We enjoyed our China trip very much and the service was good. Our guide in Beijing (Li Xuyang, "David") was excellent and went out of his way to make sure we enjoyed ourselves.
Our guide Dorgee Tse Ring and driver Bemba in Tibet were excellent too. They took really good care of us and made sure we were comfortable and well fed. They gave us the understanding that only a native can give (Dorgee knew of an out-of-the-way place that makes incense from wood, using diverted river water -- even the driver with his 20 years of experience had never been there). We were given a Chinese guide initially, and although he was nice enough, we requested a Tibetan guide for his cultural understanding. By his own admission, the Chinese guide spoke better English than Tibetan and we really felt we needed someone who had grown up in the Tibetan culture and language. We thank the Chinese guide and his travel agency's manager for being flexible and getting us a Tibetan guide.
Both David and Dorgee spoke good English and were very accommodating, allowing us to spend time doing what we enjoyed (spending several hours climbing the Great Wall in the rain; spending an unscheduled afternoon in a tea-house, tasting teas we plan to import for our tea business, taking countless pictures, watching 1000 year old monastic scriptures being brought out for the first time in 300 years, dusted off and re-bound).
One note regarding food: the Peking Duck dinner in Beijing was outstanding, but many of the lunches both in China and Tibet were pretty bad. We found the Tibetan restaurants to be much better than the "scheduled" Chinese restaurants in Tibet. Maybe some Tibetan meals should be incorporated into a trip to Tibet? Both guides gave us recommendations for excellent restaurants for dinners on our own.
Again overall our stay was pleasant and your company's ability to accommodate and make changes is much appreciated (especially, when we left Hong Kong earller due to a typhoon coming in and your local contact changed our tickets for us within hours and brought them to our hotel). Also we like to thank you Sally for you working with us to make this an unforgettable China experience. Thank you again and we are looking forward to further trips."
Our guide Dorgee Tse Ring and driver Bemba in Tibet were excellent too. They took really good care of us and made sure we were comfortable and well fed. They gave us the understanding that only a native can give (Dorgee knew of an out-of-the-way place that makes incense from wood, using diverted river water -- even the driver with his 20 years of experience had never been there). We were given a Chinese guide initially, and although he was nice enough, we requested a Tibetan guide for his cultural understanding. By his own admission, the Chinese guide spoke better English than Tibetan and we really felt we needed someone who had grown up in the Tibetan culture and language. We thank the Chinese guide and his travel agency's manager for being flexible and getting us a Tibetan guide.
Both David and Dorgee spoke good English and were very accommodating, allowing us to spend time doing what we enjoyed (spending several hours climbing the Great Wall in the rain; spending an unscheduled afternoon in a tea-house, tasting teas we plan to import for our tea business, taking countless pictures, watching 1000 year old monastic scriptures being brought out for the first time in 300 years, dusted off and re-bound).
One note regarding food: the Peking Duck dinner in Beijing was outstanding, but many of the lunches both in China and Tibet were pretty bad. We found the Tibetan restaurants to be much better than the "scheduled" Chinese restaurants in Tibet. Maybe some Tibetan meals should be incorporated into a trip to Tibet? Both guides gave us recommendations for excellent restaurants for dinners on our own.
Again overall our stay was pleasant and your company's ability to accommodate and make changes is much appreciated (especially, when we left Hong Kong earller due to a typhoon coming in and your local contact changed our tickets for us within hours and brought them to our hotel). Also we like to thank you Sally for you working with us to make this an unforgettable China experience. Thank you again and we are looking forward to further trips."
- Name: Mr. Daniel Ross Koppel and Ms. Christiane Ute Hormann
- From: USA
- E-mail: aol.com|danielk
- ltinerary: 11-Day Tibet Tours of Beijing - Lhasa - Beijing
- Date: 2/2/2006
