Re: Ladakh/Spiti Valley trip

30 May till 25th June 2010
Annie and I both made it home intact, although getting over jet-lag will take awhile. I just want to thank you for all your work at making our trip a success. Despite setbacks from avalanches and closed passes, we had a wonderful trip.







 

Hi Kinga, It's been almost six weeks since I returned from Bhutan.  I want to thank you again for making that brief visit so special! A journey is not completed when one arrives home, but rather, when one uses the experience as best one can.  Not one day has passed during the last weeks that I haven't thought of Bhutan.  Specific experiences and images rise to the surface from my memories and field notes and photos; as well as lots of questions.  As you said, our brief visit was "intense" and I'm grateful for that. You presented Bhutan so well with your knowledge of the country and people, of Buddhism and of the birds and natural features. And I think you tried to present as realistic a picture as you could on a quick trip. I really enjoyed being there in a way that is different from my enjoyment of other places I've visited. Leaving Bhutan with so many good memories and so many questions might be good for tourism there....I may have to return for another look!  Wishing you all the best!  Kadriche! --Steve

Sikkim Bhutan Custom Trip Mar 21- April 03, 2010
Our guide in Sikkim and Darjeeling was also very good.  We gained a lot of information about the country.  The driver was very adept at handling the car in a difficult driving situation.  He was very patient and a safe driver. The only problem we had was on arrival from Dubai into Delhi.  There was no one to meet us at the airport.  I was able to reach the agent on his cell and he apologized and had us take a taxi to the Ashok Country Resort.  The hotel was fair. He did come early the next morning to take us to the Druk flight. The Norkhill Hotel was very good but its sister hotel the Elgin was fair.
Overall, however, we had an enjoyable and informative time.
Bhutan Part. We are on our way back home having completed the arrangements with you.  Just wanted you to know that the Bhutan portion of our trip was teriffic!
 Our tour guide, Tshewang Rinchen was outstanding.  His years of experience professionalism, knowledge, pleasant personality and timeliness were just great.  He took real good 
care of us and was always there prior to meals and tour times ready to go.  We learned a lot and thouroughly enjoyed the experience. Our driver was also excellent.  Very patient in his driving and extremely polite with us. The hotels all worked out ok.  In terms of service the Taj Tashi and the Punatsangchhu Cottages were both excellent.  The Tenzling Hotel was good.  The Druk Hotel in Phuentsholing, however, had problems.  We were the only customers.  There was noise of construction, toilet didn't work properly, hot water required special effort to get them to turn on the flow from the main water heater.  The next morning it was off again.  The staff wasn't very friendly especially as compared to the other hotels where they tried hard to smile and be helpful. Regards.
Haig Bazoian
 

Paro Festival Trip, March 2010 - Dear Ugen, We returned to Hungary from our trip to Bhutan and Nepal a month ago, but I had to catch up with quite a few things, so I am writing now to thank you for organizing this memorable trip to Bhutan. Our guide Kado and driver Pema did not spare any effort to make the trip smooth and in spite of the relatively  short time we could complete our program as planned. Kado is very knowledgable about history and Buddhism and shared many interesting facts and information. He organized very well our schedule, even on the day when we had different programs with Maria, he suggested the best solution - early start for Maria to the Tiger Nest to avoid heat and crowds, and then Pema came back in time to drop me for the second day of the festival in Paro. Pema was a very careful driver, always on time and very helpful with photostops and any other request concerning the programme. Please kindly convey our thanks once again to Kado and Pema, and to everybody in Windhorse, whom we did not meet personally, but who contributed to the success of our trip. The accomodation, food, transportation were always very good and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Bhutan. We  were considering this possibility in 2008 but at that time it was not certain that we could cross the border there. May be in the future  we could combine a trip including Eastern Bhutan with the Bhuddhist monasteries in Arunachal Pradesh (Tawang valley). I would like to thank you personally once again for organizing our trip and hope that I could return in the future to your beautiful country. Best regards  - Eugenia.

I have just returned from your exquisite country still wishing I was there… It has been a wonderful experience and loved every minute of it, even the long drives and some confusions in the hotel reservations…I will send you the feedback form as soon as I have completed it but would like to take this opportunity to say that our guide Sonam Jamtsho and our driver Guddu Chhetri were marvellous and did everything they could do to make our trip very enjoyable.
 

