Human Ant

After spending some time at the Tiger's Nest monastery, perched precariously on a sheer cliff at over 10,000 ft, I eventually had to come back down. While it is possible to take horses up part of the way, at a certain point it is only possible to go up on foot. For the record, I did not use a horse to climb up.

I can only presume (hope) that the container on this guy's back is empty. Even if it's empty, it's still probably pretty heavy, and must be super uncomfortable to lug all the way up. As back-breaking at this work looks, keep in mind that the people of Bhutan are some of the happiest people in the world and continue to measure their Gross National Happiness in efforts to maximize their happiness. If nothing else, I hope this photo helps to provide a greater appreciation for the food and drinks you come upon at the rest stops high up in the mountains, when you might occasionally wonder, "how is this stuff here?!?"

Worker climbing Paro Taktsang