In the year of 2006, we decided to plan a private tour to China. We wanted to cruise the Yangtze River before the water level was finally raised. If we were going that far we also wanted to see places we'd heard so much about like Beijing and Shanghai. We didn't feel confident about traveling independently in a country where we could not read, much less speak the language. Previous experience of group travel had been unsatisfactory – no choice of flights from the UK, set hotels, no flexibility in places visited and the need to stick with the group at all times.
A search on the internet found sample trips offered by a China tour operator that is based in Xian. An initial query to them and they immediately confirmed that the trip could be tailored to our dates and flights and offered a choice of hotel standards. We shared with them our personal interests and specific requirements – of course all were met without any problem, then we booked without hesitation. However, in the last minute, a family crisis occurred and meant a change to our schedule, but which was coordinated at very short notice. Had we booked with a group tour, we would have missed our holiday. The private tour operator pulled out the stops and reorganized the trip.
Visas were surprisingly easy to obtain. The hardest part was getting to the Chinese Embassy in the UK who needed our passports for three days; luckily the Embassy in The Netherlands (where my husband worked) offered a 'while you wait' service.
Our tour took us to Xian, the Yangtze River, Guilin, Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong. At every place we were met by an English-speaking guide, who ensured that hotel check-ins etc went smoothly and conducted our local tours. All our guides were knowledgeable and enthusiastic. Each demonstrated a pride in China, her people and its culture. Although local sightseeing was well planned it was also flexible – we could take more or less time at the various locations, miss out or add in attractions as we desired – no having to wait for stragglers, hang around venues we had little interest in or rush through those we found fascinating.
The tour included lunches based on regional dishes. We were constantly amazed at the range of dishes presented. We enjoy Chinese cooking – the lunches encouraged us to try dishes that we would not have ordered at home. Our expertise with chopsticks improved considerably, although each venue also offered Western cutlery. Evening meals were left to our own choice – again we mostly ate Chinese food – well priced and delicious.
Hotels throughout were of a good standard; well placed especially in Beijing and Shanghai where we were within walking distance of the main attractions.
Beijing: this was our favorite of all the places we visited. The Hotel International was in walking distance of Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. We had a very enjoyable day exploring these with Grace, our guide. In the evening we enjoyed window shopping in the malls and side streets nearby – astonished at the range and variety of goods on offer. There was an excellent choice of reasonably-priced restaurants where we astonished the locals with our skill with chopsticks. We also enjoyed the Chinese wine -Great Wall, red, 1997 is especially good! Grace arranged a visit to the Hutong area where we had the opportunity to take a rickshaw ride and visit a family home. The local guide helped me to buy a pair of Chinese shoes for Tai Chi in one of the small craft shops. The Peking Duck dinner included in the tour was superb. Following the visit to the Great Wall we enjoyed yet another wonderful meal at the Cloisonn
Our Wonderful Private Vacation in China is a post from: Traveling China
from Traveling China http://www.chinaya.org
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