HOMECOMING

Bursting forth from weeks of exotic dreaming

Into freshly sparkling normal lives

Pets, friends, classes, gardens

E-mail and telephone connectivity.

Click your heels, Dorothy

There’s no place like home.

-Kat

Goodby to China

Si: Special thanks and appreciation go to our organizer and leader,” the Shuminator,” Gordon Xu.

This trip has been so successful I am already dreaming of other places and adventures.

Possibilities are:

Florence and Venice;

London for the theatre;

Banff National Park in Canada;

Australia and New Zealand? That’s a lot like the Mendocino coast.

The Amazon River and Brasilia;

The Galapagos Islands and Machu Pichu, Peru;

Rio de Janeiro?

Burma. There’ve been wars there so that land must wait.

Kashmir, India. Again, Kashmir is not safe.

Egypt, Israel, and Jordan include a Nile cruise by the pyramids.

I hope we get to do this in my lifetime.

CHINA TRIP SURVEY AND FEEDBACK SUMMARY

October 2000

Transpacific flight = 8, 8, 3, 7

Airline food is never good. Airline showed movies all night from SF to Beijing. Much better on return flight from Shanghai to SF where there were no movies.

BEIJING portion = 7, 7, 7, 10

Hotel Xiyuan = 8, 8, 9, 9

Location a little remote from city center and sights, but hotel service was excellent. Does Beijing have a Metro system? If it does, a hotel near a Metro station would be more convenient.

Food = 8, 8, 7, 7

Breakfast in the hotel was excellent. Dinners including the Peking duck dinner were ok, but not great. The Hot Pot dinner was good.

Summer Palace = 8, 6, 8, 8

Great Wall = 8, 7, 8, 5, 10

Bad entrance, too crowded, touristy. I would prefer another site.

I couldn’t go to China without visiting the Great Wall. We should have taken more pictures of us on the wall.

Forbidden City = 8, 5, 6, 9, 10

Tiananmen Square = 6, 5, 3, 6, 8

Interesting to see, but not much to do there unless there is an opportunity to see the museum (the one that we ate in, but never saw) or is the Temple of Heaven within walking distance?

I needed more time there.

Beijing Opera = 0

No one complained about not going to the opera.

Acrobatic Show = 8, 7, 5, 9, 8

Peking Duck Dinner = 6, 5, 4, 6, 3

I’ve had better Peking duck in San Francisco.

Good idea, we need a better restaurant.

Hot Pot Dinner = 10,

A lot of work, but well worth the experience

Other - The CITS dinner on the night of our arrival from SF was unnecessary.

I think most of us would have preferred to get some fresh air or go to bed.

The Hutong tour that we cancelled seemed a little pretentious. I would have been uncomfortable about paying someone to let me walk through their home (maybe Americans place a greater value on their privacy). I would rather have a few hours of free time to wander around a neighborhood or town center.

Domestic flight = 10 for the first one, 8, 9, 8

Beijing to Nanchang domestic flight was the best (all other domestic flights went downhill from this one)

NANCHANG/DRAGON TIGER MOUNTAIN portion = 6, 3

Hotel Yingtan = 7, 7, 7, 4

Very hard bed.

Bad beds, too hot.

Food = 7, 6, 3

Non-memorable

Tianshi Palace = 0

I can’t remember the place. Was this the Taoist Temple that we saw in the afternoon? Or was it the Teng Wang (shopping) Pavilion in Nanchang. The Pavilion was nice. Merits at least an 8

Bus rides = 4, 3, 9, 4

Too many, too long. I would eliminate the Dragon/Tiger Mountain portion of the tour and keep the Guilin Yangshuo River cruise. The Dragon Tiger Mountain tour did not merit a 6-hour round trip bus ride.

Dragon/Tiger Mountain was really beautiful. Don’t skip this.

YICHUN portion = 10, 9, 10, 8

Accommodations (Financial Training Centre, not a sanatorium) = 8

Excellent service from the friendly staff. Poor lighting in rooms, floors were not clean, and water stains and mildew on ceiling and walls. Excellent food except for the mystery meats.

Herbalist = 9, 9, 9, 10

Knowledgeable and had a dedicated and professional demeanor

Tui na = 8,n 8, 8, 10

I heard too many negative comments about the workouts, so I didn’t let the therapists work on me.

Health treatments = 0, 9, 8

Massage = 8, 7, 9, 4

Acupuncture = 0, 10

I was disappointed in the quality of medical/health services in Yichun.

Acupuncture CURED me!!

Reflexology = 2, 8, 4, 3

Foot massages were not reflexology treatments. I would have preferred to pay more for a good treatment. The best treatment was in Guilin

Pedicure = 0, 7, 7, 1

Hair/Head = 0, 8, 10, 8, 3

Food = 9, 6, 10, 9, 9

Excellent except for the mystery meats. Chicken and especially the fish were good.

