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| You are in About RIMO | Client Reviews |
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| CLIENT REVIEWS |
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| "I’d just like to thank you very much indeed for everything you did. Your support and the work of your staff was outstanding. They were particularly good at adapting to all the changes we made. Thinles was particularly good both in his efficiency, adaptability and delightful manner, as were both our cooks. I greatly look forward to working with you again in the future. Again many thanks" |
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Sir Chris Bonnington, UK |
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| I would like to thank you for everything you did in connection with the wonderfull trek along the Singalila range and the district of Darjeeling. Everything was organized perfect, your staff in Dehli, Bagdogra and on the trek was obliging with all of us and the cook was absolutley great. Please say hellow to Norbu Lama, Ang Tashi Sherpa (the best guide I ever had), to Norbu Tamang and your husband we met by chance. All the best, |
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| Ernst, Switzerland. (Sikkim) |
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| It's a week now after a satisfied group flew back to Holland after a successful Sikkim-trip. As always: thank you so much for all the support and expertise from RIMO. I would especially like to mention the very valuable and wonderful support of Rajiv, and I was also very impressed with Palden, the guide who took over from Hishay after he had to leave us to take care of his family. Palden combines a very good sense of being friendly - yet always remains professional towards the clients. He is a very good 'discussion-partner' to take weigh up pro's and con's before taking decisions with regards to the trekking, and works very hard, clearly inspiring the rest of the local crew - and the clients. I would love to work with him again in the future! The clients were all in love with Norbu's cooking skills and some of the kitchencrew (such as the assistant cook and one of the ‘older’ kitchenhelpers were performing above average as well).Greetings from Holland and best wishes |
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Elsbeth – SNP Leader (Sikkim) |
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| We would like to thank you again for this outstanding trekking- peak we performed with RIMO-EXPEDITIONS and especially: Tashi Gyaltsen our guide always keeping a close watch to see that all goes well, Santosh our cook always thoughtful to give us an appetite, Gombo who take care of us for the 2 summits, Namgail who drove the jeep at the beginning and at the end and all the others as they were always pay attention to please us. Looking forward to trek with you again. Best Regards |
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| Chantal & Alain Boucaut, France (Ladakh) |
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| We recently returned back to Graz from a unique 3 weeks Ladakh experience. We have been privileged to go on the trek with Nima Bhutia and his excellent team. I just wanted to let you know that we enjoyed every second of this trip, Nima is such a wonderful guide and we really enjoyed his company very very much. He is a great personality with perfect mountaineering skills as well as personal skills. The poor guy had to cope with a group of 9 ladies and one man . He did just great. Nima inspired us with his friendliness, with his unique sense of humour and above all his laughter. He broadened our minds and soul. We are more than thankful of his company.I just wanted to share this with you.
With warmest regards |
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Graz / Austria Susanne & Heinz! (Ladakh) |
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| "Throughout my stay in India I was in the hands of Rimo Expeditions. I just can’t say enough good things about Rimo and their staff. At every turn I was treated like breakable China. Rimo was there for me at every turn. They were unfailing in their promptness and courtesy. There was never a misstep during my entire visit. If Rimo was to meet me – they were there – punctually and smiling. At every step of the way Rimo performed far beyond my expectations. I cannot begin to thank all the many Rimo staff who executed their duties flawlessly. Pemba, the guide, Chotemba whom the Sherpa who brought me to Yuksom, Alka who made arrangement from the Delhi office. All of these people, the porters and yak herders and those whose names I have forgotten or never know saw me safely from place to place – off planes and onto planes – onto trains and off trains – on buses and off buses. All these people without exception were courteous and efficient and made me feel that I was in good hands. Rimo is doing an excellent job?" |
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| Glen Stedham, Canada (Sikkim). |
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| "I would like to thank you for the very professional way the trekking as well as the other arrangements were organized. With this level of quality I am sure that your organization is bound to be one of the best if not the best. We shall definitely recommend you to anyone who is planning a trekking trip in the Himalayan region." |
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Sundaram Iyer, Germany (Garhwal) |
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| "We have never had such a good three weeks. Our crew was outstanding: professional, helpful and always cheerful. By the end, we felt like one big, happy family. The food was better than we eat at home. Please accept our heartfelt thanks for a perfect trek." |
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| Warren family trek in Ladakh (USA) |
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| "The service we got from Rimo was FIRST CLASS". |
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Douglas, USA (Sikkim) |
