| Our
clients love us! Here's what a few of them have to say about
their visit to Bhutan with Yangphel.
 I
am writing to express my appreciation for a wonderful visit
to Bhutan in
May. I have traveled extensively throughout the world, having
visited more
than 50 countries, and I believe that the warmth of the people
and the
natural beauty in Bhutan are not easily matched. Yangphel
did an excellent
job with attention to detail. Your team worked to customize
my program which
was a combination of cultural touring and hiking. While there
were some small
administrative glitches at the beginning (this is typical
when traveling to Inner Asia),
they helped to get everything resolved quickly and in a friendly
manner.
Bhutan is an extraordinary destination for travelers who
wish to see a
spiritual side of Inner Asia with interesting and caring
people in a safe
environment. While it was not "luxurious," it was
something which will stay
with me for the rest of my life. I greatly look forward to
the day when I
can return.
Sincerely,
Tom Fumarelli
Tfumarelli@hotmail.com
The
guide was very well informed. His ability to spontaneously
tell a good tale kept us amused. Staff was always very helpful
and worked hard to make us comfortable in all locations.
The beauty, scenery and the people were all wonderful. The
food for the most part was very good, especially enjoyed
the fiddle head ferns and local dishes. It was really fascinating
to stay in a country home and experience what life is like
for a regular Bhutan family.
Diane Stillman
Livingston Montana
Our guide from Yangphel welcomed
us through his steady, inviting personality. He is intelligent
and was to give talks
about the life in Bhutan, religion – a monks life
and as a group we talked openly in discussions. He was
alert,
organized and very aware. Our driver was excellent and
we felt safe with him. He has a comfortable personality.
The Bhutan country side is beautiful from the terraced farm
fields, mustard and green to the greenery of the mountains.
The warmth of the people who live here, their beautiful patterned
dresses. I enjoyed the paintings on the houses. I thought
the trip from Paro to Thimphu was breathtaking. I enjoyed
the hike in Thimphu, through the countryside and a trek to
a temple ceremony. Punakha was a great festival filled with
color and costumes.I enjoyed dinner with business people
in Thimphu. We enjoyed the dances in Paro and the dances
by the Paro women.
Mary Ann Polard
Illinois USA
The Deeks family had a wonderful week exploring
Bhutan with Yangphel this spring (2002). The trip was well
organized and it represented an unusual opportunity to experience
geography, religion and culture very different from our own.
You played a key role in the enjoyment of our journey by
being incredibly flexible, looking after all our needs and
by tailoring the trip to meet our interests. You worked tirelessly
on our behalf to find items we wanted to bring home and in
researching special local events that were not on the scheduled
itinerary. Winning a darts game at the school fete, joining
the pilgrims for butter tea at the retreat in Thimphu, dining
at your home and sitting with the director at teachers' day
at the college were experiences we will never forget. We
highly recommend you and your
company to other prospective Bhutan visitors.
Best Regards,
Peter Deeks
pkdeeks@aol.com
Biology Department
Ph: 330 569 5267: Fax 330 569 5448
e-mail: taylordj@hiram.edu
27 June 2002
Ugyen Rinzin
Yangphel Adventure Travel
Chorten lam . Thimphu BHUTAN
Dear Ugyen:
I write to thank you and your staff for the extraordinary
program arranged, organized and carried out by the staff
at Yangphel for our students from Hiram College in April
and May. Every aspect of our program exceeded our already
high expectations.
In planning our study abroad program I wish to especially
thank you, Karma Choden and Garab Dorji for crafting an itinerary
that maximized the potential for student learning. Our course, "Finding
Order In Nature - An Examination of the Natural History of
the Himalaya" depended on student interaction with both
natural environments and local people who could help us to
learn about traditional lifestyles that have been sustainable
for centuries. The program was a perfect mixture of natural,
pastoral and urban settings allowing students to record firsthand
their own impressions. Your suggestions to visit the farming
communities in Bumtang and the monastic community in Gangtey
worked especially well in carrying out the objectives of
the course.
The success of the program, however, hinged on the ability
to balance a rigorous academic program incorporating lectures,
discussions, readings and tours with direct contact with
the people, institutions and natural environments of Bhutan.
I wish to thank your staff, especially Sha Phurba Dorji,
who so capably adapted the normal tourist agenda to an academic
one. Having directed over 15 programs in seven countries,
I appreciated the flexibility shown by everyone on your staff,
flexibility that allowed us to get the most out of the unplanned
and unexpected. Excerpts from student journals show that
they were deeply moved by their Bhutan experience as they
were forced to change their views and attitudes through finding
order in their own lives as they were confronted with a landscape
and way of life radically different from their own. My role
as an educator is to get students thinking critically on
all subjects so that they will make informed decisions in
the uncertain world that faces them. Their journals demonstrate
that our program forced them to do exactly that, and I thank
you and your staff for not only taking our educational program
seriously, but for helping me to carry it out fully.
All of us on the program wish to thank each and every member
of your staff who labored so hard to bring us the comforts
of home while far away from home. The food was varied and
excellent: our students learned to love the Bhutanese dishes
the most. The accommodations were excellent not only in the
fine hotels, but especially in the camps. The lavishness
of the experience provided by your staff in Ura was totally
unexpected. We felt deeply honored that you went to such
extremes to make our experience so memorable. The camp provided
a perfect "natural lab" where students had time
and space for completing academic work while experiencing
centuries old traditions at the festival. My own experience
is that good food and good housing a good program make. Excellent
food and excellent housing allowed the educational aspect
of the program to flow unimpeded by details normally associated
with travel. I thank all of you for making the living aspects
of our programs singularly irreproachable in all respects.
Last but not least I give an especial personal thanks to
the way that staff members helped all of us with health issues
throughout the trip; dividing our trek into two groups as
we experienced illness on our way to Jhomolhari helped everyone
to come back from Bhutan with only good impressions. My own
unexpected encounter with cardiac surgery just six days before
we departed from the States, left me much more tired and
exhausted than I was willing to admit until I returned home.
I thank all of you for treating our students so well, and
leave my deeply felt sense of gratitude with you all for
being so willing to work with me in spite of my slowed down
state, as a result bringing about an extraordinary learning
experience for our students. I am very grateful to Phurba
for keeping the academic program in motion on the trek, in
spite of my leaving with students. Journals from that time
demonstrate that students continued to participate fully
in the academic program thanks to his guidance.
It is the wish of each and every one of our students, and
my wish especially that this be just the first Hiram educational
program in Bhutan. If you would like me to speak personally
to other groups planning a tour, I would be more than happy
to do so. I have many good pictures that I can send by e-mail
if you would like to use any of them for your advertising.
I would also be happy to write up something about educational
tours should you wish such a piece. I have already written
the cover article for Hiram's next alumni magazine, highlighting
the educational aspects of the program and would be happy
to share this with you.
With many thanks and best wishes for your success in the
present and a bright future we hope in working with you again,
I remain
Sincerely yours,
Dennis J. Taylor
Professor
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