I have just returned from the Wonder of China and Yangtze cruise and have had a wonderful holiday. The holiday is action packed and you need to be prepared for the first trip to the temple of heaven as soon as you arrive in Beijing, this trip takes place before you check in to the hotel so make sure you have packed your camera in your hand luggage.
The holiday has lots of early starts and long days, often you go to dinner before returning to the hotel so wet wipes and a body spray are a must! There are a number of internal flights and organisation with packing is key, if you take travel toiletries you can check in your case and take your overnight bag on board as hand luggage, the hotels have an excellent range of complimentary toiletries including toothbrushes, toothpaste and combs.
The train journey to Chengde is great fun and a fantastic experience, whilst you are there I recommend you have the massage, it is fifteen pounds for a full hour and your tired limbs will love every minute of it.
If you are going on to the cruise, or like me purchased rather more souvenirs than you intended, the Beijing hotel allows you to leave bags in storage with them for when you return either on the last night of the ten day tour or if you are on the cruise also the night before you return home,
The cruise was amazing, but be prepared for a very long journey there with an early morning start and long coach journey. The upgrade is worth every penny, you get access to free tea and coffee all day, eat in a separate a la carte restaurant, have a happy hour with complimentary wine and beer and then free wine and beer with dinner. You can also get four items of laundry done for free every day which come back beautifully clean and ironed to your cabin. We upgraded to the executive deck and on arrival were fortunate to be upgraded to junior suites.
All the local guides we met were very knowledgeable and extremely proud of their country and heritage. Our tour manager Trish was fantastic and made sure everything ran smoothly as well as being great company!
This is a trip for the moderately fit, there are many stairs and steps along the way but every climb is worth it for the amazing sights, the top of the great wall, the views from the tops of pagodas, beautiful Buddhas and the path to heaven in Ghost city.
This really is the holiday of a lifetime, so much to see, and plenty of opportunities to shop and bargain a good price. I really recommend this holiday and am already planning my next trip with Just You.
Finally remember to enjoy the airport lounge at Heathrow, free wine, spirits,beer, tea, coffee, soft drinks and nibbles and a great place to get to know your fellow travellers before you fly!
Claire:)
