We are indeed back from China (already!)
In a word, my impression: perfect!
In more detail:
The tour followed the programme closely, and the different places we visited showed us very different sides of Yunnan.
The hotels were very good, the rooms often spacious, and the breakfasts excellent.
Our guide was Estelle, a very kind person who always looked after us. For example, she helped us at the cash machine and came with us to the shops when we wanted to buy things. She spoke excellent French and told us about many aspects of life in Yunnan and in China more broadly. She even bought us fruit so that we, being French, could have something sweet at the end of our meals.
I enjoyed being able to speak a little Chinese to read signs and talk in the shops.
Our driver was also very pleasant and drove carefully.
Two of the couples had already visited the country, and they could see how much it has changed.
In Shangri-La, gradually adjusting to the altitude meant we were not too out of breath. My husband did still make use of an oxygen canister.
As I had told you, we are all over 70, and the impressive number of steps was sometimes a bit hard.
Squat toilets were also difficult for some of us, so they used the disabled toilets.
From Lijiang we went on to Beijing. It was a good thing this was the end of the trip: even though we know there are 1.4 billion people in China, the crowds surprised us. Starting our discovery of China in the capital might have been a bad introduction for the group.
There we had two guides, Nathalie and Lucien, who were also very friendly and pleasant.
First came Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. I had been there before, but 20 years ago there were not such crowds. But what can you do? There is overtourism all over the world, and WE are part of it.
Some people found the crowds hard to cope with, and Marie-Annick had a stress attack (apparently this often happens to her). We were with Nathalie, who responded very well. With Lucien, she arranged a taxi so that Marie-Annick and her husband Daniel could go back to the hotel to rest. In the evening, they joined us for the acrobatics show.
The hotel was also very comfortable.
On our free day, we visited the Lama Temple, just a short walk from the hotel, then took the metro to Qianmen, and then went to the Silk Market.
What could be improved? To be honest, I can’t think of anything.
Thank you for introducing us to Yunnan, such a beautiful region.
D. F.