Hi Inez,

We returned safe and sound, survived the challenging trekking and Tiger Nest excursion!

Many thanks to you to begin with, who made our travel plan came true, and a very enriching and smooth one.

I would like to write a heartfelt thankful testimonial to add on to your homepage, sharing some beautiful pictures as well. Like many other posted reviews, I sincerely hope that all your good effort and great team work will bring more interested tourists to your lovely and happy country.

Here goes my review,

At the beginning of the year, I started to plan a group trip for 16 of us to visit Bhutan in Oct. After some basic research, websites browsing, reading tripadvisor reviews and speaking to few travel agents, we decided to book our package with Druk Asia Bhutan Travel. Among the handful of very interesting itineraries, we chose to join the 7D6N package with Bumdra Trek. And it turned out to be such a wonderful trip and an immensely pleasant experience to go with Druk Asia.

The agency is truly a one-stop shop with transparent pricing, and takes care of air tickets, visa application, food, lodging, transport and itinerary that was customised to cater to our needs. My travel request was picked-up and coordinated by Inez Bratahalim, all the way from start to finish, with consistency and top-notch service. She was very pleasant and easy to work with, always prompt and responsive, probably the most efficient travel adviser that I've come across. Our local guide and driver were Kinley and Namgay (Joker), who were attentive and took good care of us throughout the entire trip. Kinley speaks very good English, young and fun to walk us through to various places of interest, and fit enough to lead us on a (last) 2-day challenging hiking treks. Joker on the other hand, was very experienced navigating the narrow roads and handled the van well. He also displayed his fatherly figure during trekking and made every effort to see that the weaker and slower ones were not left behind. He carried bags, helped the tired ones, and said prayers to make our hiking easier. His chanting even stopped a splattering rain along the hiking trail up to Bumdra, NOT joking. With them around, we managed to ascend to a 3900m campsite and moved on to Tiger Nest on the following day. All of us felt tired, drained and sore but extremely satisfying and fulfilling! No mean feat for a gang of us who are mostly in our 50s.

We brought back very fond memories, unforgettable experience, and many precious moments having spent our one week holiday in Bhutan. Accommodations were basic but clean and adequate, food was simple but delicious, people were friendly and genuine...what more can one ask for?

From each and everyone of us in the group, "Thank You!"

Best Regards,

Joanne Ong

spent 6 nights in Bhutan in Septemeber. We were travelling with our 3,5 year old daughter, She enjoyed it. Druk Asia's service at the time of booking and organistaion of accomodation was excellent. Our guide and driver were very friendly, knowledgableand very punctual, All our meals were served in very good restaurants, and loved the picinc at the river side, We discussed a lot about Bhutanese cuture, economy, development and Buddhism. Thanks to Druk Asia.

It has been a few days since I was back at work, and I can't help but miss the days when I was in Bhutan. I miss the beautiful valleys, the mythical mountains, the clear rivers and most importantly, the kind people whom I've met during my short stay in Bhutan. Guess I left a piece of my heart in Bhutan.

 Kinley went out of his way to make us feel at home, acceded to our various requests and even volunteered to carry our heavy bags up tiger's nest because it was clear to him that we were all tired from the climb. It did not feel like Kinley was there with us merely as a guide doing his job. It felt like he was a friend showing us his beautiful home. We also want to thank our driver (I think he is called Chillie - not sure how to spell) who really tried to make our rides as smooth and comfortable as possible.

Also, thank you Sangay for making sure that the entire planning process went without a hitch. And also thank you for your quick responses to the questions I had, and for your patience with dealing with the questions I inundated you with.

Yours sincerely,
Yuan Kheng

Kuzuzangpo la!

Our stay in Bhutan was great and we enjoyed ourselves despite some hiccups.

Bhutan was a memorable trip for my friends & I as we embarked on a 10 days journey to the West & Central of Bhutan. It was an fruitful experience for us as we embraced ourselves into the culture, with more understanding and learning new things. We simply missed everything in Bhutan. The scenery was just WOW! We also took back something with us which was friendship. We got to meet other travelers during the trip, who had the same itinerary as us, eventually we just got together in a pack of 6, 6 travelers with 6 guides/drivers (as I described it). It was fun to travel together and friendship was formed.