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| "We received your wishes for the holiday and want to let you know that our most perfect Christmas present was our trip to India! Stan, Ariana and I cannot thank you all enough for orchestrating a perfect three weeks. Every aspect of the trip went smoothly and we loved every day. The three of us thank you all so much for helping us have a trip of a lifetime…….and we’ve been lots of places before." |
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| Dana and family,USA ( Rajasthan and Gujarat cultural tour) |
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| "We had a good time in India going with RIMO. All things RIMO organized for us were perfect in timing and perfect in using the equipment. The tents were really good quality. The crew as friendly and good working. The cook and his helpers were very exact in boiling water to keep us Europeans healthy. Our guide was very good and keep us safe. Generally can be said that joining Rimo Expeditions was a good choice for us and we will tell this to the other interested people." |
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Erich, (Austria) Spiti and Ladakh trek |
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| This is to say that every single item on the trek went according to plan. The staff was excellent and everything that they did was done in the best possible way and also done with good humour and willingness. I have been on many treks and none of them were up to the quality of this trek. I would single out the leader Nima Bhutia as the reason for this as he was exemplary in his duties. The Sirdar, cook and all others were absolutely first class and hence I would recommend Rimo expeditions to anyone wishing to trek in that part of the world. Thank you very much for an excellent holiday. |
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| Victor Lynch. (Sikkim trek) |
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| "Back home we want to point out that we were very surprised and impressed due to the perfect organization of our stay – accommodation, excursions and trekking – to Ladakh. Compliments to our guide and crew." |
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Eckhard Planegger and friends from Austria. ( Ladakh) |
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| “Services of Rimo – excellent as usual“ |
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| "We wanted to let you know what an exceptional trip we enjoyed to Ladakh and how much of it was due to Rimo. We both appreciated and were incredibly impressed with your staff, their intelligence, talents, enthusiasm, and just general human goodness – not to mention the amazing cooking." |
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Tala Skari, France – Times Magazine. ( Ladakh) |
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| "First I want to thank you for the perfect organization of our trek. My friends who could do the trek were very satisfied. I also want to thank you personally for your help regarding my illness. I can recommend Rimo Expeditions to my friends and perhaps I can come again in a better healthy condition." |
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| Dr. Pischinger, Austria. ( Ladakh and Spiti) |
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| "Our trip to Ladakh was wonderful and I am just writing to tell you that we are extremely happy with your organization. The trek was perfectly organized, the equipment professional, the crew superefficient and nice, the cook worked wonders." |
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Daphne, France.( Ladakh) |
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| "We want to emphasize the success of the Markha trek due to the excellent guide – caring , friendly, enthusiastic together with the cook ( meals were fantastic every day).All crew, horsemen were great and always a pleasure to be with. Please inform all members of the crew once again of our gratitude for their efforts to make the markha trek unforgettable." |
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| Van der wal family, Holland.(Ladakh) |
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| "RIMO", You are great, each one of you. Motup, you are well- represented with your employees, each one is quite different from the others , yet each fulfills his or her prescribed roll so well and leaves clients with the feeling that we are in the hands of the best". |
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Birdwatching and wildlife tour. (Rajasthan and wildlife parks of India). |
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| "I want to express my satisfaction with the superb support and service provided by RIMO Expeditions on our recently completed Singalila trek. Without a doubt RIMO Expeditions is one of the finest organizations I have encountered in my many years of travel. All staff from Tenzee, Raj Kumar, Nima Dorje, Wangda right don down through the various other Sherpas, porters, and camp / cook helpers were excellent. I was very impressed that you attended our farewell dinner. Your attendance demonstrated a real commitment and desire to be the very best tour operations company!" |
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| Gordon Nicholson,USA ( Sikkim) |
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| "The organization was faultless and Bhim and his trek team really looked after me . The tent was superb, and the trekking equipment no problem. Wonderful service and the best possible report for all of them" |
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Tim Hudson UK (Darjeeling) |
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| "Extremely impressive the perfect organization! This was so nice for my friends to see: Germany in general is very often linked with “perfect organization”, your organization, however, set an even higher benchmark. Special thanks once more for your flexibility in organization and care shown to Eva and Werner who very much enjoyed their stay in Darjeeling." |
| Alfons Frank, Germany (Darjeeling) |
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| At 5'10" with long blonde hair, Wendy was easy to spot in any crowd. In Delhi, India, it was almost too easy. It was nearly 9:00 at night when a young man entered the hotel lobby, took a quick glance around, and made a beeline in her direction. "You must be Wendy; I am Pawan, your guide from Rimo." He had arrived to escort Wendy and me to the station for a night train to Kathgodam, the starting point of our 10-day trek in the Himalayas. |
