Zecha’s perseverance had finally paid off. After 13 years of pursuit, Bhutan’s monarch, always terrified of mass tourism, opened up the kingdom for foreign direct investment in 2001, to allow Zecha and other style gurus to open their resorts.

Hot on his heels came the East’s anointed Countess of Chic, the Singapore-based Christina Ong, owner of the Metropolitan hotels in London and Turks, to open Uma Paro, the first spa resort in the country.

Both Amankora and Uma Paro dedicatedly follow the country’s unique style—with rammed earth houses, nestling around centuries-old monastry-fortresses, luxe service, pine-wood floors, log-burning stoves, terrazzo bath tubs, roof to floor views of snow-capped mountains, and prices ranging from $800-$2000 a night.

The Taj Group will unveil its hotel in mid 2007, the Oberois are scouting for the perfect location.

Perhaps, the only other fortunate visitors to afford Bhutan are Indians, mostly from the neighbouring state of West Bengal. The government has capped a stiff $200-a night spending compulsory, but Indians are exempt from this royal decree.

Says Dorji, ‘‘Bhutan’s highest inbound tourism is a mere 14,000 visitors, though we get 25,000 Indian tourists a year. In fact, the Tourism Board is planning a mega promotion in India’s metro cities to bring its mega rich and fashionable crowd. We cannot rely on the West alone.’’

So, is there anything one can complain about in Bhutan? The food, says the candid Dorji, it is last on the traveller’s list. Even though the pork is tasty—the pigs are fed on marijuana which grows abundantly in the countryside—you cannot live on pork and yak burgers all the time. Perhaps the time for the March of the Tandoors has come?