|
From Wayne and Theresa Stilling
British Columbia, Canada
November 2007
Namaste!
I wanted to email on behalf of Teresa and myself to express our total
satisfaction with our trek last month. We are back home in snowy and cold
Canada, but our memories are still fresh of the wonderful time we had in
Nepal with Ker & Downey.
Your staff, all of them, are to be congratulated and complimented for the
care and attention they lavished on us during our entire stay.
In Kathmandu, Umesh was always accessible and available to transport us,
entertain us and inform us. he made our stay there very enjoyable, which
was very important as we were in a bit of culture shock on arrival.
All of the staff on the trek was awesome. Without detracting from any of
them, a few people deserve special mention for their extraordinary efforts
to make our trek a most happy memory. First and foremost was Iman, our
guide. He was always there for us and ensured that any difficulties or
issues were quickly and painlessly resolved. He was very informative and
supportive, often giving us hike options and letting us determine the
details of how we wanted the trek to go. He was very patient with our
limitations and lack of conditioning and made sure we were fully informed
and comfortable at all times. He was very patient with Mimi's constant
questioning. I enjoyed his wry sense of humour and we got along quite
well. By the end of the trek, I believe we had become friends and many of
my best memories involve things he did or said to make our trek the best
possible experience for us. He even (in concert with Teresa, I believe),
arranged a surprise birthday cake for me on my birthday, which was
celebrated at Gurung Lodge. It was made in the kitchen there, so
obviously, he had made plans in advance to arrange this. I was very moved,
so much that on our return to Kathmandu, I went out and bought a trekking
watch just like his for myself! Apart from being very useful, it will be a
lasting memory of him.
Our porters were also fabulous. They watched over us and made sure they
were nearby to assist as needed at all times. Both Milan and Dinesh (our
porters) are young, and were full of energy, fun, playfulness and spirit.
Their happy attitude was infectious and made the trek much more fun.
Dinesh spoke virtually no English, but we communicated well with hand,
body, and facial expressions and he was a joy to be with. He even laughed
at all my jokes, even though he didn't understand them. Finally, someone
who appreciates my sense of humour!!
The lodge staff were very hospitable and provided good support and
service, everything from laundry to campfires to massages. The food was
very tasty and plentiful. Is the national dessert of Nepal Kit Kat bars?
We sure got a lot of them and they became valued commodities, hoarded by
trekkers for the trail. Happy hour each night was a great activity and
social convention.
Anyway, I can't remember all the names of your lodge staff, but you are
lucky to have such pleasant and hard working people at the lodges. We were
also very pleased with the lodges themselves. All of them were very clean,
well set up, and very comfortable. The hot water bottles at night were a
particular hit among our group.
Bilbal, our river rafting guide, was very calming and competent and turned
what could have been a very nervous raft ride into a happy and
non-threatening adventure.
In short, I am having trouble thinking of anything to criticise about this
trek. It was well organized right from booking. You Rachel were very
organized and informative and made us feel right away and throughout that
we could have confidence booking this trip and venturing into a totally
foreign environment.
I have shown our pictures around among our friends and have had much
positive feedback. I fully expect you will hear from some of them as we
have highly recommended you to them. I am going to try and arrange another
trek to bring my adult daughters to see Nepal before they become
encumbered by careers, marriages and children.
Thank you Rachel!! Thank you Iman!! Thank you Dinesh, Milan, MB, Bilbal,
Umesh and all the other support staff who contribute to our experiences.
We will never forget you or this trek.
Wayne and Teresa Stilling.
From Linda Denniff: Bristol. England
Dear Rachel and Duncan
I just wanted to thank you on behalf of myself and my family for a
fantastic holiday - we were looked after exceptionally well throughout the
trek and the rafting and we have come away with many happy memories. The
rum punch and the Christmas cake were especially appreciated. Mani was a
brilliant guide, we learnt so much from him and Kani and Kamal were a
pleasure to have around. It worked very well as a family holiday and I
would recommend it to anyone (let me know if you ever want me to do this I
can email from my private email address if required). Thanks once again.
Linda
From Peter and Daryl Jacobs
Nov 20, 2006
My wife and I have just finished a 7 day trek with Raju Kunwar as our M.B.
1 as our porter. This was our first experience of trekking and both of us
- but particularly my wife - were anxious, unsteady on our feet and very,
very slow. From the start Raju gave my wife a helping hand whenever
necessary and support and encouragement all the time.
As the trek progressed he identified accurately when help was needed and
when it was not. At the same time M.B. 1 was providing me with the same
kind of support. This meant that we built confidence very quickly and were
able to have some of the best days of our lives even in what was a
difficult environment for us.
