Why, exactly, would somebody want to tour or trek in Bhutan? How’s this for an answer?

Suddenly my problems and concerns shrank in importance and I was overwhelmed by a feeling that we are all connected on the planet, as big and as disconnected as it can seem. It was a giant thunderbolt that’s completely changed how I live my life. I started to see that it wasn’t about what I didn’t have or hadn’t achieved, but that there was a lot I could do to help other people.

Those are the words of Lisa Napoli, who was a radio reporter in Los Angeles, but who was going through something of a life crisis. Then somebody invited her to Bhutan to help start a radio station, and her life changed completely, along the lines above.

Napoli has now written a book called Radio Shangri-La: What I Discovered on my Accidental Journey to the Happiest Kingdom on Earth, and in this interview with WorldHum.com, she explains how getting out of our own culture also gets us out of our head, and into a connection with something larger than ourselves.

She talks about how the outside world appears to be affecting Bhutan (television, consumerism, etc.) but also how Bhutan’s emphasis on Gross National Happiness is affecting the rest of us.

Isn’t this why we travel, after all? Sure, there’s the beauty and adventure of walking or touring in Bhutan and the Himalayas, but isn’t it also to open our minds and hearts just a little?