The route will officially reopen in March 2022 following four years of repair work, much of which has been undertaken by 900 or so workers who had been furloughed by the Covid-19 pandemic, according to TBT, an offshoot of the Bhutan Canada Foundation.

Now that 18 major bridges have been rebuilt and 10,000 stairs replaced, the trail again connects nine dzongkhags (districts), 28 gewogs (local governments), two municipalities and a national park. It winds through virgin forest, protected areas and wildlife corridors. The views of soaring Himalayan peaks are “panoramic” and the trail passes at least 400 historic and cultural sites.

The trail’s historical significance stretches back at least 500 years; it linked dzongs (fortresses) and served as the pilgrimage route for Buddhists travelling to sacred sites in western Bhutan and Tibet. Along its length, garps (messengers) and traders rubbed shoulders with soldiers and pilgrims, all playing their part in a process that united Himalayan kingdoms and ultimately led to the birth of Bhutan as a nation, in 1907.

However, the trail’s stairways and footpaths fell into disrepair once the construction of roads began across the country in the 1960s.

Reopening ceremonies will be hosted by His Majesty the King of Bhutan – which is perhaps less of a mouthful for your average international tourist than Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck – in the sacred city of Trongsa, which is roughly halfway along the trail. From April 2022, a limited number of permits will be issued to international travellers to hike or mountain bike the trail, in whole or in part.

A month should do it, if you’re thinking of walking from one end to the other, although three-, four- and seven-day section hikes led by local guides are expected to be more popular with “birdwatchers and botanists, photographers, rafters and runners, as well as for those looking for a spiritual, wellness, or religious experience”, according to TBT, which is arranging visits on a not-for-profit basis. Accommodation along the way will be found in campsites, homestays and hotels.

A main aim in restoring the trail was to create socio-economic opportunities for rural communities and contribute towards sustainable development in remote areas of the planet’s first carbon-negative country, TBT claims.

The Thomson Reuters Foundation news service describes Bhutan as being carbon negative because “the forests of the thinly populated country of less than a million people absorb more than 9 million tonnes of carbon each year, while its economy, designed to reduce fossil fuel use and waste, produces less than 4 tonnes”. Suriname, in South America, is the only other country to have achieved carbon negativity. Panama is apparently close.

Back on the trail, while economic benefits will flow into rural communities through the homestays, the buying of supplies for lengthy trips and the employment of local guides, TBT has laid down some eco guidelines: marker posts are made from recycled plastics; single-use plastics will not be tolerated; reusable water bottles will be supplied to international visitors along with filtered water for refills; and campers along the trail will be fed meals made from locally sourced, organic ingredients.

Furthermore, the bridges were repaired using responsibly sourced timber and sustainable forestry practices, and TBT has committed to planting a tree for each trail member and international visitor, adding sapling by sapling to the 70 per cent forest cover Bhutan already enjoys.

April 2022 may be too soon for Hongkongers to contemplate a trip to the land of the dzongkhag and the gewog – and indeed the jolly phallus – but Destinations Known can think of few better ways of blowing away the post-Covid cobwebs than by taking a hike along the Trans Bhutan Trail.

Philippines wellness resort offers big discount, but mind the small print

A stay at The Farm at San Benito, in the Philippines, would also be a good way of blowing off those cobwebs.

Among the promotions being offered by the wellness resort to tempt tourists from the 157 countries that were granted vaccination-dependent-entry to the Philippines on February 10 is one that offers a 30 per cent discount on villa accommodation. In the small print, though, is the warning, “To ensure a safe and comfortable stay, all guests are required to take a 15-minute FDA-approved antigen test on-site prior to entry at PHP2,500 [US$50] per person.”

And what fate would befall a would-be guest who tested positive? The Farm replied to an email asking that question but only to give assurances the booking would be rescheduled.

Once they have been turned away, a Covid-suffering arrival would, one trusts, be shown a little more sympathy than the country’s president reserves for his unvaccinated citizens. “If you’re unvaccinated and you die, well, I’ll tell you, ‘good riddance,’” Rodrigo Duterte warned Filipinos in a televised address on February 7.

Harsh!

Bumps in the road for Thailand’s tourist tax plan

Thai authorities have been talking about a tourist tax for years, so it came as no surprise when they announced last month that plans were afoot to charge foreign visitors a levy of 300 baht (US$9) from April 1, 2022.

The tourism-dependent nation can use every penny it can get after so many months of Covid-19 disruption and this tax is designed to fund the development of tourist products and insurance coverage for international visitors.

But the plan had not been fully thought through. Now, the Bangkok Post reports, the introduction of the tax will probably be delayed for at least a couple of months – to give the powers that be time to work out exactly how the money should be collected.

A fairly important detail, Destinations Known would have thought.