In addition, Raju explained the wildlife and village customs clearly and
in a most interesting way. He does not have as much confidence in his
English as he should - his pronunciation was as clear as any of the guides
and better than some.
Somehow Raju and M.B. 1 were on hand to help even without being asked.
They made us feel very safe and special.
I should add that the same can be said for the staff at all the lodges we
stayed at.
I have thanked Raju but would appreciate it if you could pass on our
comments to him. We feel that he and M.B. 1 are friends.
Peter Jacob
From Coral Allen, London, England
Dear Duncan and Rachel,
I wanted to thank you both for
organising the holiday of a lifetime for us - it was such an adventure
from start to finish, still can't quite believe it!!! Have been explaining
to everyone I meet exactly what we did .... and it all sounds such fun,
and everyone always looks green with envy.... riding on elephants,
rafting, trekking in the mountains, all in one holiday!!
You both (especially Rachel, I'm sure as she is admin queen!) organised
the whole trip so immaculately .... we felt so well looked after, from
having wonderful porters with us on the treks, to seamless hotel, taxi,
meal arrangements!! I never lifted a finger, I was transported to the next
destination, told what to pack, where to be etc.
Duncan, we were both in awe at what you have built.... it is truly an
amazing feat, each lodge is so well located, and decorated in perfect
keeping with the environment it is in, and what is available - luxury for
most Nepalese! The foresight you had to make it all happen is really no
mean achievement. Not that you could run it so efficiently if it wasn't
for Rachel!! and the fabulous team of Nepalese. I was really bowled over
by how nice all the Nepalese people are, never heard an angry word, or
encountered one person who did not smile back at me (maybe apart from the
tailor who was fed up of doing my alterations on my leather goods!!).
Enough said - it was a fantastic couple of weeks, of which we will guard
the memories forever. Have been perusing all the photos, and reminiscing
ever since!
A million thanks again to you both.
Coral & Hugo
From Charlotte Plouvier, Salamanica, Spain
Hello Rachel,
I promised that I would drop you a line when we got back, so here we go...
We had a wonderful holiday - and I'm
pleased to say that it was just that: a real holiday. We were so well
looked after by your staff that we were able to combine quite vigorous
walking with complete relaxation, which is exactly what we were looking
for. Mani was a very pleasant guide/companion: he chatted to us fluently
and easily (and often made us laugh), yet knew when to shut up when we
just wanted quiet thinking time. He (and the other staff) also did
everything possible to make sure that we were able to go rafting. We
really appreciate this, as it would have been very easy just to say that
it wasn't possible, and be done with it.
We thought that the best food was in Dhampus...until we went to the Seti
camp, where the cook surpassed himself in providing a complete buffet meal
for just the two of us. It was absolutely delicious.
What else...oh, if there's one thing I could suggest, it would be give
future trekkers a little information about the Ghurkas (maybe with the
trek notes). I felt quite embarassed by my lack of knowledge (that they
had also fought in WW1, for example). O.K, not all trekkers will have a
guide whose father was a Ghurka, but as it plays such an important part in
the local economy that I'm sure everyone would be interested to know more.
We met Fran and John at Sanctuary Lodge and have decided that next time we
can get away we would like to do the Annapurna Sanctuary trek. I'll be in
touch in a few years!
Finally, thank you to you, Rachel, for helping me to plan this trip. Sorry
that we never met! Oh well, next time...
Kindest Regards
Charlotte
From Brian O'Bree, England
Dear Duncan & Rachel,
I am very sorry we didn't get to speak before we left Pokhara.
On behalf of all of the extended
O'Bree group, I want to pass on a huge thank you. We had a super trek. The
route you selected was perfect. The walk up to Ghandruk was really worth
it with the feeling of being so much closer to the himal. The weather was
pretty kind to us too. Even when we did get a bit wet, on the walk up to
Majgaun on the 22nd, the warm tea waiting for us at the Gurung Lodge
followed by wonderfully hot showers made us forget it in a flash. You are
to be congratulated on the Lodges you have. They are in excellent
locations, very comfortable with delicious, plentiful food and friendly
staff. The porters we had, MB Pun, Deokaji, Reban, Nuri and Gopal were
first class; always there with the water and ready to lend a hand if need
be on the more tricky slopes. Above all, Madhav was outstanding. What a
special fellow he is. He became a good friend to us all (even though he
started to win at liar dice as soon as he learnt to play!!) Please tell
them all that we were very happy with our short time with them and again,
a big thank you.
