Keys to Bhutan - Client Testimonials
Professional
Bhutan was originally recommended to Jeanette by her yoga teacher in Phuket, who had spent a month in the country traveling around. I recognized the name Bhutan from having watched the Michael Palin series 'Himalaya' and so it didn't take much convincing for me to want to go. I set about researching Bhutan on the internet and very quickly understood that we couldn't travel independently in the country but needed to book with a travel company.
We chose Keys to Bhutan for a number of reasons. Principally the professional look of their website, which gave me confidence that we were dealing with a company that was professional and had an eye for detail, secondly the itinerary and amazing slideshow on the site for the 'Castles in the sky' tour which looked exactly what we wanted. Many friends and family were sent the link for the tour and we looked through the slideshow a number of times over the weeks before we traveled, keeping our enthusiasm for the trip.
Anan kept in close email contact with us throughout the lead up to our trip, answering our questions and tailoring the itinerary to any specific places that we wanted to visit.
During our time in Bhutan both Anan and Gelay, who own Keys to Bhutan, as well
as Raju, another member of the staff guided us. We found everyone to be helpful and attentive ensuring that we received a personal service. Understandably, in a country like Bhutan the quality of the accommodation can be quite basic, unless you opt to stay in the $1000 a night Aman resorts! But the focus of such a trip is certainly on the stunning scenery and architecture rather then where you rest your weary head of a night.
The local people were all amazingly friendly and genuinely loved to have foreign tourists experiencing their land and culture. I dressed in a traditional Bhutanese warriors costume at Taktstang, much to the amusement of the local staff, and played a game of 'kuru' the Butanese darts game with the hospitable manager of the hotel in Jakar. Needless to say, despite his encouraging remarks, I was clearly a beginner, putting any local wildlife in more danger of the giant sized darts than the target ever was. These experiences, along with meeting Her Majesty, Queen Ashi Tshering Pem Wangchuck, whilst on our hike to the 'Tiger's Nest' certainly made our time in Bhutan memorable.
They say that you can't take a bad photo in Bhutan. We have many incredible images of both the people and the landscape. I think that Bhutan is the most photogenic country that I have visited to date and certainly Anan and Gelay are useful guides for any budding photographer as they are both keen on photography and have taken many of the postcards on sale throughout the country. We became used to flipping over postcards in shops and seeing one or other of their names on the back.
We would happily recommend KeystoBhutan to anyone else thinking of traveling to a country which is still the road less traveled in comparison to so many other worldwide destinations. Our only hope is that one-day we can return their hospitality and act as tour guides for them in the UK.
Matt & Jeanette
(
September 2006 )
> Read Matt & Jeanette's blog at www.travelblog.com
