China Reviews
Review 1
What was the most memorable part of your tour?
Many memories..walking a deserted great wall, the immense forbidden city, the pandas of Chengdu, the tranquility of the Li river...but for me the most memorable was sitting with Inner Mongolian camel drivers cooking breakfast in a wok as the sun rose over desert sand dunes
How would you rate the tour leaders?
Trish was fantastic, there when we needed her, making things interesting for the children but not imposing her leadership on us
Do you feel your holiday benefited local people?
Yes. I think that we learnt more about the country too because of the way we interacted with the local people
Do you feel that you got under the skin of a country?
Very much so and it is an achievement to do that in two weeks in such a big country
What advice would you give to other travellers?
Travel light (the chinese laundries are cheap and plentiful), have a go at everything including the varieties of food, definitely do the cooking course and watch out for the camels.
Reviewed by Neill Butler who travelled in April 2007 on the Chinese Crackers trip
Review 2
What was the most memorable part of your tour?
Terracotta warriors
What advice would you give to other travellers?
Do as much background reading as possible before you travel - e.g. Wild Swans by Jung Chang
Reviewed by Judy Robinson who travelled in October 2006 on the Yangtse & the South-West trip
Review 3
What was the most memorable part of your tour?
Difficult to highlight one. The ones that stand out are the walk on the Great Wall - Incredible! Very tough, wasn't quite expecting it to be that tough but I will treasure the experience. Loved the cycle round the City Walls of Xian and the swim in the Li River in Yangshuo. The Terracota warriors was awesome, even the train journeys were an experience.
How would you rate the tour leaders?
Very good. I was impressed although if I had 1 niggle, it would have been that our Tour Leader didn't speak Chinese although there were others on the tour that did so it wasn't a big thing really. Our leader was very professional and helpful and despite some awkward other travellers, she handled herself very well.
Do you feel that you got under the skin of a country?
Yes very much. I think this is what please me most about the trip. We felt we had seen the real China as well as the usual tourist sites.
What advice would you give to other travellers?
Be prepared for a tough hike on the wall but incredibly rewarding. Would have tried to raise some money for charity had I known how long we were going to walk for. Be prepared for a different way of life. Definitely good value.
Reviewed by Shane Fernando who travelled in August 2007 on the China Explored trip
Review 4
What was the most memorable part of your tour?
It was all great. The mountain stay in a yurt - especially when we had a hot shower in the morning, people and accommodation in Uzbekistan, food - especially the variety in China, the hamman, the amazing mosques, the miles and miles of desert. Fantastic.
How would you rate the tour leaders?
Excellent. They were at all times professional, responsible and full of useful (and funny but useless) information that made the trip really enjoyable. I felt I could just sit back and relax knowing that everything would be taken care of, if it went according to plan or not.
Do you feel your holiday benefited local people?
A bit. The people who ran the yurts- maybe.
Do you feel that you got under the skin of a country?
No. But I do feel that I have more understanding about the history (and size) of those countries.
What advice would you give to other travellers?
Be prepared to enjoy the time spent on the train traveling. For me a lot of travel is about the time spent getting from place to place, not just the arriving and seeing ´famous sights´- but the journeys are very long on this trip. The best way is to get involved with the trip, go to the canteen car, eat the local food, buy something from the guys who get on the train, get off the train at every availabe stop ( keeping your eye on the tour leader!) and just enjoy the traveling - which is a big part of this trip, instead of just enduring it and waiting for the end when you can see the sights. If you want to just see the sights, then fly from place to place. It´s a big area, and if you think you might not want to see it, then don´t.
Reviewed by Carol Ashen who travelled in August 2006 on the The Rhubarb Road trip
China Forum Feedback
Sichuan Explorer Tour
Hey there! I’m booked onto the Sichuan tour in April 09 and thought I’d put a post up to see who also is? As I’m very excited about the whole thing, and am going on my own. I also thought I’d ask if it’s too early to be worrying about the tour NOT taking place? There are only 4 people booked onto it and there has to be a minimum of 6 for it to run. I’ve been reassured it’s still early days with 5 months to go, but with the credit crunch etc I can’t help but fear the worst!! xx
China Adventurer class train accomodation
Hi Could you please tell me what the train accommodation for the China "Adventurer" class tours is? (ie hard class sleepers or seats?) Many thanks
trains on China traveller class tours
Hi Could you please tell me what the train accommodation for the China "Adventurer" class tours is? (ie hard class sleepers or seats?) Many thanks
Woks and Chopsticks - Oct 12/08
Hello! I'm booked on the October 12th departure of this tour and I'm getting really excited. When I checked the site to see if the tour was full (the availability section of the tour site), my departure isn't even listed anymore - should I be worried about that? Also, can you tell me how many people are on this tour? Thanks!
Anything else left to do?
Hello! I'm getting ready to head off to China in a little over a month. My travel agent has already forwarded me the confirmation of services that you sent her so I could get my visa (it's on it's way! woo hoo!). Is there any other documentation I'm supposed to get from the travel agent (or directly from you guys) such as hotel vouchers, transportation tickets or a voucher for the airport transfer to the hotel in Beijing? Thank you for answering all of my questions! I can't wait to get going on this adventure! Thanks again, Chrissy
