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Todd and Ted
by:tchigaros on: Jul 29 2008
Actually 2008 not 2007( the drop down option doens't give 2008)...every stop was memorable in it's own right. But we loved the Li river and cities on it. Also really loved Pingyao, Hangzhou and Shanghai..
Not to be Missed when in Guilin:
In the northern part of China near Datong is the Hanging or Suspended Temple. It is really one of the most extraordinary pieces of architecture we saw on the trip...absolutely beautiful and like no other. The historic walled town of Pingyao is another one of kind experience...sort of what the Westerner imagines traditional old towns in China to be. It's a Unesco World Heritage Site (so many things in China are) The scenery along the Li River is not to be missed...I had seen photos from there for years and they'd stuck in my memory...so as we started planning, we put it on the wish list of places to go...exotic and a mountainous landscape not to be seen anywhere else. We started in Guilin and ended in Yangshuo (see "Impressions" the outdoor show in Yangshuo....really well done and epic in scale)...don't miss the surrounding small villages either...add them on as excursions. Hangzhou West Lake area also a super nice...high end...beautiful gardens everywhere around the lake and be sure to see the Ling Yin Temple...and if you go to Shanghai...The Grand Hyatt in the Jin Mao tower (highest hotel in the world I believe) is one of the most beautiful hotels I've seen, the views are unbelievable and the service impeccable...it may be a bit expensive...but well worth it.
Hints for Future Travelers:
I can't think of any hint that I can offer that your travel planner probably couldn't do better. Our travel planner/agent was Karen Yang. She is very knowledgeable and unbelievably prompt with response time (you'd think you were on teh same time zone with her)...and totally accommodating on what seemed to be an impossible task of squeezing in all of our requests into a very limited window of time...and we didn't feel exhausted on the schedule either. Our tips would be this...ask your guides for their suggestions on local foods and eateries...their suggestions were amazing as was the local food. If you hear of something as you go that is not on you itinerary ask your guide if you can do it. The guides were all great...amazing English skills (and other languages too I bet) and were very eager to see that we got to see everything we wanted when time permitted, that we were happy, and well taken care of. We had some reservations about taking an overnight train...but we did. We were very happy with the accommodations...we were in a first class soft sleeper. We requested buying out our entire compartment...which couldn't be guaranteed until 2 weeks before...but like clockwork two weeks before Karen secured the whole compartment for us and we were set. We went from Pingyao to Xian over night...it was comfortable, clean and had a GREAT air conditioner...the bathroom in the train was less than desirable...but otherwise it was nice and it allowed us to squeeze another stop into our itinerary that we did not want to miss.
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Traveler's Comments on this Travel Journal
morgen
,Jul 29 2008
Todd and Ted， Thank you so much for your wonderful comments on the tour and our service.
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