Sanitarium = 6, 10, 8, 9

Party/Karaoke = 8, 10, 10, 8, 9

Swimming = 9, 8

Waterfall mountain hike/walk = 8

It would have been better if the weather was clear.

School visit = 9, 10, 10, 7, 10

Cute kids. Would have preferred a less circus-like media affair. Who was on display, the kids or the Americans?

Farm Visit = 9, 10, 10, 6, 10

Would have liked more.

Long Hu Mountain = 10, 10, 8, 10

Scenery along the Long Ju Mountain/River = 7

Pales in comparison to the Li River to Yangshuo

Boat Ride = 7, 8, 9, 6, 10

Horse Ride = 1, 3, 8

Sedan Chair = 6, 8, 6, 3

Marriage Show = 7, 10, 9, 5, 2

I wish I’d done it.

Free time in downtown Yichun = 9

I like the idea of having a few hours of free time in the heart of any city to see and mix with the locals. Sure beats being bussed to another Friendship store!!

Other - See attached new article from the China Business Daily.

Instead of visiting the museum (which wasn’t open anyway) could we have visited a factory or business that embraces ecologically friendly practices? Or maybe have a government representative/business-owner talk to the group about its high-tech economy and ecologically friendly practices.

HANGZHOU portion = 6, 7, 7

Hotel Hua Gang = 4, 8, 7, 8, 8

Food was bad and the front desk personnel were unfriendly. Hotel location was good.

Food = 6, 7, 6, 7, 4

Meals in the hotel were terrible, but dinners improved after we started eating out (never got the name of the hotel where we had our last 2 dinners)

Soul Retreat Temple = 7, 8, 7, 10

Beautiful but crowded.

Inspiring.

West Lake Boating = 6, 5, 7, 4, 6

This should be an optional free time activity. I would have preferred to walk around the lake, weather permitting.

Six Harmony Tower = 7, 9, 7, 8

Tea Farm = 8, 7, 9, 4, 6

Slick marketing pitch, but entertaining. Our hostess’ dialogue was a marketing marvel.

Silk Museum = 8, 8, 9, 7, 5

Shopping = 3

Too many stops at Friendship stores. It would have been more interesting if the bus/local guide dropped the group off in the downtown shopping/sightseeing district and let us have 2-3 free hours. Have the bus stay in one place so individuals can return early to the bus if they wish.

GUILIN portion = 8, 6

Hotel Gui Shan = 10, 8, 10, 8, 8

Excellent food, good location, friendly service and good recreational facilities

Food = 0 (outside of hotel), 8, 7, 7

Minority show = 8, 6, 2, 4, 8

Red Flute Cave = 6, 10, 8, 7, 7

Too commercialized. Worse than Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco

Seven Park/Zoo = 4, 5, 2, 2, 5

Seeing the panda bear was nice, but not worth spending a morning at the park. Visiting the park should be an optional free time activity and not an organized group outing.

Art School = 4

Didn’t see any students at work. This was just another shopping stop! Could have skipped it.

Other - We could have eliminated the last day in Guilin if we returned from Yangshuo

early in the morning instead of in the afternoon.

YANGSHUO portion = 10, 8, 10

Hotel Paradise = 9, 8, 10+, 9, 8

Accommodations excellent, meals ok, but not exceptionally good.

Li River Cruise = 9, 10, 10, 10, 10+++

Spectacular scenery, comfortable boat, terrible food. Could we have brought our own picnic lunch aboard? Could we have ordered it from our hotel the night before (cold lunch would have been better than the deep fried foods)?

Shopping = 10, 8, 10+, 10, 7

Bicycle tour = 10+, 9, 10+++

Food = 8, 8, 8, 8, 7

Scenery = 10

SUZHOU Day Trip portion = 8, 5, 7

Tiger Hill = 8, 8, 4, 4

Too crowded

Humble Administrative Garden = 9, 7, 5, 8

Silk Factory = 7, 6, 5, 3

We shopped at too many silk stores. Should try to limit silk factory tours to 1 or 2 (becomes very old fast)

SHANGHAI portion = 8, 7

Hotel Jianghuo = 10, 10, 10, 9, 8

Excellent location and good service. Easy access to Metro (if only we had time to use it)

Food = 7, 6, 9, 8, 8

Too much food, but not exceptionally good

YuYuan Garden = 8

I would have liked to have free time to wander around the street bazaar outside the gardens for an hour.

Jade Buddha Temple = 8

The Bund = 7

I would have liked to have free time to walk around the area (not just the Bund) or along Nanjing Road for an hour or two (and meet the driver at a designated time and place)

Other – Jon, Archie and I enjoyed our visit to the Shanghai Museum. I would rate it an 8.

OVERALL TRIP = 7 or 8, 8, 10, 9, 10!

Flexibility unsurpassed, cost unbeatable, execution needs polishing. I think some problems were related to the last minute preparation and changes to the trip.

