As Bhutan celebrates it’s one year anniversary as a democracy, ABC will be airing a special, “Michael J. Fox: Adventures of an Incurable Optimist” on May 7.
On the show, Fox, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease, traveled around the world interviewing optimists. One of his favorite stops was Bhutan, dubbed the happiest place on earth by many visitors – because locals live in a state of permanent joy. In Bhutan, a country which measures its success with a figure for “Gross National Happiness” instead of Gross National Product, Fox revealed that his symptoms actually eased during his visit. When questioned about his impression of the people of Bhutan, the film and television star was quoted as saying, “They really are (the happiest people). It’s amazing. They’re just beautiful people. I don’t know whether it was the altitude or the thinning of the blood or whatever, but I had much less symptoms,” he added.
For many years The California Native has been offering private tours of this magical Himalayan kingdom.