Hi All,
Apologies for the lateness of putting this review on the Forum, but I have written to the Head of Customer Services with suggestions on improving the itinerary for future tour dates, and was going to wait until she came back to me, but appreciate that the September tour needs to know things now rather than later.
First of all, this is a fantastic tour and I thoroughly enjoyed it throughout. However there are certain things that you need to know! You need to be reasonably fit (I actually lost weight, and ate everything!), have no mobility problems whatsoever - there is a lot of walking/climbing up to palaces/monasteries etc. - you don't of course have to do these, but you will be missing out on some incredible experiences. I recommend seeing your doctor/practice nurse regarding getting a prescription for Diamox (helps with Altitude Sickness), using Sea Bands (for those long windy coach trips) and taking Cold/Flu remedies with you - you are in and out of air conditioning. You will also need lots of tissues/wet wipes/anti bacterial gel, rehydration salts, headache pills, a hat, suncream, comfortable walking shoes, a fleece, 3 pin flat plug adaptor etc. Be prepared for the pretty horrendous Tibetan loos, which are mostly hole in the ground ones. Take each day as it comes, and enjoy this wonderful trip.
I'm not going to do a minute by minute review, but will try and give a brief summary where possible. The itinery changed a bit from the planned one, but everything was covered.
A bonus for me was that I could fly from Glasgow and avoid Heathrow as all the flights had to change at Amsterdam to Chengdu. KLM were excellent. You have 3 nights in Chengdu in a good hotel. I recommend the Panda Breeding Researh Centre optional trip - we saw baby pandas playing which was a bonus. You have a free afternoon on Day 4, and I went to the Manjushri Monastery which is about 10 minutes from the hotel. If you are already fed up of Chinese food, there is a McDonalds near the hotel! This tour is good for vegetarians. You get a full Chinese "Lazy Susan" meal at lunch and dinner. The food is quite spicy in this area and they use a lot of chilli!
Day 5 was the flight to Lhasa and then a 2-3hr coach journey to Zhendang (Tsetang). Be sure to have enough water with you (there was none on the bus) and Tibetan hotels do not give you two complimentary bottles as in China. We were now at over 12,000ft, and there was the option of climbing up to the summit of a mountain where the Yumbulakang Palace is perched. If you are feeling OK, this is worth it. Several people were starting to feel the effects of the altitude, and some bought oxygen in the town - we all had to go out to buy water.
Day 6 A long but fascinating day. We left at 8 a.m and didn't get to the hotel in Gyantse until 1930. The scenery is spectacular, but be aware that you travel up to 16,200 feet and travel 200-300 miles today. The hotel has wonderful murals etc., but was cold (they had two room heaters). I recommend taking a thermal top and thick socks - I also used both blankets in the wardrobe. Beds are hard, but I had the best sleep!
Day 7 in Gyantse, and this is where you see the real Tibet with a walk down Cow Street, the Palkhor Chode Monastery and if you are up to it, a climb up the really interesting Gyantse Kumbum Stupa. If you want to take photos here you have to pay 10 yuan. In the majority of palaces/monasteries/prayer halls, you cannot take photographs. If you are lucky you will stop at a typical Tibetan farmhouse to see how they really live. The hotel at Shigatse was very good - walk in shower, and oxygen!
Day 8. A long coach trip (6-7 hours) but with dramatic rocky mountain scenery from Shigatse to Lhasa. Visit to Tashi Lhunpo Monastery first. The hotel in Lhasa has a great location and is only 10 minutes from the Potala Palace and Barkhor Street (the old part of Lhasa). Be aware, lack of hot water can be an issue at this hotel (they use solar panels), and some people changed their rooms.
The days in Lhasa covered visits to the Potala Palace (winter home of the Dalai Lama), Norbulingka Summer Palace and Johkang Temple. Also Sera Monastery. The climb up to the top of the Potala Palace is 1,080 steps, but so worth it! Lhasa is a fascinating city and is a photographer's paradise! Tibetan food is very good. Butter tea tastes like Scottish tablet (there were 5 of us Scots on the trip!)
Day 11. I am hoping that for the next tour, that flights can be changed for this day, as we travelled for 15 hours with two flights and a stay in Xi'an airport of 4 hours.
Day 12 Guilin in China. I didn't do the Longshen Rice Terraces which was a full day, but did go to the Reed Flute Caves. Two of us did a guided walk around Peach Blossom Lake, which I can thoroughly recommend. We had to revert to Starbucks to get a decent coffee!
Day 13 A very relaxing cruise on the Li River from Guilin down to Yangshuo. West Street near the hotel has everything you could want souvenir-wise. I can thoroughly recommend doing the optional show on the lake in the evening - Impressions Liu Sanjie.
Day 14 A visit to a vegetable market in Yangshuo, and then on to the Cookery School to cook 5 dishes for our lunch! I was a bit apprehensive about doing this, but we all did it (bar one) and thoroughly enjoyed it. None of us set the place on fire or cooked inedible food! It is in a beautiful setting out in the country. The beer went down well too! Some of our tour did the bicycle ride in the afternoon, which they evidently enjoyed!
I did the add-on to Hong Kong, and will do a separate review for that. The others flew back to Chengdu and had a night there before flying back to the UK.
In conclusion, this really is a wonderful tour, and you need to go sooner rather than later, especially to Tibet, as the Chinese are building, building, building, and the old way of life may change very soon. Any questions, please ask.
Cheers,
Hils