Trip to China, Epilog. I have never been on a guided tour like this, so I was not sure what to expect, but I did have some preconceived notions that turned out to be correct. During the days, we were on the go most of the time, and there was little time to do anything that was not on the schedule. In a way, I guess that is what we signed up for. By the time we got back to our hotel each evening, most of us (I suspect) just wanted to rest. No parties or night life for us. It is probably not a good idea to venture out in a strange place by yourself anyway. (We were warned about pickpockets in Shanghai, and I think one of the members of our group mentioned that someone attempted to pick her pocket). If/when I go back to China again, I will take a different tour, but one that includes a bilingual guide. I would like to see some different parts of the country, and perhaps get away from the cities. I dont think I am ready to solo. I think that many things that were for sale over there were purposely overpriced, so that you had an opportunity to bargain. Ivy gave an interesting explanation of the knock off Rolex watches. Many of the factories in China turn out very good copies of many famous products. As it is with most manufacturing, there is a percentage of the products that are rejected for one reason or another, usually a cosmetic flaw, or perhaps some other reason. Many of these items find their way to the street vendors who practically give them away. Thus, the $3 Rolex watches that were offered to us in Beijing. The food in the Chinese restaurants was occasionally not the best, and many dishes that we are used to having in our American Chinese restaurants were never served. I think that the tour groups were served an inexpensive generic meal since it was included. There were a few of the dishes and soups that did not taste good at all. Now and then someone would complain about the food, but for the most part I think we realized that whatever we got, we got. Despite that, I think it was a good experience for all of us, and fortunately, there were no mishaps. On a scale of one to ten, I give it a seven. The highlights, for me, were the Great Wall and the mag lev train.
Posted on: Sun, 09 Nov 2014 22:26:40 +0000
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