The next day Phub wanted to start early since we had to cover more than 13 miles and gain 1,500 feet in altitude.

Phub came running up to call us back: we had veered off onto the trail to Tibet.

Phub and Jigme carried John to camp the next morning, where we had a scheduled rest day.

The other way, of course, is to board the phub wagon and start shaming others (and yourself) into a more grown-up existence.

At the rice-growing village of Damji, we met the schoolmaster, a friend of Phub's, who invited us to his school.

Phub Thinley 84 kg

Phub and Jigme took turns carrying him to Gasa, where there was a doctor and a medical center, but no X-ray equipment.

In 2013, he helped create the word phub (a portmanteau of phone and snub, used when someone is ignored in favour of a mobile phone).

At that point only Phub, who knew that the trail was muddy and rocky, and that darkness would fall promptly at 6:30 p.m., had misgivings.

After hours of flying and clearing passport control, I was greeted by Tshering Phub, my guide, and Karma, our driver.

According to research by advertising agency McCann, 37 per cent of people feel it is worse to not answer a message than it is to 'phub' your friends.

She married Dasho Phub W. Dorji at the Mothithang Palace on 5 April 2009.

The dog will be able to sniff out tobacco products," said Major Phub Gyaltshen of the Royal Bhutan Police.

The last two days, John rode one of the pack horses, or when the trail was too narrow and steep, he went piggyback on Phub or Jigme.

Yesterday, Phub had talked to porters on the trail who had been turned back by heavy snow at a high pass we were scheduled to cross in less than a week.

In addition to this, the private secretary of the Gyal Yum, Lopen Phub Dorji was motivated to gift including many articles of offerings to the Gönpa.

We drove four hours to Thimphu, where we stayed in the Yeedzin Guest House for two nights while Phub or Passang ferried us by van to various sights.

Phub was glad we had brought our own chairs -air mattresses with slings to form seats and backs - as their aluminum frame chairs had met with some mishap involving the mules.

Dasho Phub W.Dorji has a master's degree in Public Policy from Georgetown University in Washington D.C. and bachelor's degree in Business Administration and Economics from George Washington University.

Passang, who had an injured knee, was entrusting us to his nephews: 23-year-old Phub (pronounced Pope) Tshering, a veteran of seven years of trekking, and 18-year-old Namgay Tshering, who had been pulled out of computer school for this, his first trek.