Bit of disappointment as we did not get to attend the Matsutake Festival, which was one of the highlight for this trip. Other than that, everything was good. We overcame the long bumpy journey on road & we managed to hike up Taktsang, which is also known as Tiger Nest, in a pretty good timing. Though we had few newbies in hiking, with great company the journey just seemed like a breeze. A big shout out to all the drivers & guides who accompanied us along this journey. It was a blessing to know them all and thank you.

KadinChhey la to Druk Asia for making this trip possible and definitely sharing with friends about the beauty of Bhutan. I am sure we would like to return to explore more of Bhutan, especially the Eastern of Bhutan.

Best wishes & Warmest regards

Tiffany Lim, Beatrice Han & Hannah

Hi Sangay!

Nice to hear from you! Though I'm back from Bhutan for 3 days already, my heart has been left there .. Hahaaa

I have lots of positive things to share about my Bhutan trip but I'm taking my time to sort my photos & upload albums on my FB account. Once I'm done, I'll share them with you.

In the meanwhile, my travel mate Janice & I would like to express our most heartfelt appreciation & commendations to our Bhutanese guide Kinley Gyeltshen & driver Sangay who took such good care of both of us throughout the entire trip. Both of them are more than guide and driver, they are just like our friends & brothers! Kinley is very knowledgeable and shared so much with us about Bhutan from the cultures, food, lifestyle, royal families, Buddhism to anything we want to know. We are also thankful to Kinley's patience & encouragement in allowing us to achieve the almost impossible tasks (at least for me who haven't exercised for a long time) of conquering the Phjoding trek followed by the Bumdra Trek & camp which was the highlight of our trip! I almost wanted to give up at the first trek which was the Phajoding Trek when I felt that I wasn't physically up for it. Kinley was very kind and made me a very good & sturdy walking stick from a suitable branch he found. Sangay who also joined us for the trek tagged to me so that Kinley could tag to Janice who could move at a faster pace. After Phajoding, it was a great sense of success for me but all these wouldn't have been possible without the encouragement & support from Kinley & Sangay! Hence when Bumdra trek came, I was so much more prepared & assured that I could do it too!

Kinley and Sangay were a great team, at times when Janice and I wanted to do different activities, they split up to each accompany one of us, such as when we were in Punakha, Kinley accompanied me for white water rafting along the female river while Sangay accompanied Janice on a trek up to a monastery. Janice loved to go for walks and Sangay offered to accompany Janice for an early morning walk at 5.30am on the day we stayed at Lobesa Hotel! Kinley also brought us to visit his grandmother's house in Punakha when I expressed my interest to see a real Bhutanese household family. All these activities were not in our itineraries.

Though this season that we traveled in Bhutan do not have major festivals for us to catch, Kinley knew from our conversations that we were a little disappointed but to our surprise, the night when we were in Gangtey, he asked if we would mind waking up a little earlier the next day to drive back to Punakha where there would be a 4th Annual Rhododendron Festival held at the nearby Royal Botanical Park. We were so elated & of cos won't mind waking up early to leave Gangtey at 6am the following morning! Along the way to the festival, Kinley arranged for us to stop at Lobesa Hotel for breakfast and got one of the hotel female staff Yeshi to help Janice & I dress up in our Kira so we could join the festival in Bhutanese style! I have attached a photo of us in our Kira with Kinley & Sangay in this email 

There's so much I want to share here about how grateful & blessed Janice & I are to have Kinley & Sangay as our guide and driver but it will probably take me hours or even days to type out all the things that they had gone to the extra miles to make our trip in Bhutan so enjoyable & memorable! Hence, I could only conclude that no words could express how happy & blessed are we to have gone for this Bhutan trip and to have met Kinley & Sangay!

Thanks too to you, Sangay from the Druk Asia Singapore office for making all the travel arrangement for us prior to our trip! You have always been very patient & prompt to our email queries!

Please feel free to share any of my comments in this email. I'll be most happy to let others know of our happy experiences in the Land of Happiness!

PS.: I used to think Bhutan will be my once in a lifetime trip but not now anymore cos I must go back again to find my heart which has been left there! 

Kadin-Chhey!!! 

God bless,

Shannon

Hi Sonam,

Kuzuzangpo La!

Firstly, would like to commend Sonam's patience and friendly demeanour in providing an excellent service regarding booking and choice of travel in Bhutan. He was accommodating and has responded to me in a timely manner.

