Special thanks to our tour guide Sonam Lhendup and driver friend Chang Nidup.

I usually has motion sickness and Nidup would ensure he drives slowly and steadily while we travel along a lot of mountain route.

Sonam has made sure we are well taken care of and even help us to carry our heavy backpack while we hike up to various temples not to mention the biggest challenge Tiger’s Nest.

I would definitely recommend Druk Asia if you want to have a fruitful and memorable holiday trip in Bhutan.

Hi Sonam,

We were very very sad to leave!!! We had a wonderful time and the trip exceeded all our expectations. The highlight for us was the drive up to Chele La Pass and the hike down to the nunnery. The scenery was absolutely beautiful and so peaceful...we didn't run into a single person on the hike! We also loved the Punakha valley and of course Tiger's Nest was magical and well worth the effort :-)

Thank you for all your help in making all the arrangements. All the pre-trip planning went very smoothly and you were very responsive and thorough in answering all our questions. The car, hotels, food, etc while we were in Bhutan were all great.

We especially want to commend our guide Sonam. He was great and a big part of why we enjoyed the trip as much. He was very informative and helpful throughout. We are already making plans to come back for another trip and will definitely want to have him again as our guide.

We are enclosing a couple of my favorite pictures from the trip!

Thanks,

Andy Ong

Just came back from a magical 8 day trip that exceeded all our expectations. The highlight for us was the drive up to Chele La Pass and the hike down to the nunnery. The scenery was absolutely beautiful and so peaceful...we didn't run into a single person on the hike! We also loved the Punakha valley and of course Tiger's Nest was magical and well worth the effort :-)

Druk Asia was excellent throughout...from the planning stages all the way through to the in country arrangements. Highly recommend them for anyone planning a trip to Bhutan!

1. Tour Guide Sonam Lhendup

We must say, he is one of the best tour guides we have encountered. It is a blessing for Bhutan as he is a great ambassador to his country. Over the duration of our trip, he has shown himself to be very knowledgeable of the Buddhist teachings, excellent command of English and his extensive general knowledge of Bhutan. Besides, he is a very considerate, hardworking and very careful into details and always try to understand and ensure that our needs/expectations are taking into consideration.

We found out other guides do not know the name or height of the 2nd highest peak of Bhutan, Jomolhari. Sonam had the answers when we asked him why the trees were being cut part of it when we were on the mountain roads.

You have a very good guide and please take good care of Mr Sonam. He will be a great asset and ambassador to Bhutan; and we believe he is certainly more than capable to take on bigger groups etc. We will certainly be back again, and this time for more trekking activities and we would certainly be requesting for Mr Sonam to be with us.
9/10 (Excellent!)
 

2. Driver Birkha

He is a very safe driver and with a pleasant personality. We told him that my wife May is normally quite prone for giddiness on windy road and he was indeed a very good and careful driver.
One the day of arrival, I inspected the car worthiness , I was not happy as one of the tyres had a tear on the re-threaded tyre. We know it is important to have a good car driving in Bhutan. Later in the day , the tyre was been changed out without question. Well done to Bikha. 
8/10 (Very Good)
 

3. Accommodation/Hotel

Amongst the 3 hotels we stayed , generally speaking, they were good. Raven's Nest was by far the better of the three. Owner Gayley Yangzom was a very nice owner of this 21 room boutique hotel. They had a very personal touch and food was excellent as well.
8/10 (Very Good)

Overall, we had a better than expected experience to Bhutan from our recent short trip and we are glad to have gone through Druk Asia. Thank you!


Regards,

Raymond & May

Hi Sonam

Just back from a 7D/6N tour of Bhutan by DrukAsia arranged by the ever consummate travel advisor Mr Sonam Younten who has all the answers in his finger tips as mentioned by most travellers. I am by nature a quiet,contemplative person and was truly grateful on arrival in Paro to be met by our guide Sonam Lhendup and driver Suman.Sonam Lhendup is soft spoken,informative,calm demeanoured person and i felt like i was following a monk.Suman a very skilful driver was equally soft spoken and quiet natured and always had a genuine smile on his face whenever he meets us.Both made a perfect pair.

There is nothing much i can expand on what everyone has already written about Bhutan being a wonderful and unique country. Whether all Bhutanese are truly "Happy" i am not sure but it certainly made me extremely happy being there for a week.Except for the town folks living in Thimpu,Paro and Phunaka most Bhutanese still lead a very basic agrarian life tending to their fields,their animals,their religious rituals as how their ancestors had lived hundreds of years ago in total ignorance of the outside world.

Religion is a very important part of their daily lives as you can see they are always either chanting,turning the prayer wheels,counting beads or performing prostrations in front of deities that truly fascinates me.This probably gives them happiness and peace of mind even though they are poor materially.Unlike us who are plucked in to the world 24/7,with information overload,material wealth and abundant food. Peace and Happiness seems rather elusive.Perhaps we do have a lot to learn from the Bhutanese.

Our highlight of the tour was the visit to Chhundu "green" school where we managed to interact with the teachers and kids during their lunch break that was provided by the school.Since it was in the itinerary we decided to bring from Singapore plenty of books,stationaries and sweats to be distributed to the kids.The kids were really happy and excited with the stuff we brought them.It was a wonderful experience talking to kids and the teachers who are very dedicated in their roles.Then we had a wonderful picnic lunch near the school grounds.

