Bhutan is one of the most fascinating places on the planet. Partly because it was a closed country until fairly recently-- no television, no foreign newspapers, and few visitors. It was relatively easy to keep the modern world out -- it's a mountainous and landlocked country, surrounded by India, Tibet and China. 

But former monarch and new king, Jigme Singye Wangchuck forced his largely unwilling subjects to accept democracy earlier this year and then insisted on a free press. So at the end of October, the daily eight page Bhutan Today was launched. With few passable roads through the Himalayas, the paper will be distributed mostly by foot and horseback.

Prior to this, Bhutan's only newspaper was a state-run venture. Later, two privately owned papers entered the market but they were not daily publications.  In this country of about 700,000 people, there are virtually no private advertisers -- only government agencies buy advertisements -- so there's been some fierce competition for revenue.

Bhutan's literacy rate is close to 60 percent. Although the new paper is published in English, Bhutanese law will require it to soon be printed in the local language.

The paper's launch preceded the crowning of King Wangchuck, who is 27, on November 6. His father, and predecessor, abdicated in favor of his Oxford-educated son in 2006.

Bhutan held its first general election in March and parliament endorsed the country's first constitution four months later, formally turning the absolute monarchy into a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarchy.

The dominant religion of Bhutan is Vajrayana Buddhism. Hinduism is the second largest religion. Property is passed through the female line. Polygamy and polandry are uncommon but acceptable as ways to keep property in families. Rural marriages tend to be arranged while city dwellers often marry for love. 

One of the most intriguing facts about Bhutan is its guiding philosophy of -- and I'm not joking here -- Gross National Happiness (GNH), which defines quality of life according to more holistic and psychological terms.

GNH was coined in 1972 by Bhutan's former king after the death of his father who opened the country up to modernization. Using GNH as opposed to GNP, signaled the King's commitment to building an economy that serves Bhutan's unique culture based on Buddhist spiritual values:

While conventional development models stress economic growth as the ultimate objective, the concept of GNH claims to be based on the premise that true development of human society takes place when material and spiritual development occur side by side to complement and reinforce each other. The four pillars of GNH are the promotion of equitable and sustainable socio-economic development, preservation and promotion of cultural values, conservation of the natural environment, and establishment of good governance.