Bhutan has always been to me a mysterious far-away kingdom in the sky, boasting beautiful scenery, compelling architecture and happy citizens.

Which is why when we finally landed early one morning at Paro airport, Bhutan quickly ticked all my perceived squares. Snow-clad Himalayas, yes. Fresh, very cold winter air, yes. Inviting, unique airport building, yes. Pleasant immigration and customs officials, yes. And an even more pleasant tour guide and driver, yes.

All in all it was a wonderful welcome to a country that we had wanted to visit for a long, long time.  The reasons it took us so many years to make this journey is that Bhutan still is one of the more expensive countries to visit mainly due to the daily tariffs imposed on foreigners. It is also a less convenient destination as there are no independent travel options at least for tourists other than those from India, Bangladesh and the Maldives.

That said, a week into our holiday, and Bhutan was still ticking all the squares. The scenery remained magnificent. My husband and I continued to be entranced by the awesome Himalayas, picturesque valleys and impressive architecture. We couldn’t stop with the wows, oohs and aahs wherever we went, which included Paro, Thimpu, Punakha and Gangtey (four of the twenty dzongkhags or districts in Bhutan) – a small part of central Bhutan.

Set against the backdrop of mountains, valleys and glacier rivers, the dominant Bhutanese architecture reflected on dzongs (administrative and religious centres), monasteries, bridges, shops and houses was quite simply stunning. It just stood out and stood apart. Whitewashed walls and paintings symbolising traditional images and texts on windows, beams and doors were ubiquitous.

And, people, at least whom we came across, continued to appear happy and content. The natural beauty and skillful architecture in Bhutan is exactly how it is depicted on websites and travel books.

For us, what made this holiday different was every detail was taken care of. All we had to do was pay up and show up.  A far cry from what we are used to. Our holidays are independent; we fly and drive; we book our own hotels with or without breakfast; we select what, where and when to eat; decide on places we want to visit or not, find our way, get lost in the process, and return home eventually. It is fun and not, sometimes. But we always have a laugh, usually after the fact or much later. But, laugh, we do.

This was a whole new experience. We weren’t too sure about spending all day, from 9am to almost 5pm, with a guide and driver whom we didn’t know. We thought it might feel like school or worse, work, with no real privacy to speak of. Bar any alternatives, we accepted the terms and conditions and obediently booked Druk Asia to enjoy Bhutan.

After the initial formality and sussing each other out, we were pleasantly surprised with the easy rapport we had with our tour guide, Nim Tshering and driver, Jigme.

Likeable and accommodating best describe both Nim and Jigme. Nim was a wealth of information, rightly so, as he guided us to and through the many dzongs, monasteries and walks/hikes. He had a story for most everything and every incident. We called him the master story-teller. The stories were sometimes insightful, sometimes not so believable but always entertaining. Guru Padmasambhava and Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, unfamiliar to my ears or tongue kept playing in my head even after I returned to Kuala Lumpur because of Nim. Guru Padmasambhava also known as Guru Rinpoche was believed to have flown from Tibet on the back of a tigress and meditated in one of the caves in the sacred temples located precariously on the cliffs of the Paro Valley, which is now known as the dramatic Tiger’s Nest. Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, meanwhile, is the father and unifier of medieval Bhutan.

Jigme looked a little more serious but had a dry sense of humour. He had some nuggets of retorts and was just plain funny. We learnt that Nim and Jigme were keen archers and were related through marriage. Jigme had an interesting life growing up, and is now married with two young sons. Nim is the youngest among five siblings, and is a father to a very young son.

We had the opportunity to see both of them exhibit their archery skills, which was very good. Archery, by the way, is the national sport of Bhutan. The distance to the target is a very far 145 metres using traditional Bhutanese bows made of bamboo, and arrows from bamboo or reeds. Nim and Jigme used compound bows as used in modern archery.

We even visited Nim’s family home and met his father, who together with his mum, run the family farm. Our visit was made possible only because of a bad bout of food poisoning that I unfortunately suffered at Dewachen Hotel in Gangtey. I blame it on two pieces of questionable chicken in the butter chicken meal served at dinner. Lack of sleep, puking and a dodgy stomach plus the long drive back to Paro called for a change in the next-day’s itinerary which included a visit to Haa valley.

Kudos to Nim and Jigme, they even arranged for me to rest for a few hours or stay the night, if need be, at Hotel Lobesa in Punakha to help settle my grumbling, nauseous stomach. We had stayed at Hotel Lobesa on our way to Gangtey, and the owner was so kind as to offer me a room to recuperate. There was a genuine sense of concern for my well-being from everyone even an old lady, who was referred to as grandmother. Grandmother suggested I wash my face as that might help me feel better. I was touched.

Before arriving in Paro, we decided to skip the six-hour long round-trip to Haa, and use the next day for me to recover by going to places in and around Paro, as our last day was the climb to Tiger’s Nest. Nim’s gracious invitation to his family home allowed us to get up close and personal to a real working farm. It was a treat and one of the highlights of the holiday, and we even suggested he consider including it in the itinerary.

This was what we wanted and had requested in Druk Asia’s “Would like to do’ list. Apart from visiting the must-see places, we wanted to do some leisurely walks while enjoying the country, and to get just a little closer to understanding how Bhutanese people lived. Squares ticked.