Time Magazine designated Bhutan as one of the world's few remaining "Nanny States" where the government dictates many of the details of life a few years ago. NBC's Matt Lauer casts it in a somewhat warmer light today on the Today Show's "Where in the World is Matt Lauer?" segment.

Bhutan is enchanting, mysterious, ancient, and open to visitors. And it is a happy place, a peaceful place.

The guiding principle behind Bhutan's state control of life? It's not Communism. Nor is it religion, per se. Bhutan's motivation for the unusual degree of control it exercises over life within its borders is more simple: survival. There are few places like Bhutan left in the world. You can't buy tobacco or smoke in public. Television has been around for less than 10 years. And democracy is slowly coming to the kingdom.

Whether it is the vacation of a lifetime or the nightmare of a lifetime will depend on how ready you are for Bhutan...