A Special Trip in Tibet

Hi Karen

How nice to get your email. Yes, we had a terrific time in Tibet and very much enjoyed the tour. Our Tibetan guide, Yula, was absolutely wonderful and so was our driver.
Thanks so much for making such a special trip for us.

I will complete your form that you sent me in a day or two.

We have been taking it easy since our return.

The only things we were unhappy with was the road from Shigatze to Mt Everest. As you may know, the highway outside Shigatze is not constructed yet and it made for a very bone-jarring ride of some 8 hours, which was very tiring for us. The disrepair of the road, also made the long trip back to Lhasa very tiring. It wasn't so much the hours it took, but just how tiring it was hanging on while being bounced around in the back seat. Once we go to Shigatze it was fine but it made a very tiring drive for the driver, Wang.

Also the Rongbu monastery at Mt Everest is not one I would recommend for tourists our age(suitable only for young backpackers). There were almost no facilities. The room had one light that was operated independently by the monks.

There was no water facilities and the toilets (which were truly disgusting - not clean at all) were outside. This was not very good for people our age who, unfortunately, usually have to go to the toilet during the night. I would recommend that you use the new Chinese hotel rather than Rongbu Monastery for western tourists.

On the whole, these two things didn't spoil our trip but it would have been much better if we had realised the road was so bad, and if we had better accommodation on arrival at Mt Everest. We were told the highway was being 'repaired'. I think a more accurate assessment is that the highway is being 'constructed'. I will send you some pictures of the current highway later and you can judge for yourself.

Anyway, we had a great trip and we will be pleased to use your services again.

I will forward the edited form in a day or so. I told you that I would edit it for better English for use to your English-speaking clients in the west.

Thanks again Karen, you did a great job.

Regards,

Chris & Arthur