Dear Cynthia/Irene,

Sorry for this late reply, as I just returned from Shanghai yesterday afternoon. Thank you for the excellent arrangements for our China trip, and everyone in our group enjoyed themselves very much. We will certainly go through Travel China Guide for any future customised tours we need in China :)

On the specific areas that we have comments on:

1) Meals - the food was good and the the variety of dishes very wide. There was more food than we could finish every time :) We liked the chance to try the local dishes, and every meal that you catered for gave us this opportunity. It was unavoidable that after 7 to 8 days, some of the children craved for their own Singaporean food, but this is unavoidable on any longer trips :) If there is one meal that we have to highlight, it was the dinner at Lijiang on the second day there, on Tues 11 Dec 07. The deep fried (or barbecued) meat slices was especially tasty :)

2) Guides - we spoke in Chinese throughout, and occasionally the guides do use the English terms where they find that we are unfamiliar with a particular Chinese term. We are very happy with the services provided by all the guides, and the trouble they took to fill us in on the local history, culture and customs. Special mention must be made of Yanmei (Dali) and Mr Tuan (Lijiang), though the other two also gave good commentaries and were helpful towards all our requests. Please convey our regards and appreciation to them, and can you also give all of them my contact should they wish to contact us or come by Singapore in future.

3) Buses and drivers - we spent most of the trip with Yang Shi Fu (Dali to Zhongdian), so it is natural that we have a deeper impression of him. He was most helpful and humorous in his own way :) We really appreciated his company and useful advice from time to time. We spent only one and a half day with Wu Shi Fu in Kunming, in far more challenging traffic conditions, so it is hard to compare the two.

In conclusion, the services you have provided is the best way we could have travelled and experienced the local sights and rich culture in places such as Yunnan, where it would have been difficult for independent travellers like my group to move around on our own. The features, such as a local market and traditional houses, that the guides introduced to us gave us a much deeper understanding of the land and peoples we move through than we could otherwise have known. I attach a group photo of the 13 of us at the Erhai Park at Xiaguan (Dali), on the day we arrived.

Thanks again for you assistance and efficient service and best regards.