Everything was well organised,the hotels were all good (some really good, others just good, as one expects making such a long tour). Just at Badami Court it didn't work out as foreseen, because the hotel was overbooked and Christian was sent to very poor premises.  But to excuse themselves they offered compensations, so it was no tragedy.  The Hotel Dewachen in Buthan was lovely in it simplicity, but the nice people who manage it still have to learn a lot about receiving guests; when we arrived every place was very cold, both dining room and bedroom (and temperature outside was very cold!). They started heating after our arrival, which resulted in freezing for at least an hour in the dining room and far more in the bedroom, where the stove was small and heathing for no longer than an hour without being fed new logs!!  We washed ourselves very little that evening/morning, too cold to undress!!  On top of that, it seemed very evident to me that the bed sheets had already been used by other people: inside the bed I found several body hairs,which presence I can't explain in any other way.  But finally we took the whole thing as a new experience, laughed about it and made no problems. I'm just telling you because I think you should be aware of  these disfunctions.  The other hotels in Buthan were all very  good, we can only recommend them.  The Amankora was extremely nice, but overpriced, it's true. Anyway Christian wanted to see it, a study visit, so we were happy to be there one night.  Also in Karnataka the hotels were fine. The Aiswara Fort Hotel was at the limit, but probably in this town they have nothing better to offer. On Havelock Island we had a very nice time, nature is do beautiful and the coral barrier so beautiful. We so a lot just by snorkelling. The Silver Sand was ok, but surely the Barefoot Resort would have been better for us, especially for the food (in our resort it was too indian for our bellys!). We went to Barefoot for dinner once and we can only recommend it. The only little problem we had on Havelock was that we had understood from the program that we would be met by somebody both at Port Blair Airport and at Havelock's harbour. So we waited quite a bit, before organising ourselves on our own. If we had known that from the beginning, it would have made it easier. In reality it's nothing complicated, just take a taxi. The guides and drivers were all very good: Tandin Tshering, a specialist of Buddhism,  and Gudu, perfect driver, in Buthan, Sridhar in Karnataka, very nice, competent and helpfull people. We remember them with a lot of pleasure. The one-day guide in Kolkata, Mr. Samik Kumar Ray, was extremely competent, it was really interesting to spend some time with him. We wish to thank you for having arranged so well this tour for us, which will leave a strong print in our memories and hearts. Please,extend our thanks to all the guides and drivers, who made all what they could to make us happy.Friendly regards,
 

Actually I hadn't thought you would want to put our comments on your website, we had meant them for your business only, especially the critics.  But if you wish I'll rearrange the text so it will be suitable for the website.I think I forgot to underline how perfect the agent's representatives were both in Kolkata and in Bangalore. When I suddenly had to go back to Italy, the representative of the local agency insisted to accompany me to the airport, find the flight, find a hotel where to spend the waiting time, he was really great. Although I'm used to travel a lot on my own, I realized how things in that occasion would have been much more diificult without his help. And all that was not included in the package !! - Cecilia and Christian Bauer

In late November, 2009, as members of a group of seven visitors on a ten-day tour, we had the rare privilege of being guided around Bhutan by Kinga Dechen. His impressive knowledge of his nation’s history, traditions, religion and social conditions gave us special insights into Bhutan and added enormously to what we were able to take away from our visit. His company made excellent advance preparations for our tour, and he adjusted these with efficiency and good cheer whenever we requested changes to meet new interests acquired along the way. By the end of our tour, the seven of us were unanimous in high praise for Kinga and what he added to the many pleasures of the trip. In addition—and any visitor will learn quickly the importance of this—Kinga employed careful drivers who increased our sense of security and proved to be good traveling companions as well.

My wife and I endorse with great enthusiasm the services of Windhorse Tours and of Kinga Dechen in particular. We would gladly expand on this theme if any prospective traveler seeks additional information.

