Miles Morgan Travel - The Travel Experts

I have recently returned from a 12 day tour of China which was absolutely fascinating.  It was an ‘independent tour’ which meant we had our own car and guide, so were able to sightsee at a more leisurely pace.

We started in Hong Kong and stayed at the 4* L’Hotel Causeway Bay which is situated opposite the Victoria Park – you see a lot of retired people here in the mornings doing their Tai-Chi and other exercise. The hotel had a restaurant for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but did lack a bar and decent lobby area. I liked the location of this hotel as we were not right in the central district, which felt a little claustrophobic at times due to the sheer height of the skyscrapers. Very easy to get to, either by foot if you are energetic or on the brilliant public transport system, which is incredibly cheap.  There is a tram which runs right across the length of the harbour areas and is just 2 Hong Kong Dollars regardless of how far you travel. There is also an excellent subway system and the buses and taxis are also very cheap, as is the Star Ferry over to Kowloon (just 1.70 Hong Kong Dollars each way, taking just 18 minutes). Our tour included a half day island tour, we took the tram up to the top of Victoria Peak for a birds eye view over Hong Kong Island and Kowloon (which we didn’t get as it was too cloudy), a drive through Repulse Bay and the floating village of Aberdeen and then to Stanley Market.

Hong Kong is a shoppers paradise so you may want to take an empty suitcase with you!!   There is also a laser show most nights along the harbour front, when all the skyscrapers put on a great free show.

We then flew to Guilin – recently brought to attention by the Hollywood film ‘The Painted Veil’ which was shot here.  Famous for its towering limestone rock formations and a favourite of many artists and photographers, this is a very pretty city.
We stayed at the Guilin Bravo Hotel which overlooked a pretty lake.
Our excursion here was a 4 hour cruise down the Li River including a Chinese lunch – the scenery is quite stunning.

On to Xi-An and the famous Terracotta Warriors.  Nothing can quite prepare you for this incredible sight – rows upon rows of them, all with individual facial features obviously taken from the original members of the army that watched over the Emperor, whose mausoleum is a few miles down the road.  We also visited the Great Mosque and the bustling Muslim Quarter followed by a walk around the Wild Goose Pagoda.

We kept the best till last – Beijing - to the Great Wall of China, Tian-anmen Square and the Forbidden City.  I have now been able to cross this off of my wish list and it was definitely worth the visit despite walking for miles and miles.  You do need quite a bit of stamina to do this trip as Tian-anmen Square and the Forbidden City are enormous and the wall is very, very steep in some places.

China did surprise me in as much as it is very clean, at least on the ground it is, unfortunately it has a huge cloud of smog over it so although it was very hot, we were never sure if the sun was out!

Overall I would highly recommend a trip to China and will be glad to help piece together an itinerary which best suits your needs – as they say so much to see, so little time.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Alison - Manager
Miles Morgan Travel
Malmesbury