Hi Colin,

While in China, I took tours of Macau, Hong Kong, Beijing and Hong Kong harbour. The Macau and Beijing tours were the best. Next was the Hong Kong harbour tour. Last was the half-day Hong Kong tour. What I enjoyed most about the first two tours was having opportunities to see historic sites of many varieties, as well as to better understand how current events have shaped the pictures of these places. The tour guides were excellent in both cases. Of course, in Beijing, the opportunity to experience walking along the Great Wall, through the Forbidden City and Tiannenman Square will be forever etched in my memory. The Hong Kong harbour tour was an excellent grand finale before saying farewell and heading to the airport. When the plane took off, I saw the same harbour view, except from the sky; having experienced it a few hours earlier on the boat made it even more spectacular. The tour guide for the two Hong Kong tours was the same gentleman, and he was very good, very professional, friendly and accomodating. The half-day tour, for me, missed some great opportunities to show things like the museums, stock market, residential neighbourhoods, etc. The tour could have skipped the visit to the jewelry factory and gone to a museum instead, for instance.

The train ride was enjoyable, though long. After it was over, however, it didn't seem to be as long as I thought. The accomodations from Hong Kong to Beijing were adjusted because the air conditioning was not working in the deluxe soft cabin. On the way back, everything was okay. The staff on the Beijing to Hong Kong ride was wonderful and extremely helpful. I wished the showers on board could have been used; however, other passengers had used the shower room for washing and hanging clothes. The food was good and very reasonable in price. I would recommend the train ride; however, I would suggest that others only do it one way, as the return trip takes alot of time away from what else could be done. If I were to do it again, I would probably have taken the train only one way and flown back from Beijing, or else gone from Beijing to Shanghai by train and flown from Shanghai either back to Hong Kong or out of the country.

Both hotels were very good, though Marco Polo was my favourite. Both were well-located for easily walking to shopping and other tourist opportunities. Being a water lover, Marco Polo Gateway was the favourite of the two. I am a gym enthuiast, so it was nice to have a gym on site in both cases. Also, I had some business to do whilst travelling, so the business centres were handy. The staff at Marco Polo Gateway were exceptionally helpful and friendly, and the Beijing hotel staff were nice as well.

For me, the best tour guide was Vicki in Beijing; she was absolutely wonderful, and the driver, Mr. Hen (I forget) was also very kind and helpful. I usually prefer a group tour; however, I thoroughly enjoyed the personal treatment given by Vicki. This way, in a short time, I was able to see the main things I wanted to experience, and she was very knowledgeable about everything. The Macau tour guide was so very kind, knowledgeable and accomodating as well. So, too, was the gentleman who led both of our Hong Kong tours. He had the task of arranging early departures from the tours on both occasions, and he did so very discretely and professionally. On the last tour, there were cameramen videorecording the event; that I did not enjoy.

The only change we would suggest would be on the Hong Kong half-day tour, as mentioned above.

The food at the Marco Polo Hotel was excellent. The food on the Macau tour was not very good. It would have better to charge tourists a bit more and allow them to partake of the buffet, rather than the fixed lunch that was provided. The Beijing food was great and in abundance (too much for me... wow!). At the Beijing Duck dinner, everything was tasty except for the lemon chicken. That was only because it was made differently than the lemon chicken I usually make! This one tasted more like chicken in a lemon pudding base. The food on the train was also delicious. Over all, there were no complaints about the food.

When I booked the Hong Kong and Beijing tours, I had already arranged the train tickets through another tour agent. In the end, it was your tour company that arranged for the train tickets to be delivereed to me at the hotel or (in Beijing) by the driver you arranged for me. I so very greatly appreciate your doing this, as my schedule would have made anything else almost impossible. You did not have to do this, yet you went way out of your way to make my experience a grand one. Your driver in Hong Kong met me at the airport upon arrival, transferred me to my hotel, met me when I returned to Hong Kong, took me to the beach and delivered me safely to my final tour site. He was patient and kind with my plans and met my changing needs. Colin, you were so very supportive and flexible throughout the experience and made additional suggestions that enhanced the experience greatly. I appreciated the way you confirmed and re-confirmed each part of my travels, including calling me while I was on the train to make sure everything was going smoothly. Your clear accounting processes ensured that I always knew exactly what I was paying for.

Without a doubt, I will be recommending your services to everyone I know who will be travelling to China and the environs. I am a very frequent traveller, and must say that your services far surpass any I have received to date.

Thank you for such a thorough, conscientious and personal service. Next time, the service will only be enhanced by my having a face-to-face opportunity to share my gratitude with you, Colin! All the best, both professionally and personally.

Jacob A. Gayle, Ph.D.
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)