A
Letter
from Maggie
"China
has intrigued me for years but I had always thought it would be a daunting place to travel around as an independent tourist which is where Peter Mundell and Design a Tour comes in.
"I’ve been working with ‘Design a Tour’ for 14 years guiding garden tours to
Europe
and
Africa.
Everyone’s favourite was probably our
Italy
and
France
programmes, although
Spain,
Portugal
and
Morocco
were also very hard to beat. My role has always been to find the gardens, restaurants and the mustn’t miss attractions and to lead the tour assisted by local guides. I think Jean-Carlo was with me on 8 of my 12 tours through his homeland and his passionate advocacy for all things Italian meant we were never short of local knowledge.
"Peter is responsible for the logistics of how to get from one exotic location to the next and he has that knack of being able to find lovely hotels for us all to lay our weary heads at the end of another brilliant day’s travel.
"To combat the tyranny of distance that is part of the challenge of seeing the highlights of
China
, we’ll use local airlines on internal flights interspersed with river cruises on board luxury boats. Friends have told me cruising down the Yangze, the world's third largest river through the panoramic chasms of ‘The three Gorges’ is unforgettable and the tranquil interlude on the mystic River Li is another ideal breathing space to savor the quieter pleasures
China
has to offer.
"I want to see for myself the terracotta army with all their different expressions, walk along an enduring wonder of the world, visit an ancient and once Forbidden city and the Palaces, gardens and temples of once great Dynasties.
"We were tempted to coincide the tour to arrive in Beijing at the start of the Olympic games but knowing the daily average temperature was always going to around 40 degrees in August we decided to go at a time when nature would be both kind and spectacular.
"I’ve selected a handful of memorable gardens for us to see and because we’ll be there in Spring our whole journey will be set against a backdrop of blossom and rhododendrons in full bloom.
"I’ve never met anyone who didn’t like
Shanghai
and ending our tour in the
Paris
of the East will be a great way of rounding off a memorable few weeks.
"Following the proud Design a Tour tradition, we’ll stay in first class accommodation and dine in carefully chosen restaurants to sample the finest regional cuisine.
"I hope you’ll be able to join me on an exciting journey to a country that will soon be the focus of world attention for the 2008 Olympiad."
Cheers
