Bhutan Series w/ Breathe Bhutan: A Traditional Homestay in Bhutan – Interview with the owner Ama Om (Ama Om’s Homestay)

Hello and welcome to this week's episode and we are back on the Bhutan content for another local interview. In this episode, I'm coming to you from rural Bhutan where I had the privilege of sitting down with Ama Om who owns a homestay tucked away in a small village outside Hunukha. So Ama Om's homestay is a traditional homestay and Ama Om who owns it has been welcoming guests into her home for over a decade and what she offers goes far beyond a place to sleep.

So this is about family, farming, food, faith, Buddhist beliefs, and also what a traditional homestay offers for you for your trip in Bhutan. And most of all, what they love the most is the karmic connections, the idea that people don't arrive in our lives by accident. So with the help of a translator, Ama Om shares her story, what daily life is like in the village, why hosting guests bring her so much joy, and why staying in a homestay like hers offers a glimpse into a traditional way of life in Bhutan.

that is slowly disappearing with modernization. So this conversation did remind me of why I travel. It's not just about places, it's about people, the quiet moments, local connections, local life, and honestly memories that will last with you after you leave. And I really want to come back to Ama Omm's homestay, so will do next time I go to Butam. I will say in this interview, I do have a bit of a ropey voice. I suffering from a cough and battling the cold a little bit, but I try not to cough as much as possible throughout.

the entire interview. So let's get into it. This is my conversation with Ama Om and she really is the most sweetest, kindest human being that you'll ever meet. One of my favorites and I just want to say when I left the next morning, a little bit emotional, gave her a hug and I did promise I will return with people alongside me next time when I come to Ama Om's homestay. If you want more information about the homestay, head to the show notes, click the link, they have a website and they also have an Instagram page.

And more importantly, if you want to add it to your itinerary, Breathe Through Tan are the main guys who provide her with business for her home stay. So if you book with those guys, Breathe Through Tan, they'll definitely add it in to their itinerary if you ask for it. And I'm sure you will because why not? It's a great experience. I milked a cow. I had a hot stone bath. I made some cheese, made some butter, had traditional food and got to help out with the cooking in the home as you'll hear in the interview.

So let's get straight into it. This is my interview with Ama Om at her homestay called Ama Om's Homestay. Welcome to the Winging It Travel Podcast, your weekly ticket to the world, dropping every Monday and hosted by me, James Hammond, proudly part of the Boy Escape Network. This is a travel podcast that throws out the itinerary and dive straight into the raw, real and unpredictable essence of global exploration, chasing moments over milestones, those spontaneous encounters, immersive sounds.

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met incredible people, seen breath taking places and collected unforgettable stories. I now get to share them with you, alongside some of the most diverse and well travelled guests from around the world. Expect engaging conversations that bring fresh perspectives and inspiring travel tales. There are also raw, reflective solo episodes where I share personal insights, practical tips and honest stories from the road. This is a podcast for travellers, dreamers, backpackers and anyone who's ever thought, what if I just went for it and travelled? If you're looking for stories to tell, tips to share,

and experiences to inspire, then you're in the right place. There's so much travel content coming your way, it might just spark that trip you've been dreaming about for years. You can find Winging It, a more fantastic travel podcast from around the world at voyescape.com. The link is in the show notes. Let's go and explore the world. Hello, welcome to this week's episode. I'm with Ama Om Homestay, which is in Bunukka in Bhutan. And I have the privilege of interviewing the owner of the homestay.

And I've got a translator with me by the name of Pabati. Hello. Pabati Kashmir. Are you ready? Yes, I'm ready. Okay. So my first question is the introduction. Can she introduce herself? I'm

She said her name is Chime Omu, she is famously known as Ama Om. The homestay was started from, I think, about 13 to 14 years. It's located at Kumagewak. The village name is Jawaana.

It's under Guma Gyiok. Okay. And how long has she lived here? Yes.

This house belongs to third generation, including her. fourth generation. She used to build the generation. She was born here only. When she was 35, the kitchen was newly built. Wow, so she's been here quite a while.