      --Robert Keatley 

         Washington, DC

Windhorse Tours is a wonderful company to use for trips to Bhutan, Nepal and India.  I have been to Bhutan twice and have used Windhorse on both occasions.  The first time was in 2006 with my parents; we did a regular tour during the Thimpu festival.  I admired the pristine beauty of Bhutan that I returned with my husband this year in November.  Ugen with the US office was extremely helpful in planning an individual tour for us.  He arranged everything well including: 1) a week for my husband, Brad, in Bodh, Gaya; 2) our 10 days in Bhutan; and 3) our 2 days in Kathmandu, Nepal.  Unlike my cultural trip in 2006, this trip in 2009 involved lovely day hikes to temples, monasteries, and dzongs that I had seen before and some that I had not seen.  Our guide Sonam was excellent.  He was attuned with what we wanted to do on the planned itinerary but also aware of our energy level. He respected our request if we wanted to relax at the resorts we stayed (Uma Paro, Taj Tashi in Thimpu, and Meri Phuensum in Punakha).  Sherab, our driver, was excellent as well.  Not only did he drive us but would accompany us with Sonam to Taktshang (Tiger's Nest) or Dzongdrakha Gompa to lend a helping hand on our walks along rocky trails.  After our stay in Bhutan, we flew to Kathmandu.  Our guide was Buddhi Bhatta who was well versed in the history of Nepal.  Buddhi concentrated on Buddhist sites in Kathmandu as well as a morning in Patan with it's beautiful Newari architecture for our short stay in Nepal.  Traveling to these Himalayan countries can be quite an adventure but with the close communication Ugen does via phone and email pre-departure and the wonderful guides and drivers that work with Windhorse Tours, we plan on going back some day with the help of Windhorse Tours.  Mimi Valdecanas and Brad Priddy from Atlanta, Georgia USA

Dear Kinga/BirderGuru,
Rosie and i would like to thank you so much again for making our visit to Bhutan so fantastic and special. We reflect on the time together with you, the things that we saw, the people we saw and met, the places we visited, the festivals we were so privileged to have attended, and all we learnt.....not to mention the birds I saw, of course....and we cannot imagine that we could have had a more fascinating and enjoyable time. This of course is all down to you and your planning of the trip. It all went so very well, apart perhaps some rain on the trek....we will have to come again to see the views of the high mountains!! But maybe the weather made the experience more different and exciting.....it was certainly quite wonderful to be in those beautiful mountains and i loved every minute of it.
 
I dont think I have moved very far along the Bhuddist path to Enlightenment, but we have certainly taken some steps, possibly along the Middle Path>  Rosie and I both feel that so much converges along the historically different paths leading towards an understanding of Buddha/Allah/God. As we walk along these paths up the mountain, perhaps we all slowly realise we are climbing the same mountain. An exposure to the faith and devotion evident in Bhutan was an inspiration.
 
So....it was also all so much fun and we had a terrific team with you as the leader. The more we think about it the more amazing it all seems. WOW...WOW....HOW BRILLIANT IT WAS
 
I will link up with Di about tents etc and let you know what the picture is.
 
Once again, very, very many thanks for your superb organisation and leadership of our trip....and of course thanks to the wonderful Dorji who is such a steady and excellent driver, apart from being such a very nice and serene person.
 
All the very best
Andy
 
P.S. On a more business note I received a mail from greenbee.com who organise specialist travel for the  large John Lewis group who do specialist tours to N.India, Nepal, Sri Lanka...but no mention of Bhutan.....maybe a marketing gap you could fill (please make sure to use any testimonials from our team). If you do not get a follow up on the other people at Cazenove and Lloyd, Abercrombie and Kent.....let me know and I will chase it up
--
Andrew P G Holmes
Mobile: 07836 555880
Tel London: 020 736 5736
Tel Oxon: 01491 680362
e-mail: apgholmes@googlemail.com

