Tim Sullivan of Associated Press reports from Signyar, Bhutan:
Sonam Dorji, right, relates a tale of his encounter with an Yeti at the remote village of Signyar in Bhutan. AP photo
A disco in Thimpu, Bhutan: Times are rapidly changing as old beliefs yield to the modern ways of life. AP photo
He remembers the darkness of the pine forest, and the footprints, and his terror when the creature began to howl. He remembers the stories of his childhood, of a beast that stalked the upper reaches of the mountains, and how fear spread through the village every time it was spotted.
In a remote Himalayan kingdom that held out against the modern world for as long as it could, the old man remembers a time when the yeti was a normal part of life.
“The creature has always been out there, and it’s out there still,” says Sonam Dorji, 77, sitting on the pockmarked wooden floor of his small farmhouse. It’s a cold Himalayan morning, and he warms himself beside a wood stove. The smell of burning pine fills the room. “If you travel the ancient trails, even today, there’s a good chance you’ll meet him.”
His son-in-law, listening to the old man’s stories, laughs dismissively from across the room.
Tshering Sithar is 39, a bulldozer operator helping pave the road to this village, which until recently could only be reached on foot.
“What is there to say?” he asks. “There’s nothing out there in the forest. Any educated person today knows this.”
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