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We decided to do something different for our 25th wedding anniversary and decided upon a tour visiting China (inc Tibet) & ending at Kathmandu, Nepal. We contacted Vincent at Asia Odyssey Travel who assisted us with ensuring that the holiday we wanted was what we got. We made quite a few changes to the standard itinerary, including flying from Xian to Lhasa. We would have loved to have taken the train journey of 31 hours but the smallest berth was for 4 people. This may have been fine but was unwilling to risk being stuck in a small berth with people we would have preferred not to be with. Please research the various options yourself if you take this tour. Think about getting an eSim before you arrive in China and a VPN although we still couldn’t access most emails of social media. We arrived in Beijing and was met by our guide at the airport arrivals and then taken to our first hotel. All our guides were very friendly, spoke good English and were very knowledgeable. Similarly all our drivers were very professional and safe. Driving in China is an interesting experience. All the sites we visited during our tour were amazing. In Beijing, these were Tienanmen square, the forbidden palace, summer palace, Jingshan park and the great wall at Mutianyu which was a 2 hour drive but less touristy and had been renovated. All places were fairly crowded and you will be pushed at times by Chinese tourists - don't expect the same courtesies as you would expect in the west. Also be prepared to have your passport check multiple times at each location. Next stop was Xian which we traveled to via the high speed train. We choose first class seats which was worth the extra cost, There are actually 4 classes of travel - 3rd, 2nd, 1st & business. The train was very smooth and it was difficult to believe that during the journey we were traveling at 348km/h (216mph). The hotel was very comfortable (Ramada) and a step up from the Beijing hotel. In Xian we visited the Terracotta army which encompassed 3 separate sites all in large halls. This was extremely crowded and difficult to get to the railings to take pictures, but we did manage. Later we visited the Drum and bell towers and had a walk on the city wall. Followed by a visit to the Muslim quarter and mosque. If you have been to a middle eastern mosque or bazaar then this is not as grand but still worth a visit, including sampling some local food. Finally in Xian, we visited the Shanxi history museum which was very informative. We did attend two shows recommended by our guide - the silk road and story of the Empress. The silk road was phenomenal - we sat on a giant turntable which revolved around the different stages. This show included volcanoes, volcanoes, wolves in addition to the regular actors. The Empress show included a dumpling dinner with 12 varieties of dumplings. Following a short flight to Lhasa we relaxed at our hotel. We did suffer from altitude sickness but in a few days had acclimatised and were OK without the need for oxygen which was readily available. The next few days were very busy with visits to Jokhang temple, Sera monastery (inc monks debates), Bakhor Street and Potala palace. All these were amazing and we had an excellent guide who explained each place with a good level of detail but didn't overload us. The highlight of the trip was Everest base camp. It was a great drive through the twisting mountain roads with great vistas. The accommodation was a large tent divided into separate bedrooms and a living area. Thankfully they had electric under-blankets as it down to minus 14 inside the tent at night. Be aware that each evening between 10 and 11 they play loud music so don’t expect to sleep before then. Also the toilet facilities are very basic and there is no washing facilities - fortunately we had bought hand wipes with us. We then traveled to Gyirong for our border crossing to Nepal. The number of hotels is limited and are of significantly lower standards than found in western countries. However this was not part of the normal tour. The Chinese side of the border was very impressive with a fairly new imposing building. Expect to have your phone taken off you to see what photographs you have taken. The Nepal side of the border is in essence a shanty town with an unmade road - definitely need a 4x4 vehicle, as on the 7 hour journey to Kathmandu, 4 hours was on unpaved roads full of potholes. The tour company supplied a guide to obtain our Nepal visas, this was a god send as there was a free for all approach at immigration. Overall a great experience enabled by Asia Odyssey travel. Thank you.

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