Prof. Thomas O’Connell

Rich and I thoroughly enjoyed our trip; it was truly the experience of a lifetime. We really appreciated having that delightful lunch with you, and spending time learning from you about Bhutan’s culture and history.  I must say that your choices for our guide and driver were excellent!  Gembo was a phenomenal driver! During my 25+ years with WHO and UNICEF, I have been on over a hundred missions where I was assigned a driver. In all honesty,  Gembo was the best driver I have ever had. Rich and I marveled at how safe a driver he was, and were thankful for his tremendous professionalism, sincere kindness and unfailing good humor.  We had total confidence in him, and having stress-free and enjoyable travel throughout played an important role in the trip’s success.  Equally fantastic was Gyenden, a font of Bhutanese history who provided truly unique and interesting insights into Bhutan’s past and present. Moreover, his love of Bhutan, its culture and its heritage were evident and refreshing. His insights helped us discover fascinating aspects of Bhutanese culture and lifestyles, truly making each day a journey of exploration, discovery and fun. Equally, he went out of his way each day to make sure our trip was going well, and that are needs were well taken care of. He was also extremely attentive to our physical health, and made sure the pace of each day fit our abilities. As with Gembo, he was always professional, with a warm personality and highly motivated to make our trip memorable. In addition, I will be forever grateful to Gyenden for the compassion he showed when he learnt about the death of my goddaughter. His efforts to get a prayer flag, and to arrange a visit to a monastery where prayers would be said for her, truly helped me navigate a moment of deep grief. He is an extraordinary young person, and someone that I am very glad I had the chance to meet. You and your team are superb, and I hope some day to have the pleasure to return to your wonderful country. With warm regards Tom