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| One eight-hour train ride and one six hour jeep ride later, we arrived at our campsite just outside the small town of Song. Immediately we were captivated by the sound of the rushing river beside the campsite, and entranced by the realization that we were in the foothills of the Himalayas. "Would you like to meet the team?" asked Pawan, drawing us out of our reverie. "They are two Sherpas and one local Kumaoni." |
| "Sherpas?!?" I echoed, incredulous. In my mind Sherpas were almost mythical figures, renown for their superhuman strength and stamina. They are known to westerners for guiding climbers up Mt. Everest. How is it that we have Sherpas on our little jaunt through Uttaranchal? Aren't they busy with real climbers in Nepal? Do we have to pay extra for real Sherpas? My questions would have to wait. |
| Pawan led us to the cooking tent, where we were introduced to three smiling men. "This is Mul Dorje, our head cook." I shook the hand of the tanned and decidedly Asian-looking fellow. "This is Santa Bir, the assistant cook." I reached first for his hand, then looked up into the sweetest face I have ever seen. He radiated gentleness, and over the next ten days, his actions more than lived up to his appearance. "And this is Tara Singh; he is in charge of the porters." Ah, this man looked like a "local", as indeed he was. It was his job to assemble ten or more men from the nearby village to carry our personal gear, community food, tents, and equipment up, down and around the mountains for the next ten days. This was no small responsibility resting on his shoulders. |
| I was still grinning when Santa Bir arrived at our tent bearing afternoon tea and biscuits on a silver tray. This seemed like a scene from the movie "Out of Africa". Meryl Streep and Robert Redford were having a wild adventure out in the bush, but it was a highly civilized existence nonetheless, as was our Rimo trek. |
| Having experienced guided expeditions on seven continents, I feel that I am in a position to compare Rimo's service and standards to others around the world. While there are many companies that offer good, average, or poor service, Rimo ranks with those that offer an exceptional experience to the traveler. And having completed four treks with Rimo (Uttaranchal, Ladakh, West Bengal and Sikkim), I can attest to the consistency of their excellent service. |
| The genius behind this success lies in the husband and wife team of Motup and Yangdu. While both have impressive climbing backgrounds, Motup excels at forming solid relationships with the legions of sub-contractors who support Rimo treks, from hotel owners to yak herders. Yangdu is an organizational wizard who can juggle an entire season of trekking arrangements and still give attention to the details that make your experience special. Here is a small example: My birthday fell during one of the treks. One night I arrived at the dinner tent and was surprised to find it decorated with balloons and streamers. The cook had prepared a 7-course dinner followed by dessert, a beautifully decorated birthday cake, prepared, miraculously, on a propane burner. The best part was being serenaded by the Sherpas in an unforgettable rendition of "Happy Birthday". All of this took place four days into the trek, at an altitude of 16,000 feet! Even Betty Crocker herself would have a hard time baking a perfect cake at that altitude! Another day my guide took me off the main trail, into a local village. "Yangdu said that you like to experience the local culture," he explained. After a few cups of butter tea and a bowl of home-grown apricots, we bade goodbye to our friendly hosts and returned to the trail. |
| For starters, India is a very complicated country. Add to this trekking routes that typically take the traveller into remote areas. Even under the best of circumstances, plans can sometimes go awry. For example, when Wendy arrived in India, the airline had lost one of her bags. We had built in a rest day in Delhi, and thus had an extra day for the airline to deliver the goods...but that didn't happen. Finally we had to begin our trek. Yangdu arranged for Rimo staff to pick up the luggage and give it to a Sherpa who would "spare no expense" to deliver the heavy duffel as soon as humanly possible. He took the overnight train as we had done, hired a taxi, and must have hit the trail at a gallop, as he arrived one entire day before we had calculated it would be possible to catch up with our trekking team. We later learned that the baggage had arrived at the airport 12 hours later than scheduled. This man definitely earned his nickname of "Super Sherpa". Even when things don't go well in the universe, Rimo makes it turn out right for the client. |
| In addition to light and fluffy birthday cakes, Rimo's cooks seem to be able to whip up just about anything you can imagine. One day I opened up my lunch box on the trail, only to find, among other tasty goodies, almond crescent rolls which had been "baked" fresh that morning! Another day as I was acclimatizing at about 12,000', I thought I didn't have any appetite. Then the cook arrived with homemade momos, traditional Nepali steamed dumplings. Suffice it to say that I still can't believe I ate them all! Many people wonder whether I ever suffered from "traveller's stomach" during my extended travels. I can honestly say that I have never gotten sick on a Rimo trek. My guide Pawan once said that he would challenge any 5-star hotel to maintain a higher level of hygiene than his kitchen tent. I have certainly found this claim to be both real and consistent. |
| As for Wendy? She returned to the States transformed by her experience in the Himalayas. She hopes to create small Internet businesses that can be managed from sites in India, thereby providing employment opportunities in remote villages. We had an outstanding experience with Rimo, but truly, to paraphrase Lance Armstrong, it was not just about the trek. |
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JoAnn Yoshimoto |
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