TripAdvisor: Ms. Anuja – Bhutan -Because you Always Be Happy!!!
I would like to share some stories about my recent & the First but not the last trip to Bhutan for which I had booked all the services of Hotels, guide, drivers, cars through the Company Heavenly Bhutan.
The Country – Bhutan as a country is Amazing with such good people, who are very Nice, amiable, courteous & helpful. I did not hear a single horn , Drivers do not Honk & coming from India that really took me by pleasant surprise!! I did not witness a single person Arguing/ fighting / getting angry throughout my 8 Days Journey. Its like everyone understands each other so well.
The people are so eager to always help you – for instance, I generally used to head out on my own for Morning walks & explore the local areas.. & when I would be confused about the way directions, locals were a great help to reach back safely to my destination. Felt extremely safe.
Our Guide Dhana & Driver Namgay – they both were the pillars of our Trip. They both were excellent. Diligent, reliable, calm & very professional.
Always on time & ready, waiting for us to finish all our morning chores before we set out & start the days’ sightseeings / activities.
We were a bunch with all the passengers above 60years – Senior Citizens club barring me!! They were very patient & took prompt action in fulfilling all our demands.
Like on day 1 we asked for a small Stool (Step Up) as a tool to help climb the car, which they arranged immediately when we went out. They would always give a helping hand to alight all the passengers from the coach one by one at all the stops, all throughout the Trip.
Also the smallest of demands from getting access to Pan shops for Uncles, to local restaurants which serve good tasty veg foods, to Medical & general stores to buy Water in Wholesale rates, which proves that they were well aware & informative about the Areas & Places around.
Any last minute changes to the itinerary to suit the Moods & Energy levels of the groups were always readily accepted with a Smile & never have they Cribbed/ complained about making impromptu plans or tweaks to the Schedule. I appreciate that part, as it met our main requirement of choosing an Individual Customised Tour over a Guided Set Plan Tour.
Dhanapati our guide – Super Guy, with great knowledge about the geography & history of Bhutan country & well aware of the places routes locations, etc.
Special mention for the Day we went to Phobjikha, after the strenuous journey he came trekking along with us & that too during rough weather conditions as it was Raining heavily & there were Hail Storms. He dint even have a rain Cap to cover his ahead & still went strong with us.
We completed the Trek under his guidance.
Also for Tigers Nest, as I was the Sole passenger who wanted to go yet he accompanied & guided me throughout the Journey & my Trek upto the Tigers Nest.
Namgay Our Driver– His judgment while driving was very apt & we all felt very safe while he would drive us around the Hilly areas with Sharp turns & bad roads due to the ongoing construction works. Special Mentions of the day while returning back from Phobjikha / Gangtey, there was rains & the roads were very bad & the long journey of 5 hours each way, & on our return journey it was very late & very dark & ill litted, still he drove his best with lots of patient & utmost care.
Our Hotels – Osel in Thimphu & Drubchhu in Punakha except for the Paro Hotel Udumwara resort(which was also not bad), however the other 2 were far better in terms of the staff & the people serving us. The location of both Hotels were good & the rooms were very spacious & clean & with a nice view.
Also the staff at the Hotels took very good care of us, & were very prompt in taking good care of all our needs. They were well trained, warm & friendly.
[Udumwara offcourse was not our original choice, however we dint get availability at the hotel we chose so we decided to book this. The Hotel rooms here were not very clean. Although the rooms were large & very spacious, but they lacked cleanliness. But that’s a feedback for the Hotel]
All the 3 Hotels served very good Indian Vegetarian Food & catered best to serve us, with fresh cooked Indian Veg & also Jain Food. Hats off to all the restaurant & kitchen staff who did a good job.
Menuka (The Tour consultant)– Made all the back end arrangements for our itinerary so smooth & taking care of the minutest details.
Last but not the Least – MR RAJU RAI of Heavenly Bhutan.
I have been co ordinating with him from DAY 01 of planning the whole trip… & he has always been very very helpful, you always give quick responses, clearing all our doubts with regards to any query that we would have about the destination / hotels/ places to visit, giving true picture, factual information. Appreciate the fact & the promptness with which he connected, through each & every way so as to be in touch & give all the necessary information at all times. He made the arrangements precisely as per our requirements & took care of all the things we had mentioned during all the conversations we had to Plan this trip & made a great Success