I really want to do it but I think due to lack of courage I keep thinking of things to stop me!! Firstly, coping with luggage on a tour. Then there's the question of fitness although I do regularly walk rather than drive nowadays. Oh and then there's Chinese Visa - will I get it in time? Not forgetting the innoculations - do I need them? (existing protections expire at the end of the year) Arrrrrrrrgh why can I not just book this holiday??? :huh:

HELP PLEASE!!! I would love to hear from anyone who has already book this tour for 24th October.

OK, so I'm a 62 year old widow who has been agonising over whether I should book the Wonders of China (Oct 24th) for my first ever solo holiday.

I really want to do it but I think due to lack of courage I keep thinking of things to stop me!! Firstly, coping with luggage on a tour. Then there's the question of fitness although I do regularly walk rather than drive nowadays. Oh and then there's Chinese Visa - will I get it in time? Not forgetting the innoculations - do I need them? (existing protections expire at the end of the year) Arrrrrrrrgh why can I not just book this holiday??? :huh:

HELP PLEASE!!! I would love to hear from anyone who has already book this tour for 24th October.

Hello Kath

I'm on the China trip on 24th October and it's my first JY trip. I'm 54 and was widowed unexpectedly at the end of last year. My husband was suspicious of anything even faintly oriental so China was somewhere I never expected to go and a year ago I would never even have envisaged I would be now taking what seems to me a giant leap into a whole new world. That said, I'm really excited at the prospect of going on the trip - I like the idea that everyone, for whatever reason, is in the same situation. Having never flown long-haul or by myself before, my 'worry' is falling asleep on the journey and waking up to find I've been dribbling or snoring or something daft like that! My visa was returned last week within 2 weeks of application so I would imagine there's still time left to organise this. I'd never needed innoculations before but was advised to do so for this trip. I believe 15 people are booked on for Oct 24th so please go for it!

Best wishes

Edwina Yates

I'm booked on the China tour in October and really looking forward to it. It is my first holiday with JY and the first time I have been abroad on my own. I think you should just do it. You don't have to be on your own as there'll the tour guide and everyone else in the group to help.

Just book it now before it's too late. You don't want to spend October sat at home, went you could be in China having fun!

Jude

quote='KathB' pid='218800' dateline='1347448426']

OK, so I'm a 62 year old widow who has been agonising over whether I should book the Wonders of China (Oct 24th) for my first ever solo holiday.

I really want to do it but I think due to lack of courage I keep thinking of things to stop me!! Firstly, coping with luggage on a tour. Then there's the question of fitness although I do regularly walk rather than drive nowadays. Oh and then there's Chinese Visa - will I get it in time? Not forgetting the innoculations - do I need them? (existing protections expire at the end of the year) Arrrrrrrrgh why can I not just book this holiday??? :huh:

HELP PLEASE!!! I would love to hear from anyone who has already book this tour for 24th October.

Hi Kath,

I'm booked on the China tour in October and really looking forward to it. It is my first holiday with JY and the first time I have been abroad on my own. I think you should just do it. You don't have to be on your own as there'll the tour guide and everyone else in the group to help.

Just book it now before it's too late. You don't want to spend October sat at home, went you could be in China having fun!

Jude

Hi Edwina & Jude

Thanks for the encouragement..............and I look forward to meeting you on the 24th Oct!!! Yes I've booked it and now I'm really looking forward to it, not to say very excited. I'm sure we'll all have a great time. See you at Heathrow next month!!

Thanks again

Ksth

quote='KathB' pid='218800' dateline='1347448426']

OK, so I'm a 62 year old widow who has been agonising over whether I should book the Wonders of China (Oct 24th) for my first ever solo holiday.

I really want to do it but I think due to lack of courage I keep thinking of things to stop me!! Firstly, coping with luggage on a tour. Then there's the question of fitness although I do regularly walk rather than drive nowadays. Oh and then there's Chinese Visa - will I get it in time? Not forgetting the innoculations - do I need them? (existing protections expire at the end of the year) Arrrrrrrrgh why can I not just book this holiday??? :huh:

HELP PLEASE!!! I would love to hear from anyone who has already book this tour for 24th October.

Thanks for the encouragement..............and I look forward to meeting you on the 24th Oct!!! Yes I've booked it and now I'm really looking forward to it, not to say very excited. I'm sure we'll all have a great time. See you at Heathrow next month!!

Thanks again

Kath

I did this trip on 12th Sept with the Yangtze Add On. You sure are in for a holiday to remember. Important things to pack are an overnight bag for your 2 nights in Chengdu. You are re-united with your main luggage at Beijing Airport before flying to Xian. Take Anti bacterial hand gel with you and a flat pack of toilet paper. Note that toilets away from hotels are the squatting type and toilet paper is not readily available. You are allowed 30kg hold luggage and supposedly 5kg hand baggage. Some hand luggage appeared to be oversize and would certainly have weighed more than the 5kg. Bear in mind that if you are on a connecting flight to Heathrow your hold luggage allowance will not be so generous. If you are on the group visa, the airport system is very easy.

Peter

Hello KathB

I did this trip on 12th Sept with the Yangtze Add On. You sure are in for a holiday to remember. Important things to pack are an overnight bag for your 2 nights in Chengdu. You are re-united with your main luggage at Beijing Airport before flying to Xian. Take Anti bacterial hand gel with you and a flat pack of toilet paper. Note that toilets away from hotels are the squatting type and toilet paper is not readily available. You are allowed 30kg hold luggage and supposedly 5kg hand baggage. Some hand luggage appeared to be oversize and would certainly have weighed more than the 5kg. Bear in mind that if you are on a connecting flight to Heathrow your hold luggage allowance will not be so generous. If you are on the group visa, the airport system is very easy.

Peter

Thanks very much for the info Peter, I received my travel documents yesterday and saw that I would be needing an overnight bag, I'm now trying to decide whether a rucksack would suffice or whether I need to go out and buy a large but manageable flight bag that will double as the overnighter, I thought that maybe we would have lunch at the hotel and get access to our main luggage there (to be able to transfer toiletries etc from overnighter to suitcase) I expect the tour manager will have that sort of thing covered though as they must be well practised by now.

I'm now wishing that I had booked the Yangtzee add on but decided that as this was my first solo adventure 10 days would be enough.

Once again many thanks for the hints and tips. So glad you had a good trip.

Kath