Nov 9,2009

Photo offered by our client Ms. Danielle Santal-Morrill

Dear Abbey and Ruby,

How are you? We have been home for a week and are slowly getting back into our daily routines, also looking at the 4000 or more photos and videos we took. I wish I could send you a video of one of the young pandas at Chengdu, but it is too large to send by email, unfortunately. That panda had put on an acrobatic show and the crowd was very thrilled to watch him (maybe "her") and you can hear a lot of laughter in the background; it seems that he knew he was entertaining us, while all his other friends were either sleeping or munching on bamboo shoots, totally indifferent to the performance! If I can figure out a way of sending you that video, I will do so in the near future.

Some of our favorite events, besides the cities and historical sites themselves, were performances. Some of them you had pre-arranged, such as the Tang Dynasty Show in Xi'an and the Acrobats' performance in Shanghai, but we also really liked Dynamic Yunnan, the dance performance and the Classical Music concert with ancient instruments in Lijiang. The only optional performance we did not like was in Chengdu, it was a sort of cabaret performance, and we thought that the caliber was not professional, as for the other performances.

In the meantime, within your questions and request for information, I have put in my answers. I will try and be as precise as possible, but you should feel free to ask me more questions. It's my way (and my husband's) of thanking you and Travel China Guide for making our vacation so unique and so memorable. Feel free to publish or include any of my remarks on your website: you can also give my email address to potential clients.

If you have other questions or need further comments, let me know. Again, thank you for making this such a memorable visit to your beautiful country and its lovely people. Many other events took place, unplanned ones, which will remain engraved in our memories. I am not exaggerating my praise of your work and your professionalism. I am sending a copy of this to Mrs. Liuba Beauvais who recommended your services, just to let her know how successful everything was.

All the meals were excellent. We especially enjoyed how the restaurants prepared vegetables, and we ate a lot of them: the cooks managed to keep the bright colors, and to keep them crunchy. We enjoyed chicken and prawns or shrimps, whatever the preparation. I liked the addition of peanuts to several meat dishes, as it offered a nice contrast in texture. In general, there was too much food, and we felt guilty to waste so much and not to be able to eat everything. Our favorite meal of all was the farewell dinner at the Central Hotel in Shanghai, it was more refined and more elegant than the others.

All our guides were not only very professional, but they went out of their way to help us appreciate the different aspects of their city or region. They all had a great sense of humor, and we laughed a lot together as we compared our respective cultures; we felt, in each case, that Gloria (Beijing), Julia (Xi'an), Rodney (Lijiang), Nancy (Kunming), Sandy (Guilin), Susan (Chengdu), and Sean (Shanghai) could have become personal friends, had we remained in China to live for a while; they were very easy to get along with, and made every aspect of our visit beautiful and interesting. Their knowledge and their patience were astounding.

Our drivers were superb, even amazing: I would have been afraid to drive in city traffic in China as it is quite crazy, but they made us feel safe, and we were very impressed. One special driver deserves a unique mention: Mr. Wong, in Beijing. As I had told you, my husband and I especially admire contemporary architecture, and because Beijing was foggy on several of the days, we never got to really look at the Bird's Nest and at the Cube. As our last day in Beijing was clearer, on the way to the airport Mr. Wong drove us by both buildings; we were touched and very appreciative of his thoughtfulness, and we will never forget him and his initiative.

It is almost difficult to single one guide out as particularly outstanding. In Lijiang, Rodney shone as he helped us manage our overweight luggage: as there was only one check-in line, we waited 45 minutes, and Rodney thought it was ridiculous and let the gate agent know that we were all very upset; the gate agent felt guilty and let us go through without paying extra for the overweight luggage (we had already bought too many souvenirs I think!). The three of us laughed a lot at the incident and at Rodney's wonderful way of asserting himself for our benefit.

Unfortunately, due to my husband's brief illness, Sandy especially stands out: this does not mean that the other guides would not have been just as helpful, but circumstances gave Sandy a chance to rise to the occasion. When we asked the hotel to call a doctor, Sandy joined us to help translate and to accompany us to the hospital nearby: the doctor herself was superb and thorough; at one point, she said that it would take a couple of hours to get the results of the blood test, so she sent us back to the hotel to rest and promised to call Sandy on his cell phone as soon as she had the results. Sandy stayed in the hotel lobby waiting, we went upstairs; as after two hours Sandy had not heard anything, he went back on his own, to the hospital and got what we needed. What a professional way to approach his role as guide... he was more a guardian angel than a guide, and it was very reassuring to be able to count on him. By the way, my husband discomfort abated very quickly thanks to the prescription the doctor provided, and the rest of our trip went on perfectly. Finally, again, Sandy showed his ability to negociate and be helpful to increase our enjoyment: I had seen and liked the China knot that I had see in several places during the holidays and thought that I would like to buy one; on the evening cruise on the Lijiang River, the ship had a large red knot hanging in the ship pilot's area. Sandy asked if I would like it, I said yes, and he offered to ask the pilot for it; his negotiations were very successful, and the knot now hangs at the entrance of my house in the United States!

Your services before the trip and during were the most outstanding we have ever encountered in all our travels around the world; I happily authorize you to publish any (or all) of my comments, and as indicated, do give my email address to anyone who has questions.

Warmest regards to all at Travel China Guide,

Danielle
Danielle Santal, Travel Consultant
Journeys, affiliated with The Adler Travel Agency