After Bunty’s film producer partner disappeared up a yak trail to shoot Travellers and Magicians with the renowned film-making lama Khyentse Norbu, she and her baby daughter moved in with a Bhutanese family of six sisters, two husbands and their children on the outskirts of Thimpu, the tiny capital.

In this crowded house, Bunty learned about life in contemporary Bhutan – the tiny nation nestled high in the Himalayas that is ruled by a King who has decreed that Gross National Happiness is more important than Gross National Product. Bunty went to the movies with the King’s four wives; took tea with the mysterious Oracle; and dined on leather stew and fish eye soup. She also learned something about the Bhutanese way of raising children – when her baby wouldn’t sleep, she tried the local solution, making offerings to the local god.

A Baby in a Backpack to Bhutan tells of an Australian family’s extraordinary adventure in a beautiful, mystical Shangri-la. Heartfelt and often hilarious, it is a fascinating account of life in one of the world’s most intriguing and unknown places.