Bhutanese boots outshine Perry's footwear
June 26, 2008
The knee-high, brightly colored footwear worn by Prince Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuck of Bhutan and Lyonpo Minjur Dorji, Bhutan's minister of cultural affairs, made the governor's customary cowboy boots look downright dowdy.
Written by Bob Dart, Austin American-Statesman
WASHINGTON — "This is one of the very few times in my life that I've been out-booted," admitted Texas Gov. Rick Perry.
The knee-high, brightly colored footwear worn by Prince Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuck of Bhutan and Lyonpo Minjur Dorji, Bhutan's minister of cultural affairs, made the governor's customary cowboy boots look downright dowdy.
Bhutanese bigwigs and the Republican governor from Paint Creek in North Texas shared a stage Wednesday for the opening of the 42nd annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival.
Perry said he offered to hook up the prince with his boot maker if the prince would do the same.
The 10-day Folklife Festival will examine the cultures and history of Bhutan, Texas and NASA. Shana Dale, NASA's deputy administrator, didn't wear boots.
Bhutan, a remote kingdom in the Himalayas that is bordered by China and India, is one of the world's least known countries and has an official government policy of "Gross National Happiness."
Today, the prince is to visit El Paso, which has an unusual link to Bhutan. Buildings on the University of Texas at El Paso campus are inspired by Bhutanese architecture, a design concept that was inspired by some resemblance between the West Texas area and the Himalayan kingdom.
Onstage at the festival, Perry marveled that folks from Bhutan, who mostly wore their native flowing robes, were "coming up taking pictures of the exotic Texans."
"Isn't this a great world we live in?" Perry said.
For more information on the UTEP Bhutan Festival 2008, click here.
Additional material from The Associated Press.
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