I am happy to give you my comments regarding my tour through TravelChinaGuide.

I travelled to Shanghai to begin my journey, the reservations were in fact made. They were, and I was met in Kunming as I hoped. Meanwhile, the trip was great and the guides more than pleasant. Jeff, in Kunming was warm, engaging and delightful. He gave the tour schpiel, and much local history and flavor as well. He was a great storyteller and I enjoyed my days with him and the driver Mr. Zheng. Jeff went above and beyond in assisting me in obtaining a visa for Vietnam, and Mr. Zheng was courteous and pleasant. I'm sorry that my Chinese is so poor that I couldn't communicate with him as I would have liked.

Aaron in Dali was different, and also thoroughly enjoyable. His approach was cerebral and he knew exactly every spot where I should stand for the best view of the best photo. I certainly enjoyed our discussions about a whole range of subjects. Mr. Yang, the driver, was fantastic. Again I was sorry for my pitiful Chinese as I would have loved to talk with him on our drive to Lijiang.

Kate met me there, and was a sweetheart. She went above and beyond as well, even taking my dirty clothes home to launder as there was not a three day gap to get them done through a service.

The level of English of the guides was good, even though each had varying approaches to talking with an American. I would ocassionally question a word or a phrase, but never felt we couldn't communicate. They were able to back up when I said I didn't understand, and we got along great. I hope I was able to help a little bit with the quirky English phrases, a few new words, and I appreciated their curiosity about my viewpoint. We had some weighty discussions and some deep explorations of culture that I thoroughly enjoyed.

I will certainly recommend TravelChinaGuide. Your guides are your strongest point, and the drivers accessorize them beautifully. The agents start off strongly, but break down when your financial people screw up.

I thank you for an enjoyable China trip.

Mary Healy