QUESTIONAIRE

1. Why did you sign up for this tour?

Medical treatments. I was disappointed by the quality.

Martial Arts culture and Gordon.

Gordon, rural places, health aspects, Kat’s Mandarin practice;

Had never seen China;

Price, flexibility, small group, good food, massage.

What did you like about the tour?

Flexibility;

Price, flexibility, small group, good food, massage;

Gordon’s personal attention to comfort details;

Rural aspects, low price, health treatments, all the small details taken care of by CITS, small group, flexibility, Gordon taking care of our health problems.

3. Constructive criticism to improve it?

Need to hand out/send out more written information and description of the trip.

I have some forms as examples (a suggested packing list, health and personal information form, list of optional free time activities and sights in major cities, commonly asked questions, etc.)

A prettier, less-crowded Great Wall Site, 2 ½ not 3 weeks.

Just as much shopping but not at Friendship Stores, more bargains, not kickbacks for the guides, less tourist restaurants, let Gordon pick Restaurants,

I don’t want to see a Western face;

Gordon should take a class in English to improve his communication skills.

Other comments:

Size of group: 10 – 12 is a good number.

Good

Great! The smaller the better

2 weeks vs 3 weeks (leave out what): 3 weeks was too, too long. Maximum should be 16 – 18 days. I could have skipped Dragon-Tiger Mountain and the river trip (pales in comparison to the Li River to Yangshuo). Eliminate the last day in Guilin, and eliminate one day in Hangzhou.

16 days, leave out Hangzhou, less time in Shanghai and Beijing.

Leave out Hangzhou and Suzhou.

Hard question.

Less activities, more free time: If each group member is given a list of optional free time activities along with a brief description of each option, I would think that each person could choose what was of interest to him or her.

Good balance.

No, people can take time off when they want.

More free time.

OK. Encourage us to take time off and skip events.

CITS drivers and guides: We had a lot of guides. Sometimes I was confused as to who had the authority to change the itinerary (if we didn’t want to do something that was preplanned). There wasn’t always a consensus.

Good

Generally good, but would like better restaurants and shopping, not tourist places.

Ditto to that

Good

Trip cost: Excellent value for the money paid.

Good

Great

Reasonable

Excellent

Safety/health concerns: Prepared materials should include current information from the Center for Disease Control (lots of other websites have similar information. I have website names if anyone is interested)

Excellent

Great

Check out kitchens in rural restaurants. Sanitation problem.

Packing suggestions: Prepared handout for the trip should include a suggested packing list.

Excellent

Pack light

Buy a bag enroute.

Laundry is cheap outside the big cities

Orientation lunch before the trip: Nice touch. It would have been nice if we had a handout with responses to some commonly asked questions.

Excellent

I would have liked to be included

Closure: Should we have a more formal or clearer goodbye at the airport?

I’d like a reunion in San Francisco

I never want to see some of these people again.

Photography: This is a personal issue. I brought 7 rolls of film but needed to buy more film. I’ve been to China before, but I’m still taking pictures. Different themes, different people, different places.

Bring twice as much film as you think you will need.

Language/translator suggestions: It would REALLY be helpful if our guides spoke English and Mandarin, but that’s obvious.

OK Good

Morning Scheduled Activity of Tai Chi, yoga, other? Gordon should hand out a questionnaire before the trip to gauge the member’s interest in any organized morning group activities.

Yes, put on the (optional) schedule

No on Tai Chi, yes on yoga NO to anything

Evening Scheduled Activity like cocktail hour, party, music or dancing? Gordon should hand out a questionnaire before the trip to gauge the member’s interest in any organized evening group activity.

Cocktail Hour

Guest speakers including Buddhist, Taoist, and Businesspersons? I would have liked to talk to and listen to a businessman in Yichun (i.e., import-export business and issues relating to doing business in China’s new free market system; or the trials and tribulations of doing business with foreigners.

Buddhism, Taoism, Business

Other:

I enjoyed Gordon’s discussion of the different branches of TCM (I think he explained them to us during lunch in Nanchang). I would have liked to hear more about how eastern and western medical practices are different and how they are the same, how eastern medicine and how western medicine would treat the same disease or ailment, and if there is a move to integrate eastern and western medicine in China.

Yangshuo is one of the most beautiful places on Earth, not to be missed.

Yichun Village was a treasured experience. Openhearted people, the school, the farm, and the mountain visits are memorable. Fewer cities. Take the Yangtze Triple Gorge Boat Cruise.

Traveling with my children and wife made the trip a pleasure. This was a wonderful visit to China. I was very impressed. Thank you, Gordon.

CLICK HERE FOR THE PLAN, MAP, AND CITIES VISITED

CLICK HERE FOR THE INTRODUCTION

CLICK HERE FOR MY MOTIVATION

CLICK HERE FOR TRIP PREPARATIONS

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE TRAVELLING COMPANIONS