This has been an amazing trip to Bhutan this October. The weather was beautiful, not too cold and not too hot. The itinerary was perfect for us, a good blend of hiking activities and leisurely visits to the monasteries. Our tour guide, Dee Dee was great, along with out driver, Dorji. Both were very kind and accommodating, they knew when we were tired and had us rest up back at the hotel. They both offered to stop at any point during the drive so that we could take pictures of the breathtaking background.The hotels were on another level of their own, nestled against the mountain, providing the best views from any room. Of course the highlight is the trek to Tiger's Nest. My mother couldn't make it to the very top but she was able to make it to the halfway point and rest while me and my sister hiked all the way to the top. The altitude took some time to get used to, but we took our time and took many breaks to acclimate. Bhutan is such a cultural country, with the Bhutanese having so much pride in their home and their willingness to share it with us. I want to thank Druk Asia for providing us with such a wonderful time there, definitely will recommend to other people who want to come here as well.

I just came back from a 7d6n trip to Bhutan. it was really an enjoyable and enlightening trip. i am thankful to my guide De De and driver guide Chheku for the whole trip.

De De is knowledgeable and fun. Esp during the hike to tiger nest, both of them showed patience and were very encouraging to us. We might have given up if not for them.

I will definitely recommend them to my friends who will be going to Bhutan.

Dear Sonam,

I would like to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to my guide, Dechen Dema (Dede). She has been a wonderful guide and friend, who went above and beyond to help me and ensure that I had the best experience in Bhutan. She even helped me with Nu50 when I ran out of cash buying souvenirs! This was beyond her duty but she did it without a second thought. She truly embodied the spirit of the Bhutanese people - giving, helpful, friendly and caring. I couldn't have asked for a better guide.

Dede was also very knowledgeable about Bhutan's history and was patient in answering my many questions. She has a funny personality and added lots of joy and laughter during my trip. She's also very caring and would keep checking in with me to make sure that I'm comfortable, whether I needed a rest or have some water, and snuck extra dishes from the kitchen for me. It's the little thoughts and acts of kindness that make Dede such a wonderful guide.

The driver, Jamyang, is also excellent at navigating the winding roads and mountain passes and made me feel safe. I also appreciate how he always waited patiently for me to finish exploring the Dzongs, Lhakhangs, the long hike to Paro Taktsang and my shopping along the streets of Paro Town.

I'm glad that I became friends with Dede through this trip and it's coincidental that we are both of the same age so we can click really well. Thank you once again for arranging Dede as my guide and Jamyang as my driver. Kadin Chhey!

I will definitely return to Bhutan again and I will be encouraging my parents to make a trip there too. :)

In summary, it was a very enjoyable trip. DD (our guide) and PD & Benjo (our drivers) are great. They are very good at what they do.

A non-stop direct flight to Bhutan would be good. Advice future travelers to be prepared for the walking, and altitude that we are not used to. Some regular exercise to better prepare oneself physically would be beneficial.

Wireless 3G routers don’t seem to working there. Sim cards direct in phones do work. Can advise future travelers. I think getting sim cards ready for travelers could be a value-added service. Nowadays people like to be connected on the go. facebook, whatsapp, etc.

Motion sickness or other medicine - can advice travelers to pack, or seek medical advice about traveling to Bhutan, a place with high elevation.

Elevation markers at different part of the hike would be good information. eg 2000m above sea level. 3000m, etc.

For the hike to Tiger Nest, we saw horses used to bring people to somewhere near the cafe. I would like to suggest not to use the horses.

These are my reasons:

1) For the people: we are inhaling the poo and pee of the horses as we ascend the mountain. There are so much fresh air there, but because of making it easy for people, the people whom walked suffered, so are the horses.

2) For the horses, we see that they have to ascend the mountains (daily? multiple times a day?), with additional weight (humans) on their back. This looks suffering for them.

3) For people and horses, the path up on the mountain is challenging. There is safety concern with horse and rider, what if the rider fall off and roll down the mountain. For the people walking, What if the horse

4) We see able young people riding the horses, and grandparents choosing to walk.

I implore to provide this feedback to the Bhutan authority to stop use horses or other animals to bring people up. Walk only. Give people ample warning about the challenge of going up Tiger Nest.

It would benefit the people walking up the mountain with fresh air, and not stop or keep aside for the horses to pass; and memory of walking through toilets up the mountain. It also take away the suffering from horses.

Lastly, perhaps a medical post at base of Tiger Nest might be a good idea too.

Thank you.

Regards

Benson

We truly enjoyed the trip especially the Bumdra trek which continued on to Tiger's Nest Monastry, which was the highlight of the itinerary.

The Bumdra camp is indeed luxurious with 1 person to each tent, being equipped with Queen size bed on metal frames as well as down feather blanket and shelf rack at the entrance.

The welcome snacks (pop corn and biscuits) and hot drinks (ginger tea) were beyond our expectation, added to our enjoyment of the views of the mountains in front of us, forgetting the tiredness of the trek up to 3,800m.

Our guide - Ms Dechen Deema - has been wonderful and patient throughout the trip, and together with the driver, have made our trip very memorable with their stories and jokes.

Thanks so much for the wonderful time in Bhutan, being our first trip!

Hopefully we have another opportunity to explore the central part of Bhutan...

Arlene & Julie

I had a very memorable trip to Bhutan. Thank you for making my trip so seamless and fuss-free. My guide and driver were so wonderful and they made me feel at home. I've also attached a few photo of driver, Uncle Ugyen helping out fellow driver on the road which really touched my heart. I am looking forward to travelling to other parts of Bhutan next year.

Thank you once again.

Best regards

Chin Yee