Jun 22,2009

I must first of all apologise for not replying to your email earlier, things have been rather hectic since we returned from Hong Kong.

We had the most fantastic time in your care whist we were in China. Everything that we experienced was absolutely great. we booked with you because we wanted an individual experience of China ,we didn't want to be part of a group being herded from place to place , and what we experienced was just what we required. The itinerary that you created for us was perfect for our needs. We rarely felt that we were part of the "tourist trail" , in fact often we felt that we were the only tourists around.

Your care before we left England was excellent, replying to our emails promptly and in a professional manner. we felt safe in your hands. We certainly felt that we received value for our money. The hotels that we stayed in were perfect for our needs (being clean and not too smart) They were all in an ideal position for exploring on our own. The guides that you provided were excellent in all respects, always showing a caring attitude. The standard of English spoken by all three guides was excellent, their local knowledge and preparedness to make every day full of interest was greatly appreciated by us both. We specially enjoyed the meals provided during the tour, made all the more enjoyable by our guides ordering food that we liked. The meal on the last day in Guilin was probably the best ( Mc Found's !).We had only one meal experience which was disappointing , the meal in question being the one at the silk factory. It was the only meal that we had that was not Chinese. i am now very proficient with chopsticks.

The drivers and the vehicles were excellent, in most cases being brand new vehicles. Nothing was too much trouble for the drivers. The organisation for our internal flights and train were perfect ,we simply turned up at the airport or staion and checked in with no problems.

We thoroughly enjoyed our first taste of real China, we found that everyone that we met was so helpful. We have experienced Hong Kong on many occasions and did not realise just how different China would be. We will certainly return to China in the future and will once again place ourselves in "Travel China Guide's" hands. Perhaps next time we will experience more of the rural side of the country. Our favourite part of the trip was the boat ride to Yangshou and even more so the "electric car" ride up the valley to see the villages and the farms. I wish that there had been more time to explore this area. We did not fully realise how far we were going up the valley when the guide asked us whether we wanted to use bikes or the electric car. I am glad that we opted for the car.

The canals and the area round the canals in Shuzhou , the beauty of Hangzhou, West Lake and the temple will stay in our memories for ever. The "alternative" show in Guilin was MAGNIFICENT, we have experienced ethnic shows all over Asia and were not too disappointed when you informed us of the change in shows. The show we saw was unique in our experience, I was even moved to buy the DVD of the show (and that is a first).

Many thanks to all at TCG for providing us with a memorable China experience, don't undersell yourselves in your tour descriptions, the itinerary was much better in reality than it was on paper.

If you want to quote me in any advertising feel free to do so, if you append an email address please use rwgreaves@fsmil.net as I am concerned about possible spam on my main address.

Once again thanks to you all, specially Tina and Maggie, it is a pity we didn't meet you. We always thought of you as friends.

Yours Roger and Heather Greaves.

ps the taxi ride from our hotel in Shanghai to the railway station was "hairy" we allowed an hour and arrived with 5 minutes to spare, after a long sprint trying to keep up with our porter we boarded the train with seconds to spare ! I was stiff for 2 days after that (I am 63).. The train journeys were most enjoyable, better that in the UK