Author: Warunee Phachanai and Robert Thomas Gavenda

May. 15 – May. 25, 2007
11 days in total

Guilin - Yangshuo - Longsheng - Chongqing - Yangtze Cruise - Wuhan - Guilin

· Click for the details of the tour itinerary we took

Miss. Maggie Yang

Details of the tour itinerary we took

Hi Maggie,

I was very pleased with the service from China Odyssey. The itinerary had to be made in a hurry because I contacted you late and then there was the week-long May Day holiday. I didn't realize that was going to be a problem. Fortunately you were able to make the arrangements I requested. Thanks. When I travel I usually do not use guide service but it worked out well for this trip. We made more efficient use of our time and got to see more than if we travelled independently. And we got to see all that we wanted to. Maybe we'll do Xian and Bejing on another trip. I didn't want to go there on this trip because I felt we would spend too much time just travelling between cities. I was happy with the itinerary we settled on.

Hotel accomodations were fine. Actually, I liked the room at the 3-star Yangshuo New Century Hotel better than the 4-star Guilin Park Hotel. The Longsheng hotel was also okay but Lucy was looking for something better for the next trip.

The guides were all good. Mostly we saw Lucy in the Guilin area. The girl in Chongqing was nice but we were only with her for less than a day. The guide in Wuhan only took us from the boat to the airport so we really did not have time to interact with her. Lucy was friendly and knowlegable and helped us get around efficiently. All the drivers were also okay. Safety first. The driver in Chongqing was funny. The guide wanted to take us to a fancy hotel for lunch but we wanted to eat at a small restaurant like the local people use. The driver was so happy not to have to eat at the hotel that he bought us lunch!

Activities:

- the Li Jiang cruise was great even though the weather was cloudy and rainy and there were so many other tourist boats on the river. That was the main thing I wanted to do on this trip.

- bicycle tour in Yangshuo. That was better than I was expecting. Lucy advised us to try rafting on the Yu Long River. I was hesitant because we just saw the spectacular scenery on the Li Jiang the day before and I thought it would be more of the same. It also seemed a little expensive but nothing else to do that day so we went on the raft. I thoroughly enjoyed the river rafting on the small bamboo rafts! We got to see the scenery better than we did on the boat and I got some nice photos. I really enjoyed stopping at the food and beer shops set up in the river. It was great. I suggest you highlight this as an activity while in Yangshuo. Maybe you already do but I missed it.

- Silver Cave was spectacular. Well worthwhile. Reed Flute Cave in Guilin was also worthwhile.

- Elephant Trunk Hill was okay. We walked through the park after seeing the hill and that was pleasant. Lucy then took us to a large local restaurant where you go in and select all your food and then they prepare it. That was fun, good and inexpensive. It was near that big tourist hotel with the waterfall on one side of the hotel.

- Fubu Hill was also worthwhile. Good views from the top.

- Minority Village between Yangshuo and Guilin. The location was pretty but I didn't enjoy this much. It was too "touristy" and I really didn't want to shop.

- Silk factory in Guilin was okay. I learned some things about silk and bought a few things.

- Longsheng rice fields were interesting. We enjoyed the mountain scenery. Warunee especially liked this place, being up in the clouds. This was her favorite place on the trip. It was clean and well organized for tourists.

- Yangtze cruise. The ship was fine. Staff friendly and pleasant. Scenery great. Warunee liked the food, which is unusual; Thai people usually only like Thai food. I read a Lonely Planet guide that said that the cruise down the river was disappointing and overrated but I didn't find that to be the case. I don't always agree with Lonely Planet.

So, everything worked out well. Guides were always on-time, and that's important. There were no problems with transport or hotels or anything. All went smoothly. Having arranged tours at work, I know that when all goes well it's because of good planning and everyone is doing their job. So, congratulations on arranging a great tour.

Regards,

Bob Gavenda

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