My Marvelous China Vacation

Dear Harry,

I am sorry it has taken so long to reply to your email. I agree with everything that Jane said. Robert and I would like to tell you our travel experiece and add a few more comments.

1. Your guides were terrific - very organized, prompt, extremely knowledgeable, very personable, thoughtful and sensitive to our needs. Tour guides that were our favorites included Susan in Shanghai, Linda in Chengdu/Mt. Emei, and Pemba in Tibet. Maybe it's because we spent the most time with them, but they were extraordinary. Julie (Chen Jing) in Xian and Michele (Wu Min) in Datong were also quite good. It was a delight to get to know these enthusiastic professionals.

2. Nearly all of the guides provided some free bottled water in the vans for us, which was a very pleasant surprise for us, especially when we arrived at the airport (and had no water because of airline restrictions). We were then bothered when one guide would only sell us the water on the bus, and it wasn't a particularly low price. I think it would be a great benefit/convenience if you advised all tour guides to provide at least one free bottle of water.  

3. Nearly all guides respected our desire to NOT visit factories and store, which was very much appreciated and gave us more time to see the sights.

4. We were able to see the wonderful solar eclipse with plenty of time, but we had to negotiate with the cruise staff to get an early bus to the Dam site. It all worked out beautifully. Our tour guide got us to Wuhan airport in a timely way.

5. ALL of our drivers were excellent, skilled and safe drivers, which we really appreciate. And we were very impressed with the quality of the vehicles, especially in Tibet where the roads were often very rough.

6. The trip itinerary was very good for acclimating to the high altitudes, starting with Mt. Emei, coming back down, then flying Lhasa with 2 nights to adjust to 12,000 feet, then one night in Shigatse, and one in Rongbu. I would recommend this itinerary to other travelers. We also found that taking a particular drug (acetazolamide) for altitude acclimatization was very useful to avoid altitude sickness.

7. Yak Hotel in Chengdu was very nice in some ways but our toilets did not work very well. They didn't provide enough toilet paper either. I didn't mind the hotel in Beijing. It was quite charming. However, the location was poor for us because it was very far from the city center where there were restaurants that we wanted to try and places to shop for last-minute gifts were located. It was a long taxi ride to get to anything.

8. It would have been nice to know the difference in price if we stayed at the newer facility at Rongbu. It was charming to stay at the monastery but some travelers could be upset by the shared accommodations and difficult latrine. Our group of experienced travelers were able to accept it.

I will certainly recommend your company to others and have already done so.

Thanks for a great journey,

Frances and Robert from USA