The hotels provided by DrukAsia were good,the food decent and at times even exceeded our expectations especially Yue Ling and Roots restaurants.Zhamkeng Resort location overlooking Phunakha town was excellent.Food was great at Metta Resort in Paro.

Off-course the ultimate and unforgettable destination was the hike to Taktsang Monastery (Tigers Nest).I wish there was an easier way to reach the top especially for the older folks.A cable car would certainly help.

On the whole it was a wonderful,eye opening and partly spiritual experience visiting Bhutan. I would certainly consider returning anytime if only they could abolish the daily tourist tariffs.

Once again i like to thank DrukAsia's Sonam Younten,our guide Sonam Lhendup,driver Suman and wish all Bhutanese Peace Love and Happiness always.

Dear Sangay,

Thanks for the greeting! I had a wonderful time in Bhutan and I would like to grasp the chance to thank my tour guide Sonam and driver Tandin for bringing me an unforgettable experience throughout the 9 days.

Please kindly find the attached compliment letters for both of them. And if chances permit, please do not hesitate to share on Facebook or your company's newsletter.

Please also find the attached 3 pics for your use.

(a) Group photo with my tour guide Sonam and driver Tandin
(b) Photo with Tiger Nest and myself
(c) Dry picnic at the lookout to Himalayas

Compliment letter to Sonam and Tandin

Sonam (tour guide)

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my 4-year-experience tour guide Sonam for his caring and smart attitude throughout the 9-day trip. There are a number of things I appreciate:

1. Every time when a traveler first meets a tour guide, he or she will feel shy to speak up yet he tried his best to ice break the atmosphere by showing his understanding on my long-hour flight and transit from Hong Kong to Bhutan. Every day when I got into the car for a new day journey again, he would not hesitate to ask if I slept well last night. Such caring manner makes me feel warm and easy.

2. He is also a considerate tour guide. I drank a lot of water in the trip thus I need to pee all the time, yet he never showed any discontent and even willing to show me areas for toilet when the car stopped in the middle of an expressway. I remembered once when roadblock appeared and we were forced to wait in the vehicle queue for over half an hour (normal expectation of time waiting), he soon coordinated with Tandin and decided to buy some cup noodles for me to fill my hunger during lunchtime. He arranged the little lunch with villagers and always made me feel comfortable. Another incident is that when we were having dry picnic at a lookout in Ura Valley, a number of horses attempted to approach. Sonam soon produced noises to scare them away in a sense that he knew I would feel scared.

3. It was not until the 3rd night that I knew I could eat out according to a recommended list by company. Since then, I requested him to suggest me restaurant to eat out. He showed understanding and tried his best effort to offer me different menus so that I could savor different delicacies. I remembered once that a restaurant failed to provide fish owing to lacking supply of seafood from government, and he understood my disappointment at that time. He not only soon asked the restaurant manager if they had any alternatives but also chatted with me on the affair so as to let me know he has addressed my concern as soon as possible.

Another incident is about the upgrade of the room in Bumthang. I was told by the hotel staff that free upgrade is available and thus there should be no extra charges. Yet, they may have miscommunication among themselves that I was informed later by Sonam that extra charges were incurred. I was a little shocked since then, and expressed my disagreement and my complaint on lacking access to WiFi to him. He soon explained the issue to the staff manager and I could witness some staff fixing the WiFi machine the day after and, I needed not pay the extra charges at the end. Thanks for solving all these problems for my convenience.

It is not easy to leave a lifelong unforgettable memory to every traveler especially facing a growing demand for travel needs and a bunch of business competitors. However, even if I select Druk Asia by random yet I ended up having a wonderful journey. All these, as I believe, rely on how experienced and hearty the tour guide is. And Sonam did show his professionalism and perseverance throughout the trip. And I do hope that his knowledge and attitude could be utilized by company in other field of occupation such as planning and administration as well. Hope Sonam could have a better future! And hope Sonam could have chance to learn Mandarin soon (his dream as I chatted with him)!

Tandin (driver)

Very experienced driver for 6 years. Frankly, I already knew that the road to Bumthang from Punakha would not be a good one after a complete two and a half hours car massage from Thimphu to Punakha. Yet, Tandin never attempted to drive super fast and made me feel further uncomfortable. As my driver, he also doubled his effort in choosing some paths with less rocks and boulders so that I needed not experience much bumps.

There are 2 more things I appreciate:

1. He was always waiting for my return whenever I finished visiting a tourist attraction. He also grabbed the chance to wash his car so that every time I could have a fresh experience when entering the car. Also, after discovering that I hate my face being washed by dust and sand on every bumpy under-constructed countrywide roads, he would always close the windows when those machines or trucks passed by. He would also chit-chatted with me whenever he had any chance.

2. He brought me to experience clubbing and bar culture in Paro and Bumthang. I love exploring how villagers and citizens spend their night-time and thus I asked if there were good places to go. Tandin not only explained in detail to me, but also brought me to see ladies dance in the clubs. I truly then understood how Bhutan operated their clubs and how people interact in those public spaces. He befriended with many locals and always provided me with a comfortable experience by little drinking and chatting with dancers.

One last thing, I am a daring person, and I love trying new things. Tandin taught me to eat Doma (though it might not be healthy and hygienic because of the spits), and I had a happy time recording my first time hands-on.

Anyway, well done Tandin!!! Thanks for bringing me to try out REAL Bhutan!!