With best wishes from us all,
Brian
From Matulac, NYC, USA
Dear Ms. Baker
I don't know whether you remember me
or not (this thank you is rather belated), but I wanted to write to you to
thank you for all the help you provided while I was planning a trip to
Nepal, which I would like to add was one of the greatest things I ever
experienced. I took a trip with Karna and Madhav Lama that took me up near
the Annapurna range two summers ago now, 2004.
I just wanted to write and express how much I enjoyed every aspect of the
trip from planning to the arrival to the hiking itself. Madhav was a great
travel companion. He was informative and genial and always willing to
offer help, and always seemed to know when to offer help. I learned so
much, and I think that it was predominantly because from the first stages
of preparation you and everyone at Ker and Downey were so helpful and
thoughtful that all loose ends were addressed, so that I only had to
concentrate on having a great experience, which I did.
Literally, it was a dream come true. I saw the Himalayas. I saw a foreign
culture and experienced it through the lens of two guides who helped me
feel less like a stranger in a strange land. I saw mountains that tower
over anything I could see at home, and never felt any threat from any
source that blithe conversations warn about. So, I just wanted to thank
you again, especially because your emails were so quick and responsive in
helping me figure out what I was going to do.
Also, I was hoping to get in contact with Madhav and Karna, and perhaps
send them some kind of holiday card. I am trying to get better at that,
and I know that Madhav was contributing to some local causes. So, if you
could send me email and mail information for them, I would be very
appreciative. Thank you very much.
Michael Matulac
Dear Rachel,
We cannot thank you enough for all you did to make
our trip to Nepal the most wonderful travel adventure we have ever had.
Your willingness to customize and re-customize our itinerary, and to
answer every imaginable question was exemplary to say the least. You are
an extraordinarily patient and kind person. For that matter, you seem to
have instilled these qualities in all your staff. Thapa, Buddha, all the
porters, and all the lodge staff were always friendly, courteous, helpful,
and constantly thinking of our comfort and safety.
We have created a website that documents our trek to
Annapurna Sanctuary, www.4dgraphics.net/abc. We hope people that see our
website will be inspired to book their own Nepal adventure with Ker &
Downey.
It is very disturbing to see the negative impact on
Nepal tourism caused by political events around the world. Many Nepali
people are very dependent on tourism, and they do not deserve the damage
to their livelihood caused by these events. I want to commend Ker & Downey
for your efforts to keep so many Nepali people employed in the face of
this tourism disaster.
For the record, we had no trouble whatsoever with the
Maoists.
We wish you and all your staff the greatest success.
You certainly deserve it!
Sincerely,
Steve Ford & Ellen Nelson
Words can not express all of the pleasures we had with our trip
to Nepal. The time, effort and information that your company provided to
us, made the trip possible, in such a desperate time. Without Rachael
Baker answering so many of our questions,customizing our trip, and giving
us all of the assurances that we needed, the magnatude of a trip like ours
could never have been accomplished.
The lodges were perfect, and we would never choose or
recommend another company. On a trip, like this, one would expect some
discomforts, some mishaps, and some unfilled expectations...but we never
experienced any...
Judi and John Nassif
Rachel,
I can't say enough good things about Buddha and the
porters too were wonderful, and everything about your company seems of the
best standards of service to clients and responsibility to Nepal and the
Nepalese. And you are welcome to forward this email or parts of it to any
potential guests.
Carole
Hi Rachel
I hope you had a great time in Australia. My trip to
Nepal was fantastic. I loved every minute of it. Didn't even get a stomach
bug!
I want to thank you for everything you did which made
my trip so good. Please thank whoever was responsible for allocating HS
and BJ as my guide and porter. They were superb. I don't think I have ever
been so well looked after in my life.
I met their families, too, which was very
interesting. HS was a great fund of information and I had lots of laughs
with him. I have sent him some stuff but am not clear if it all arrived.
i'm hoping he will clarify what arrived in his next email. It had been my
plan to send him quite a bit of stuff to help, but it is extortionate to
post it plus I gather that it may get stolen even if I pay extra for
signed delivery. Advice about all this would be good, if you have the
time.
I hope the situation looks up in Nepal soon. It was
very worrying to learn the effect of the drop off in tourism and that so
many people have lost their jobs or had pay cuts. With the international
situation as it is, I don't suppose it will improve for a while.
At the moment, I am trying to work out how and when I
can get back to Nepal to go to Thyangboche monastery. Any information on
this subject will be very welcome!
Wishing you well,
Ann Chawner |
