Michael Roberts CA
Tour Guide Barbara
I have taken three of the “Beijing Seat in Coach” package tours from www.tour-beijing.com/coach_tours/ and can highly recommend them. The air-conditioned busses were great; the meals included have been very good overall, and the tour-guides knowledgeable and friendly.
To my great surprise on this occasion, instead of a bus picking us up at the hotel, there was a private car with driver and our tour guide, Barbara!
When we booked the Mutianyu Great Wall tour, I chose it on the basis that it was less popular and had fewer tourists, thus a better opportunity for me to get “tourist free” photos… and less of the crowds and noise one usually experiences at most Chinese tourist attractions.
We were the only ones who had booked the tour that day so we got the VIP treatment. There was some pressure to “up-sell” us to include the Ming Tombs, which were not included in the original package, and I gladly accepted due to the nature of this more private tour which gave us more time to explore at the Great Wall rather then being part of a heard of tourists. In this case, the Great Wall was almost deserted and as a result, a very enjoyable experience.
The day went very well with Barbara entertaining us in the car recounting details of the history and culture of the various places we were visiting. The lunch she arranged was very good and served to us in our own private dining room!
The whole experience was rather pleasant and special until we got back to the hotel… when Barbara demanded a tip for herself and the driver. I pointed out that tipping was not customary or expected in China and was voluntary… she insisted that tipping was expected of foreigners and was quite aggressive about it… so I gave them Y20 each which she obviously felt was inadequate. This left a sour note to the end of an otherwise wonderful day as none of the previous tour guides from this company had even hinted at a tip and tipping is not expected or encouraged in Chinese culture where foreigners are usually considered as guests in the country to be treated in the same way as one would treat guests in one’s home.
Tour Guide Barbara
I have taken three of the “Beijing Seat in Coach” package tours from www.tour-beijing.com/coach_tours/ and can highly recommend them. The air-conditioned busses were great; the meals included have been very good overall, and the tour-guides knowledgeable and friendly.
To my great surprise on this occasion, instead of a bus picking us up at the hotel, there was a private car with driver and our tour guide, Barbara!
When we booked the Mutianyu Great Wall tour, I chose it on the basis that it was less popular and had fewer tourists, thus a better opportunity for me to get “tourist free” photos… and less of the crowds and noise one usually experiences at most Chinese tourist attractions.
We were the only ones who had booked the tour that day so we got the VIP treatment. There was some pressure to “up-sell” us to include the Ming Tombs, which were not included in the original package, and I gladly accepted due to the nature of this more private tour which gave us more time to explore at the Great Wall rather then being part of a heard of tourists. In this case, the Great Wall was almost deserted and as a result, a very enjoyable experience.
The day went very well with Barbara entertaining us in the car recounting details of the history and culture of the various places we were visiting. The lunch she arranged was very good and served to us in our own private dining room!
The whole experience was rather pleasant and special until we got back to the hotel… when Barbara demanded a tip for herself and the driver. I pointed out that tipping was not customary or expected in China and was voluntary… she insisted that tipping was expected of foreigners and was quite aggressive about it… so I gave them Y20 each which she obviously felt was inadequate. This left a sour note to the end of an otherwise wonderful day as none of the previous tour guides from this company had even hinted at a tip and tipping is not expected or encouraged in Chinese culture where foreigners are usually considered as guests in the country to be treated in the same way as one would treat guests in one’s home.