We can’t say enough good things about the Nat Geo
expedition. Our fearless leaders were
actually fearless, and more importantly, interesting, patient, and
organized.
When Carol and I were younger, we never wanted to be those
tourists who follow a guide carrying a flag around. And we still don’t, in Europe. But it worked well for us in China.
As I’m writing this, we’re flying from Shanghai to Chicago,
and from there to Reagan National. This
means I have time to do some reflective writing, and not just blog about what
we did each day.
Nat Geo did a heckuva job, and I would highly recommend this
trip for anyone who wants to go to China, but doesn’t want to do it on their
own.
We crisscrossed the country.
We went to places I’m not sure I EVER would have planned to go without
Nat Geo paving the way. There was
certainly a lot of travel, including three internal flights, one day of seven
hours on the bus, and a five hour plus train ride.
Really, out of the 28 events we did through Nat Geo on this tour in China,
only two were underwhelming to us.
Everything else was a hit. Oh,
the things you know about would be hits – The Forbidden City, the Temple of
Heaven, and the Terracotta Warriors – of course those are mind-blowing
experiences. But how about the cliff
carvings? The Li River cruise? The Xi’an
city walls? The Temple in Guilin? The 816 Underground Nuclear Engineering? The Panda work? All of those were magnificent. These were not easy to get to, and if Carol
and I had done a self-directed trip, I bet we would not have put together that
itinerary.
Having the guides was great.
Leo and the local guides were fabulous at conveying historical,
cultural, and social information about each place we went, as well as China
overall. And Andrew was able to put all
of that into easily understood perspective for us to understand more about both
daily life in China, as well as the big picture, both historically and currently.
Oh, I wish I could remember everything they told us, but I
soaked a bunch in. I also know that
things will flash back to me as I review the blog and photos over the years.
My awareness of Chinese history and culture probably went
from zero point one percent to ten percent.
I know what you are thinking, so let me say it for you. “Glen, ten percent isn’t a lot.” Well, look at this way – I know 100 times
what I knew before this trip.
And, Andrew
doesn’t have to sweat the competition.
I’m not suddenly going to become a China hand, but I do have a far
broader, more in-depth on this 1.4 billion person country than I did
before.
Is that going to help me be better at my job? Probably not, unless something unexpected
happens. Is that going to help me sound
smarter at cocktail parties? Well, I
don’t go to cocktail parties. It does
give me great memories and a better perspective on a country I really knew
little about before this trip.
We stayed in nicer hotels than I expected. Some of that is, prices are lower here. Before we came over, Ian had checked the
hotels against Booking.com, and with the exception of the Beijing and Shanghai
hotels, the prices on most of them were $100-$150 per night. Knowing that we were booking ten-eleven rooms
a night AND it’s repeat business, I have to believe Nat Geo paid less than even
the Booking.com rate.
Not everyone loved the food, but Carol and I did. I may have mentioned this before, but my
favorite food in the world is Spanish tapas – because there are so many flavors
in one meal. Eating Chinese food banquet style opened up a whole new culinary
experience for me. And, of course there
are so many different types of Chinese food.
It seemed like we tried it all.
Oh, sure, there were a couple of meals where I thought the food was just
okay, but to us, the vast majority of it was great.
The trip exceeded our expectations. And for that Carol and I are grateful to Leo,
Andrew, my fellow travelers, and the Nat Geo team. If you are thinking about doing a Nat Geo expedition to China,
do not hesitate.
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