South Asia City sightseeing Trips

There were so many parts to this tour, I can't really generalize all my comments. Overall, the local guides were very good and Kiran, the Tour Leader, was excellent. The hotels were all comfortable. The overnight train between Kolkata and Siliguri was abominable. Absolutely the worst overnight train experience of my life! Perhaps, if we had been in 1st class, it would have been tolerable. In our 2nd class cabin, the two of us were joined by a lovely family of ten in beds for six. The children were awake all night, whispering, giggling, talking loudly, being scolded by parents. I tried to escape to the little room by the bathroom, but the conductor was trying to sleep there, and I got eaten alive by mosquitos. The mountains around Darjeeling and Sikkim were incredibly beautiful, but Darjeeling was incredibly crowded with local tourists. The scenery and culture of Bhutan were also beautiful, but I was not prepared for the strict rules and regulations and conformity among the locals, nor for the constant herding of western tourists, so that we were all in the same place, doing the same thing at the same time. Kathmandu was lovely - I wish that I had more time there.

There was way too much travel time that wasted our time. Spending 10 hours to get to the next city was ridiculous; that could’ve been an overnight train. We did a lot which was good but it would be nice to have more free time or to have certain activities be optional like the jade factory or the silk factory. A lot of the places we went to made you buy a lot which I didn’t enjoy because I wanted to learn more about the culture instead of spending an hour in a shop. I think if the trip was longer it would’ve been better because even though it’s marketed as 12 days, day 1 started at the end of the day and day 12 was non existent because everyone parted ways in the morning and there was no final goodbye.

A great introduction to travel in China! Already planning my next trip back!

This trip is an excellent introduction to China, and I would highly recommend it for anyone who's travelling to China for the first time. Advice from both the trip manager (who was brilliant btw) and local guides made everything nice and smooth. There is a lot packed into the 12 days, but completely worth it

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Excellent guide he was well educated on everything we needed to know. He was protective and knowledgeable.. We felt safe at all times