Dear Family and Friends, Jack and I just returned from Bhutan - the trip of my dreams.  It really is impossible to describe the country, the people and the culture.  It truly is Shangri La. The physical country is breathtakingly gorgeous, with mountain range after mountain range after mountain range until finally the highest snow covered peaks imaginable.  Pictures don't do it justice. Because Bhutan is so close to the equator, the tree line is incredibly high, so there are pine trees covering mountains at 14,000 ft. and beyond. There is no pollution and the air smells fragrant, almost peppery like the spicy szechuan pepper that grows there. The valleys are terraced farms and rice fields with the backdrop of mountains. The sky is impossibly blue and most of our days were cloudless, but the clouds high up over the mountains are the whitest, fluffiest clouds ever.  Monasteries and temples are everywhere and many of them are high up in the mountains. Bhutan is a land of peace and serenity.  And happiness!
The people are truly the happiest people we've ever seen. Everyone smiles. People are friendly - they love to wave and say hello.  Kids walk to school in groups talking, laughing, playing and looking happy. Almost everyone (except for the elderly) speaks English. Parents spend time with their kids.  The elderly are respected and included.  The Bhutanese people are beautiful - smooth, clear skin, shiny black hair and big smiles.  They are happy to smile and pose for the camera.
Almost everyone wears the national costume,  a gho for men, which is like a robe, and a ghet for women, which is a long wrap around skirt with a contrasting jacket.  The fabrics are colorful and rich - plaids, stripes and patterns.
The country is Buddhist - and it's much more than a religion - it's a way of life that permeates the culture. People are gentle, respectful, hard working, friendly and playful!
We visited about a dozen monasteries and temples and each one was more beautiful than the next.  The Buddhas and paintings and the actual structures were wildly colorful and decorative.  Our guide told us so many fantastic stories.  The monks are quiet and respectful, but also funny and very welcoming.
Bhutanese don't kill to eat.  They use cows and yaks for milk and chicken for eggs. Everything grown - every vegetable you can think of - is organic.  The government makes sure that everyone has three meals a day.   (The government also provides health care and education for all.  In fact, we have never seen so many schools)!  Meals typically consist of red or white rice, 3 or 4 fresh vegetables - spinach, broccoli, carrots, radishes, cauliflower, eggplant, mushrooms - you name it!  And every meal has either chicken, fish or beef which comes from India.  The national dish is chilis (which grow everywhere) and cheese.  Very hot and very delicious - their cheese is very, very low fat, not heavy or thick.
Bhutan has only 27,000 tourists a year (compared to Bangkok which has 20,000 tourists a day)! and when you visit,you pay a fee per person to the government.  For that fee, you get a guide, a driver, hotel, transportation and three meals a day.  37% of the fee goes to education and health care.
We were lucky enough to happen upon a local town festival. There are many festivals, some big and famous, and others smaller.  But all festivals include colorful costumes, dancing, music, festivites.  They are like outdoor, live operas.  Everyone attends and watching the people is as much fun as watching the festival.
We fell in love with our guide, Kinga,  who was so flexible and accommodating.  He knew, after a day, the we were not "normal" tourists.  On our second day there, he made sure to introduce me to the 2 men who started the Bhutan Climbing Club and off we went to the Thimpu "Nose" with 16 newly bolted routes! We did some extreme hiking - one day he hired a local guide because even he hadn't done this particular hike.  We found ourselves at about 12,000 ft, staring the awesome Jumolari peak!  We walked and trekked for hours in valleys and up mountains to monasteries and beyond.  When we climbed up to Tiger's Nest, the most famous of all monasteries, our driver ( a 19 yr. old, by then very comfortable with us) suggested that we continue up past the famous monastery to the next highest one and down a much less traveled route.  Six hours later we were bushwacking our way back to the car, delighted with ourselves for finding our way down.  And on our last day, when we couldn't decide whether to drive up to the CheliLa pass for the view or to go biking,  Kinga suggested we rent bikes, drive them up so we could bike down, which we did!  5.000 ft. down!  And then we continued to ride all over the valley for the rest of the day!  At 5:30 when it was already dark, and Kinga looked at me and said, "OK, Beryl, what's next?" I knew he had figured me out!
But even with all the activity, many of our hikes and drives were quiet.  The scenery was so gorgeous, so pristine, so serene that often silence was best.  Just having so much time to think, reflect, meditate was a  rare luxury.
I cried as we said goodbye on our last morning in Bhutan, but the flight out was one of the highlights of the trip.  First of all, the flight in to Bhutan was pretty amazing because looking out the window on the left was Mt. Everest - just about close enough to touch!  But on the departure, on the right side of the plane, for about a half hour, we had the most amazing views of "the top of the world" starring right at the highest snow covered mountains I've ever seen!  Magnificent, majestic, magical!  Awesome! This was truly the trip of our dreams! Here is the link to the Bhutan photos:  http://picasaweb.google.com/Jack.Donenfeld/BhutanOct22Nov22009?authkey=Gv1sRgCNjuh82vv9mHIw&feat=directlink  - Beryl - Beryl Donenfeld www.Beryfit.com

Dear Ugen, Just wanted to say a big THANK YOU for organising a journey of a lifetime!  We had an amazing time and feel very privileged to have visited your beautiful and mystical country.  We are grateful to have had Tashi and Dorji lead our tour and honoured to have met Mr Kinga, who are all testament to Bhutanese hospitality and have helped us form many fond memories which we will cherish for a long, long time.Thanks again and we hope to have the opportunity to return one day! 
Best wishes, Moh - Tsaluna Trek Bhutan with group of 5 from UK and Malayasia Nov 20-28, 2009.