A Wonderful China Experience

Dear Sophie

We have now been back in Sydney for one week, busy catching up on the backlog of mail. I have sent a formal reply in response to the questionnaire about our trip but thought that you might appreciate a more detailed comment.

First of all, thank you Sophie for your professional, friendly and patient response to all our queries. We appreciated your prompt and courteous replies over the weeks involved in settling on our final itinerary and your assurance always that we did not need to worry about dealing direct with a Chinese operator about whom we knew very little. We were impressed always by your flexibility and your readiness to accommodate our changed requirements. We hope that the following comments will be useful and they are offered in the hope that they may assist in dealing in future with lots of Australian visitors.

Itinerary
The itinerary was excellent and covered most of the main attractions in each city. A lot was accomplished in the short time we had to spare and we were able to learn much about China through the visits to the cultural centres, gardens and surrounding countryside.

The travel arrangements were excellent and we were always met upon arrival and given a courteous welcome by the guides. Your commentaries for each location were outstanding and stimulated our interest, reinforcing our pre-visit reading. A suggestion - you might think of recommending pre-reading guidebooks such as DK's China. It complemented your commentaries very well and the combined effect contributed to our enjoyment of each visit.

Hotels
These ranged from very good to outstanding. The delight was the Westin in Shanghai which was not only a beautiful hotel, but the service, food and ambience were outstanding.

Meals
These were on the whole very good, particularly when eating Chinese meals. The guides very kindly always arranged for my meals to be non-spicy as I am allergic to chilli.

English-speaking Guides
The three we had were all very good and Marco in particular was outstanding. He had an excellent knowledge of Chinese culture, history and folklore and never seemed to tire of our endless questions and repeating some of the stories. This meant a lot for our interest in Chinese culture and history. His depth of knowledge has inspired us to read much more about China.

Drivers
Most were very polite and most helpful in assisting us in and out of the vans.

General
Overall, we had a wonderful China experience and would highly recommend China Odyssey Travel as an efficient and professional organisation giving very good value for money. We would be most happy to recommend your organisation to other Australians seeking an interesting and enjoyable access to China.

Yours sincerely

Ian and Cathie Crawford
Aug. 28, 2007