What's her favourite thing about having guests come to stay? She said that when the guests come from far away, the place was in the forest and it's really far. The white scarf you wore earlier? Yeah. And basically she's saying that

She lives in the middle of the forest and whenever guests come here to stay or visit or look at the activity she is doing, she feels some kind of joy in her heart as if like a karmic connection that has brought guests and a mom together. it gives some kind of happiness and joy in her heart to host them in her home. It's amazing. And how did she

rate my cooking skills. I that's most thing. I think that's the

I learned it from mother-in-law. Your cooking, she used to say that if she was to score the mark, if she was able to give you a mark, it's ten out of ten. When you are cooking, she said she used to feel like you staying with her son.

You cook very well, you cut the vegetables very well. She is too kind. Thank you so much. You know how to cut properly. yeah. Yeah. She's saying, you know, like, you can handle knives nicely. As she was telling you earlier also that, yes, of course, some guests take interest in cooking, but they are very

poor at handling knives. So, she also saying that you are very curious to learn new things and she felt happy to teach also because some days they don't show interest and for the host also it's not very interesting to teach also. So, she is saying that you have a curiosity to learn and you are quite helpful in case of working in the kitchen.

Yes. Yeah. was going to say, I actually think a home stay, should help out. Like traditionally, when you stay in a home stay, in my mind, you help with cooking, farm work, cleaning. That's what it generally is, right? So that's why I offered because I think that's what you should offer personally. Yeah. Can you ask how important Breathe Bhutan is to providing guests and business to her? Breathe Bhutan. Yeah.

I'm I'm bit

She is Bride Bhutan. She was very proud to say that

She has guests, she has more guests. Whether the road is horrible or something, the guests are coming. Most we receive a guest from Brit Bhutan. So she was probably say that Brit Bhutan is the best for her. She used to, every time more guests from Brit Bhutan. Okay. And can you ask her what her daily life is like? Like outside of the homestay?

I think it's good that we lot of people who in culture.

Apart from hosting guests at home, she says that her daily life would be farming. Basically, their livelihood, apart from running homestay, their livelihood is

done through farming also. She has a paddy field, she has orchards, she has a cow. So she would be taking care of the cattle and cleaning the surrounding, planting trees and gardening. She also grow vegetables. They don't have to buy from the market.

And that's how their life in village is, she's saying. she goes to Thimphu where her son and daughter lives there. But she goes there for her medical checkups and all. When there's no guests and no work at field.

So she visits Thimphu twice or thrice after two to three months for checkup. And sometimes she also goes for pilgrimage. That was actually my next question with her family. I guess they live away from this house, right? And all in Thimphu? that right?

I in the U.S. I was in the U.S. and I was Australia. I in and I was raised Australia. was was I was in Australia in

She has two sons and one daughter. The two sons live in Thimphu city. One is working in government job, then the other one is working in tourism. And her daughter is at Australia right now. She's studying. And her niece is also at Australia right now. She's in 10th grade. She's still studying.

Is that in Perth, Australia? Yes, her daughter is at Perth and the other one's is at Canberra. okay. Very popular for Bhutanese to go to Australia. And her husband used to travel sometimes here and sometimes Thimphu. Okay, right. He used to travel. She said that during the winter vacation, her grandchildren visited her.

You saw two kids. She's one of them and the boy. Yeah. So they visit her during the winter vacation and summer vacation. Just a quick pause in the episode there. If you're enjoying the podcast and getting value from these conversations, one of the biggest ways you can support Wingin' It is by leaving a five star rating all of you on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you're listening right now. It generally helps the show reach new listeners and keeps the podcast growing.

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It helps support the podcast at no extra cost to you and allows me to keep sharing these stories from the road. And finally, if you know someone who loves travel, storytelling or meaningful conversations, please share the podcast. Whether that's by word of mouth, sending an episode to a friend or posting it on social media. It really does make a huge difference. Right, let's get back into the episode. And the next question is, if you were to cook one meal for a guest, what would you cook?

