We managed to get an excellent quote for 10 people - 8 nights and 9 days excluding one night in Kolkota. It was Yatra.com who gave us a wonderful deal - Rs.58000/- per passenger - inclusive of hotel rooms in Thimphu, Punakha and Paro, an 18 seater bus for travel all over from Paro to
Thimphu, to Punakha and back to Paro exclusively for us; breakfast and dinner included plus a Wonderful Guide and driver - who never lost their cool and were always smiling. This made the trip extremely memorable and wonderful.
We left for Kolkota on the 27th morning by flight (Spice-jet) who allow only 15 kgs check in baggage. We landed in Kolkota and since we booked online for our stay in Kolkota (Hotel Silverline) who promised to pick us up and took a few hours to reach their dingy hotel ( called themselves the best - more on Trip Advisor) it was almost 2.30 pm.
We freshened up and our friend Shankar from Bagdodra had one of his friends Tapan Pramanik vehicle to to go to Dhashineshwar Temple and Belur Mutt. Enroute we had an excellent lunch and Haldirams located close to the hotel.
Had an excellent darshan in both places and returned to Haldirams for a nice dinner and we hit the sack at our hotel room in Silverline.
Early in the morning we reach Kolkota Airport and our packed breakfast request was bread butter jam and a banana. What we got was just bread slices with a dash of margarine.Ugh!
We flew Bhutan Airlines - check in baggage was 30 kgs as per International Standards.
We could see Mt.Everest and Kanchenjunga at a distance and our landing was simple breath taking with the flight landing wonderfully between two mountains.
The wonderful weather at Paro welcomed us and each and every staff at the Airport were cordial and smiling.
When we come out we meet our Guide Krsna - a wonderful human being wearing the traditional Bhutanese dress for men.
We were so happy that he brought a single bus ( though Yatra sent me a message in the last minute that their vendor will not be able to provide a single vehicle for all 10 of us)
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#search/vendor/15b1016ac59444b8
The shock of this mail in the last minute was too much to handle but when Krsna told us that he has brought a big bus, our happiness was like the people of Bhutan.
We reached Thimphu and the lunch was fine ( we agreed to pay for our own lunches) and our rooms in Shantideva Hotel opposite to the Clock Tower was nice. Imagine a hotel which could provide Wifi in your rooms!
The women working in this hotel along with their male counterparts carried our luggage up two floors. They never made a face and did it all with a smile.
Overall this hotel could be said a one of the best when comparing it with the hotels we stayed in Punakha and Paro - Punakha did not have Wifi - a good time to interact with our group and play cards. The hotel was clean and the view was awesome in Punakha.
Paro - this hotel Tenzinling - all your rooms are located in various levels and their intercom did not work ( they proudly declare that it has been down for over 3 months) - so when our geyser did not work we had to walk to the reception and this petite girl would come and then would go to the back of the room and say the switch tripped. So you cannot use the heater and the kettle simultaneously. Once we got wind of the problem we were careful not to use both together.
In another room the heater was a problem and one had a problem with the TV and the girls just brought another TV from the neighbouring room. It was also drizzling. So imagine our plight.
In another room, the bath did not have a soap stand.
I would advise Yatra to avoid this hotel in Paro as they do not seem to be equipped with proper amenities.
Our guide Krsna and driver Tikka were very very nice and ensured that senior citizens were most comfortable.
The visit to Tiger's Nest in Paro was done only by two people, my husband Krishnan and my friend
Girija Ramani. The rest of us just backed out as we were told that it can be bad for our knees. My husband did agree on his return from Tiger's Nest but was totally overjoyed with the view from the top.
On the day of our departure from Paro, we happened to bump into the Prime Minister of Bhutan Tshering Tobgay at the airport as he was flying to Bangkok. The most simple PM, who had only one Security - we requested if we could take a photo with him and he obliged.
What more can we ask for ?
Our trip to Bhutan was simply awesome
