Extraordinary experience

When we started planning our trip to Bhutan we were immediately faced with an obstacle of time, how to visit everything we wanted in only three full days plus arrival and departure day. We contacted several tourist agencies and we were told that what we want is impossible, we’ve had to drop Punakha from our plan and then we found Bhutan Holiday Planner, the exceptional company that was willing to listen our wishes and do everything in their power to accommodate them. While other agencies were having rigid pre-programmed shelf trips unwilling to change almost anything, we found wonderful group of people ready to share their beautiful country with us in every possible way.

The owner of the company Mr. Dorji Penjor contacted us directly and very soon we’ve had our itinerary fully customized exactly as we wanted it. Our trip took place in September last year, during the important public holiday in Bhutan, when it was almost impossible to find accommodation in all three cities we wanted to visit, but Mr. Dorji still managed to find three excellent hotels for us. We’ve been constantly in touch and we knew that even before he found hotels, he booked our flights with Druk Air while the tickets were still available. Once our hotels were reserved, he applied for our visas with Bhutan government.

Only after everything was organised, he requested the payment for the tour and he made that as convenient as possible for us. Instead of complicated international money transfer, he provided us with an Australian account where we can transfer the first instalment and the rest we were supposed to pay while we arrive in Bhutan. We understand this method wouldn’t be possible for travellers from every country but we want to point out how this agency is going out of their way to make the whole Bhutan experience as easy for you as possible. Immediately upon payment we got all paperwork for the trip and absolutely everything was in order.

When we arrived to Paro airport, our guide Mr. Karma and his driver were already waiting for us. During the whole trip, they’ve been exceptional in every way. Mr. Karma was extremely knowledgeable about everything related to Bhutan, history, religion, everyday life and he was so willing to answer our every question regardless how silly or serious it was. During our trip, both of them were irreplaceable, always nice, always waiting for us, always ready to help especially during our visit to magnificent Tiger’s Nest. Mr. Karma even managed to get us in to see the sacred ceremony in the temple without waiting the long queues and as the days were passing in the colourful blur of extraordinary events, we fell in love with that strange and divine country, with its majestic Himalayan mountains and peaceful, incredibly green valleys, with its beautiful little towns and of course with its so nice and shy people. We wanted to stay so much longer but we’ve had to get back to our country.

We met with Mr. Dorji in one of the cities on the way back to Paro, he treated us with the coffees and cakes and he even bought us little presents and we’ve had interesting conversation about the trip. When we gave him the final instalment for the tour, he gave us back the company’s invoice and he pointed out that due to some government discount he will give us back US$50, and we just couldn’t believe it. Mr. Dorji, Mr. Karma and our driver made our stay in Bhutan absolutely unforgettable, without any glitch, without any problem during the whole trip and we could really say to everyone who’d like to visit this strange country, forget all other agencies and choose Bhutan Holiday Planner only and you will not regret it.

There is one more exceptional thing happened to us and in today’s world I dare to say it is practically impossible that such a nice people still exist. On the way back, I forgot my jacket in our tour car and I remembered it when we already passed custom control at the airport. We send the message to Mr. Dorji and he said he will think of something. He sent message back telling us that his sister will visit Perth, Australia in February next year and she will bring the jacket with her and then she will send it to us from Perth so we wouldn’t have to pay enormous postage cost if the jacket was sent from Bhutan. We were speechless, we couldn’t believe it but our surprise reached boiling point when few days ago we got the photo of the package from Mr. Dorji saying my jacket is on its way to Sydney, wow, after so many months passed somebody made such an effort to please their customers, it is truly incredible and really exceptional. Our recommendation for Bhutan Holiday Planner company and its owner Mr. Dorji Penjor is without limits

Ms Ademovic Dijana, Australia