So, So, you you are a teacher of people? I teacher of I the people. the I a I the I am a people. I a teacher of am a I a teacher of am a teacher

I was that I it I child. I was that I it I a child. I was I would to it if I was that I would do it if I was I would to if I that I would be able to

I I a I woman. I I a I a a I am I am I am I am a I am a I am woman. I am a woman. I I I a woman. I am a I am woman. a woman. I a a

What do about She's saying that she has a very keen interest in cooking while she was very young, maybe around 12 to 13 years. When she was of that age, she was very interested in cooking. Parents were far away from the village, far away from the work and feed. Her mother used to keep her...

keep her with her grandmother and she used to learn cooking from her. From then on, like she had a keen interest in cooking and she's saying that she can cook anything. She doesn't eat pork, but she's saying that the one dish she would cook for the guests would be like according to their choice. If she said that she doesn't eat pork, but if her

If she receives a guest who eats pork, wants to eat pork, even though she doesn't eat, she would equally put in effort and make it delicious for the guest. Also, she's saying that if the one dish she would cook would be like, if the guest is vegetarian, she would cook vegetables. And if the guest is non-vegetarian,

Okay, my penultimate question after a coffin fit there is why should someone visit Bhutan?

She's that there is a very important

question. She says that yes, tourists should visit Bhutan and it has a very great impact for the society. First reason she stated is she's saying that Bhutan is a small country. Tourism has really benefited the country as a whole by providing job opportunities and income.

source of income for the community as well as the country. She's saying that even the tourism has even helped a smaller community of villagers to start their livelihood through tourism by hosting just like our homestay. So she says that tourism is a really great thing for Bhutan and

because it is some people's source of livelihood. So she's very thankful to His Majesty that a villager like her, got an opportunity to start a homestay. And basically it's our King who has been marketing Bhutan to the world so that such benefit has been

getting to the people in the country. So she's very thankful to His Majesty also. That's amazing. And can you ask her finally why someone should come to visit her in her home for a home stay?

That's it.

I'm the

She's saying that she has nothing to offer, but she's saying that

One thing she's been believing so far is like whatever she is, the people all over the world, she gets to meet and it's all because of the karmic relations and bond. Since we being Buddhists, we always believe in karmic actions, karmic relationships and bonds.

So she says that because of that reason, she is able to host the people around the world. she's saying that why guests should visit her is like, she's saying that Thimphu Paro and other places are now, has turned into cities. basically,

this town area won't be able to provide the authentic living of Bhutanese society. So she says that if guests visit her, she would be able to give that authentic experience to the guest. Like in the past, people used to like basically earn their livelihood through farming and all. She can demonstrate that one and she has been preserving all this past

past living standards, traditional way of living. she would be able to, for example, you saw earlier churning milk, hot stone bath, and she says that she also teaches the guest to do farming. So basically, all in all, she would be able to provide that authentic Bhutanese experience and show the picture of how

the Buddhist societies lived in the past. Well, I think she's very humble because I think this is an amazing experience. And can you say to her, thank you for hosting us, cooking for us and show me how to make cheese, milk in the cows, cooking food and for hospitality has been amazing. Can you please pass that on and say thanks?

I Japan and I was in India. I a village in I a village in I the north was in in the India. I a

She's saying that, in fact, she has to say thank you to you because among all these places, you have chosen this place and you chose to come to a village like this and she's very honored to host you and she's saying that basically,

You are giving her a source of income and she's very thankful. It's been the most pleasurable experience. And can you thank her for coming onto the podcast? And I hope people will hear this story and want to come to stay here for their experience in Bhutan. So that's what I hope to share with my audience and then hopefully they'll come and stay with Emma. Okay.

I'm not but I'm that you'll me. I'm not sure but I'm sure but you'll me. not but me. I'm sure say this, but I'm sure that hear me. I'm but I'm

She's thankful that you are advertising her to the world and she's praying and hoping that

People get to hear her stories, hear about her homestay and she's praying more guests would come. Let's hope, yeah, that's the idea. I'm sure they will. I think with the promotion of the podcast episode and the YouTube, hopefully there'll be more people coming. So, yeah, thanks so much. Thank you. And that's it for this episode on Winging It. Hope you took something from this episode where it sparked a new idea.

offer a different perspective or simply let you feel part of the journey. If you enjoyed it, leaving a quick rating or review on your podcast app really helps the show reach new listeners. And if you know someone who might connect with this episode, share it by word of mouth or social media. It makes a huge difference. Head to voicecape.com for more amazing travel podcasts as well. And thanks so much for listening. I'll see you in the next episode. Until then, keep winging it.