Secondly, two thumbs up to my guide Kinley Gyeltshen and my driver (sorry forgot his name:( ). They were the coolest and friendliest Bhutanese! They have treated me with utmost respect despite my hesitation on travelling alone as a lady. I was made to feel comfortable at all times and had fun with intense discussion of Buddhism, fascinating culture of Bhutan and my interest with the Royal Majesties. Bhutan as a country is an exhilarating country with green valleys and mountain peaks. It has captured me the moment I saw the Himalayas during my incoming plane ride. Love seeing the traditional costume worn by the people in the streets of Paro and Thimphu. The tour itself was very much personalised and designed according to my taste as I got to view points on seeing the majestic landscapes and rolling slopes to the Dzongs and temples. One must be outspoken so that the guide can prepare and meet your expectation. As for me, it has surpassed my expectations and I will be coming back hopefully to see the festivals and more lively colours of either spring and autumn. Nevertheless, the off season was truly a magical, once in a lifetime experience and will never forget as long as I live.

Everything there is extraordinary... !! i love it! Thank you Druk Asia, Sonam, Kinley and driver. :)

Regards,

Chris

Dear Sangay,

Kuzuzangpola!

We enjoyed our stay in Bhutan a lot- the awesome scenery, fresh air, healthy meals and beautiful people of Bhutan are very memorable. It was a hassle-free experience traveling with Druk Asia; everything was well planned, we only need to pack our luggage and be there to experience this wonderful trip!

We would also like to thank our guide, Kinley, and driver, Nedrup (I hope I spelled it correctly), who were both very patient with us. They also went the extra mile to bring us to the riverside when we kept saying that the river looks very clear and stunning. We also enjoyed the additional experience of a picnic and playing with darts the Bhutanese way. The only pity was that we didn't get to go the farmhouse for dinner that our guide initially planned. It would be even more enriching experience for us if we can get closer to the local way of living through such visits to the farmhouse, and more hands-on experience to local recreational activities.

We had a very good stay at Hotel Lobesa. Plesae help us extend our thanks to the hotel staff. It's a beautiful hotel, and the staff there were especially warm and friendly.

Attached are some of the photos we took in Bhutan.
Hope we can travel to Bhutan again, and do more treks and visit more beautiful places! :)

Tashi Delek,
Yiwen

Hi Sangay,

Thanks for the arrangement. The whole trip was relatively good and just nice enough the pace. Most of my request are fulfilled. It was nice experience.

I hereby attach pictures.

Adeline

Hi Sonam,

The trip was a great experience. One thing I noticed was that it was too cold at night at Hotel Lobesa and Metta Resort despite having a heater and blanket in the room. Hotel Lobesa provided an extra blanket, which helped. I think multiple heaters in the rooms would be better. Also, on the last night at Metta Resort, I noticed that the Asian diners were served different food from the Westerners. Why was this the case?

In any case, I loved the trek up to Tiger's Nest, and here's a photo I took that you might want to share with future travelers.

Thank you for the amazing experience!

Cheers,
Tze Hon

Hi Sonam,

I am still getting over the head cold from the last days in Nepal and through my visit in Bhutan ! But I am getting better day by day.

I had a good visit in Bhutan despite the relentless rain throughout the visit. As I had told you, I cancelled the third leg of our trip because of the rain and the poor condition of the highway at this time. Yes, please do alert your visitor that the free way is under construction until at least 2016 and yes, please also discourage the visitors to visit Bhutan during the raining season. I could reschedule my visit in October and would fly directly to and from Singapore as it was a huge hassle to go back and out of Kathmandu. However, I did get to see Everest on the way back to Kathmandu so it was okay after all 😊

The accommodation was mostly good, Vara was the best with the view and the cleanliness, Norbuling also was clean but the street view was not very inviting, Paro stay was a huge disappointing after being at the other cleaner hotels.

The foods were basic and mostly healthy, but breakfast can be greatly improved with adding some Asian choices such as fried rice with eggs or sauté potato, and yogurt with bananas...

I do understand the driving habit in developing countries but it was still very nerve-racking to be on the free way in Bhutan, I wish I could stand the fear and kept going to the next location but I was glad that the rain kept us from going farther.

Overall, I am glad to take the side trip from work in Nepal to visit Bhutan, but I would recommend to go there after the free way is completed and definitely after September to avoid the daily rain. The upgrade to better hotels is a must as most visitors would enjoy a clean and comfortable stay. Hope these points are helpful to your organization.

