Blogging and travelling has taken Tshering Denkar to different communities and has allowed her to get acquainted with myriad cultures and traditions.

From pristine highland of Laya to reclusive communities of Lhops in Samtse, she has lived many lives in the last one year, writing, travelling, and learning.

Tshering Denkar can often be found hitching a ride on trucks, boleros, and buses with a green backpack.

Tshering Denkar said that travelling in Bhutan is often misunderstood and is restricted to tourists visiting the country and or attending to them as guides.

“Travellers from far-flung countries come to our country. On contrary, we hardly see our local people travelling within our country,” she said.

Tshering Denkar has a blog called Denkar’s Getaway. “We have not realized that travelling in our own country can actually enrich our knowledge about our own home.”

Many misunderstand her profession, Denkar said. “Many travel agents misunderstand. But some support me. It is challenging.”

Having travelled and backpacked across several South Asian countries for five years, Tshering Denkar began travelling and backpacking in the country only last year. “There is no other country more beautiful and peaceful like Bhutan. The more I travel abroad, the more I fall in love with my country.”

She shared her experience at a two-day workshop called Skill Up, organised in Thimphu for youth and graduates to help them explore alternative professions and help the youth realise their potential.

The workshop aimed to teach emotional intelligence and its role in workplaces and emphasize on creative thinking to solve problems by application of technology.

A coordinator of the workshop, Deenes Kharka, said that it was important to bring together youth to discuss ideas, technology, entrepreneurship, and different disciplines considering the absorbing capacity of the country.

“It is necessary to explore different career paths and to do that we need to have some skills. The programme was about knowing and exploring the skills that we youth need to explore,” he said.

He added that the initiative was aimed to create a healthy youth culture.

The two-day workshop that ended Sunday saw writers, musicians, bloggers and entrepreneurs, among others, share their experiences.

Nima