sprawling, withtightly packed blocks and dual-carriage roads. But, notably, thereis not a single traffic light. Thereused to be one, but it was deemedcounter to the Gross NationalHappiness index and removed,and a traffic policeman now dir-ects cars in the crowded centre.

On the drive, Thinley explainsthe reverence in which Bhutan’sKing is held. Jigme KhesarNamgyel Wangchuck became thefifth king from the same line whenhe succeeded his father in 2008.Now the 31-year-old is as lovedand respected as his father. He hasa girlfriend and everyone has beenwaiting for their engagement.

Coincidentally, during my visitthe king announces he will marry,during the inaugural summer ses-sion of parliament. His bride is abeautiful 20-year-old student hehas known for some years. ‘‘I can-not say how she might appear tothe people,’’ he said. ‘‘But to me sheis the one.’’ The King’s father hadfour wives, all sisters.

Later that evening the coupledrop by at a function and areimmediately surrounded by well-wishers. The young King, affec-tionately dubbed K5, is charis-matic and handsome; next to himthroughout is his fiancee, JetsunPema, dressed in a bright pink silktoego. They make a point of

attempting to speak with as manypeople as possible.

One asks Pema whether she’saware her husband-to-be has beenjudged the hottest royal in theworldby internet users. She laughsand says she knows, before theKing leans over and adds: ‘‘Butperhaps you should remind her ofthat fact every few years.’’

While K5 and his forebears arerevered across Bhutan, with their

portraits often included in familyshrines and worshipped alongsideidols of Buddhist deities, Bhutan isnow developing its own popculture. Druk Superstar, a singingcompetition, is televised live for sixhours each weekend on Bhutan’sonly channel.

Half an hour before broadcast,the set is electric with anticipation;in one corner sit the judges, somebeing groomed. Across the stage

are the competitors, while theaudience fills the rest of the room,everyone in national dress. Thecurrent series features peopleactive in the fledgling entertain-ment industry, so many arealready familiar faces.

One contender tells me shylythat he wants to win for the fame;he wants to be recognised on thestreet. The show is immenselypopular and although there is no

formalised TV ratings system,each week the station receivesabout 95,000 SMS votes, in acountry of just 750,000.

Bhutan may be a place that isyet to lose its innocence, but thingsare changing: there are reports ofgrowing social problems such asdrugs and street violence, and adisturbing increase in suicides.Since a ban on cigarettes wasimplemented in January, 22

people have been jailed for up tothree years.

For a country that considers theGross National Happiness quo-tient for all policies, this is causefor concern.

But Bhutan does provide thetantalising opportunity to glimpsea relatively untouched desti-nation, a place that offers a view ofhow things might have beenwithout the corrupting influenceof consumerism.

That is not to suggest Bhutan isa living museum. It is evolving,broadening and very much alive.

ChecklistWorld Expeditions has a 13-daycentral and western Bhutan tripwith a cultural focus departingApril 4. Land of the ThunderDragon — Paro Tsechu Tourvisits Thimphu, monasteries and aselection of Bhutan’s mostsignificant Buddhist sites; $3790 aperson twin-share, including mostmeals, accommodation, tourguides and internal transport.International airfares extra.More: 1300 720 000;worldexpeditions.com.