Thank you for arranging the trip.

Dear Sonam,

Since we came home on Saturday, we missed the weather up in the mountains in Bhutan. The air was cool and fresh, evident by the plenty of lichen found on the trees.

The 7-day itinerary was relaxed though there was always likely to be some physical demand before we reached each destination. Our extended trekking was well thought of with decent tents, good porters, horses to bring the most unthinkable like gas stove up to 4,000 meters. We had toilet tents, dinning tents and good size sleeping tents. The chef was very dedicated too.

With us was our personal guide Kinley and driver Sangay. We felt they went out of their way to meet our most unique demands. Kinley brought us to visit his Grandmother in Punaka when we wanted to visit the home of a local. Sangay also brought us to a local market where we bought lots of local produce. After 2 long days of trekking, we had the most traditional hot stone bath and very good home cooked dinner. That was probably our best meal of the trip.

Being Buddhists, we took great interest in the details and legends of Dzongs and monastries which Kinley passionately narrated. He was patient with us when we took part in the rituals. Kinley was also sensitive if we were in the condition to stretch our day or rest early.

Hotel accommodation was up to our expectation. Except for Tenzinling which was not well run (in terms of reception and food), we were okay with most food and standard of accommodation.

Our experience with Druk Asia has been pleasant. Special mention goes to Kinley and Sangay who who let us feel we have been most well taken care of. We would definitely recommend all who want to visit Bhutan to use Druk Asia.

Best,

Hi Sangay,

Kuzuzangpo La!

Thank you for your email and I have been doing well back in Singapore.

I am writing this email to you to share my experience in Bhutan. Travelling to Bhutan is a great experience to me. Having to see the cultural and the history of the religion in this Buddhism country makes me understand more of Bhutan. Having said that, not forgetting my experience travel guide, Kinley, who accompanied me throughout the whole 10 days trip, from explaining each and every dzong history to carrying my heavy bag pack up to Taktsang monastery. The service that was provided by the tour guide and driver was amazing.

Even though this period is the monsoon season, most of the rain was only for a short while and it did not affect any of our plans for this trip.

I would like to feedback on the accommodations provided was satisfactory. Just a point to highlight for Rinchenling Lodge in Bumthang, no mineral water was provided upon request. It would be good that mineral water are available inside the room. Another point would be, TV or WIFI availability would be good for all hotel/resort as the hotel/resort in Bumthang and Gantey didnt have either or both. I guess other than that, the service that was provided by all the hotel staffs were very good.

I have attached a few photos that i had taken. As these photos are taken by me, i would appreciate to let me know if you are sending to other people/or posting the photo.

Well, it's been a pleasant and wonderful stay throughout the 10 days. I definitely will make another trip to Bhutan in the near future during the festival season!

Thank you!

Dear Sonam,

Let me thank you for the organisation of my Bhutan trip. It was inspiring and impressive. Enjoyed the hikes and visits to the monasteries, the interesting explanations of Kinley, the guide, the visits to the markets, the friendly people and food of Bhutan.

Kadin-Chhey,
Erik

Dear Cipto,

We are back! Am dropping a short note to say thanks for a very well-organised holiday. The arrangements went without a hitch from check-in at Bangkok airport all the way to the point our flight left Paro.

Hotels were nice - comfortable, lots of hot water, warm rooms, clean beds. As you know, we did have some problems with the food initially, but we got used to the cuisine over the week, and the food at some of the restaurants later in the trip was really good (for example at Meri Puensum and Metta Resort).

Both Kinley and Sangey were wonderful! They were helpful and always cheerful, and very accommodating regardless of how inane/unreasonable some of our requests ("photostop!", "where can we buy this cd?", "can you return this cd for me, cos i found it cheaper somewhere else", etc) must have sounded to them. They made travelling in Bhutan very easy, with all our needs taken care of, and it was a luxury always having someone around to help facilitate things. It was great too that we had a private tour, rather than being part of a group where we have to take into account other people’s wishes.

All in all, this trip was one of the most stress-free holidays I have had. I would definitely be recommending Drukasia to my friends who are planning to visit Bhutan.

Bhutan is beautiful: the rural scenery tranquil and bucolic, the natural landscape breath-taking, and the culture truly unusual. I plan on going back sometime, maybe for a trek or to experience a festival! : )