HIFI Lodge Samdrup Jongkhar

Got there on Sunday and that the day everything is closed... Monday it took to figure out what to do. Cultural Tourist's John agreed for a 2 days trek with a stay in village, but he was only going to start on Wednesday... got bored on Monday too and started missing Sahiem and flew back earlier than planned.<br><br>The best place to stay is Pinewood... LP recommended Hotel Boulevard over Pinewood but I think they have got it all wrong ... <br>

I love the Dominican republic we just got back<br>and it was fantastic. We stayed at this beautiful luxury villa in Cap Cana<br>called Villa de Cap Cana. It was amazing! We had a private pool and wonderful<br>ocean views. If that weren&#8217;t enough we were on the 14th hole of the Punta<br>Espada golf course. We can&#8217;t wait to go back. Check out the pictures at http://www.capcanavilla.net/ <br> <br>

Before heading back to Kalimpong, we stopped at the border of Bhutan. Bhutan is actually a closed country and costs about US $200 per day to get a visa to enter the country. The guard at the gate actually allowed each of us to step foot in Bhutan and take a picture. Then, we went around the corner and prayed at the gate for the country.

... local church. After we left, many people gave testimonies about how God healed them. Over the past 3 days, we estimate that almost 100 people were physically healed by God. Ears, eyes, speech, stomachs, backs, fevers, mental illnesses, headaches, lungs, knees, hips, and complete body pain were all completely healed in Jesus' name!<br><br>For the past 3 nights, we have not had dinner until 10 or 11 pm because God has ...

Today, we took another jeep for about 5 hours with 11 people to RBB Village near the border of Bhutan. We will be leading a mini Discipleship Training School here for the next 3 days along with a few locals. We will be doing two and a half days of teachings with activity nights, and then outreach the final afternoon and night. We are all stoked about this opportunity.

... and pork are sold at local stalls and in the large neighborhood markets. It is possible to live a good life on a relatively low income and housing rents are still much less than in the metropolitan cities of Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi. The sheer beauty of the sloping hilly terrain, the extensive forests and cascading waterfalls like the Elephant Falls can be seen on a trip up to Shillong Peak, the highest point overlooking Shillong which ...

... many handicraft items like bags, purses, flower vases, dress materials, etc. After that we went to airport, boarded our flight and reached Mumbai at 7.30 in the night. We reached home at 10 pm. This was a memorable trip for us and we'll always cherish the experience.

The festival, not one of the more famous main religious ones but established by the government in the last few years, proved to be really compelling and attended by many locals, especially families all proudly wearing their costumes. The location in Jakar Dzong was also very atmospheric as the dancers whirled around in the sunshine (yes the weather was now perfect). There were also a couple of jokers ...

... Maggi fell in the mud a few times and we all (even Jerry once) had to be carried over the swollen rivers! The campsites though had really beautiful settings and we were provided superb food in the evenings. We did visit a couple of small intimate temples enroute so it wasn't completely bad, but we felt particularly for Hazel who ...

... Phub also proved to have a fantastic memory for western film stars and pushed Jerry hard with his knowledge of English and European football. When Maggi allowed (!) Jerry and Phub debated Pompey's prospects for the season at great length! By this time we had decided to change our itinerary to include the Bumthang Cultural Trek and Rainbow Tours had told us about a festival that was taking place at Jakar Dzong the following week that we could see after the trek. A great bonus.