A wonderful memory for China trip

The past 15 or so months since our visit to China, have not allowed me to write this review of our holiday, but that time has not dimmed the memory of our trip.   

Like others before me I was concerned with dealing with a company so far away, as well as one through which we could not (at the time) pay directly, by credit card, finding instead, Paypal was the simplest method.  There were no problems whatsoever.

Reinself was at great pains to answer all my questions, change itineraries or find other options for us, whether hotels, routes or places that we wanted to include in the visit.

There were 4 of us on the tour, my Cousin and her Husband travelling from London, whilst my Husband and I travelled from the Middle East.  We were met separately, a few hours apart and my cousin and our first guide were in the Hotel coffee shop waiting for us when we arrived.

The Hotel in Beijing was superb, but then so were, pretty much, all of the hotels we stayed in.  One hotel had long stairways between floors with no lifts and ours rooms had to be changed around, as the stairs were too much for one member of the party.   But as far as I can recall this was the only real problem we encountered, all the hotels were of a high standard, with good service from the staff.

Our tour was flying into Beijing, then on to Xian, Chengdu, Yangtze Cruise, Yangshou, Shanghai, Guilin, Hong Kong.  We travelled by every form of transport available, I think, except bicycle and there was not one failure or error on the timetables, or the departure/arrival by our guides.  Everything and everyone was always where - and when - they should have been.  

All our guides were at great pains to ensure our comfort, to explain everything to us, to show and explain to us all the places of interest we saw.  They all ensured our visit was well worth remembering.

Our abiding memories are, I think, the cruise on the Yangtze, the ship was run to perfection and the quality of the evening entertainment was second to none.   Seeing the Terracotta Warriors, Pandas and the Great Wall was the main aim of our holiday and it was amazing to see the places we have only heard about for so many years.    We also, privately, through a relative living there, arranged to see the ‘Light Show’ at Yangshou and also the underground tunnels in Bejing where we found a silk factory tucked away! (And they let us stretch out the silk cocoons)

In spite of all the arranged visits, two of our best memories are of informal, unplanned moments.  On one occasion, after our evening meal we wandered out and found a well known coffee shop, where we sat outside; a group of young children slowly plucked up courage to get past saying more than ‘Hellooo, How are yoooo’ to trying to talk to us.  One of the boys obviously spoke more English  than they others and they kept firing questions at him to ask us, and to see his little face trying to keep up with them was lovely.

The other occasion was during a brief transit period, in Chongquing, when we stopped to have a meal and had time for a walk about.   Our guide after realising we did not want ‘more sales outlets’ took us to the peoples’ park, where at about 6pm everyone started to turn up and gather in groups.  There were groups dancing, doing Tai Chi, singing, acrobatics, music, flying kites - it was wonderful!  Again, we had a group of youths tag along with us and start talking to us after the usual ‘Hellooo, How are yoooo’, they just wanted the opportunity to speak to ‘foreigners’ and practice what English they knew.  I think our guide was a bit concerned at first, by this intrusion, but they were happy, and polite.

For the culturally minded I would thoroughly recommend a visit to the Shanghai Museum.    They have some such ancient relics I was mesmerised by actually seeing something so old.  It is so well laid out on 3 or 4 floors with at least three sections on each floor - each section containing its own specific items - coins; clothes; pottery; furniture; art etc., it was all so beautiful and well cared for.  Museums do not, particularly, interest me, but I would go back to Shanghai Museum again.

We loved Suzhou – although all the little shops were all full of the usual tourist items, it was a lovely little place, and we enjoyed walking through it, beside the river.

The trip on the Li River was wonderful; such amazing shapes rising up from the land.  Now I know where many of the strange mountain shapes in Chinese art come from!

Then it was on to the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong and the busy night life.  China Town was of course much bigger than most others.  A friend from Hong Kong took us to one of the quieter Islands where the tourist ratio was much lower, then he took us North to his home area then around Kowloon in the evening. A memorable day.

  
I like Chinese food, but I had not anticipated the great difference between what we get here from the local ‘Chop Suey House’ and what you are served in China, as being so unbelievably different.   I loved the food all the way through the trip, could not get enough of it – I just wish it was possible to get it cooked that way over here!

A wonderful holiday, a wonderful memory and a wonderful tour company with some outstanding guides – I cannot say more than that.