My father who is 82 told me last night he is going to China next year.<BR>He loves to meet people from cultures different than his, he is in good health, physically fit (he exercises every morning), frequent traveler to Europe and recently traveled to Kenya on safari and went hiking in Greece in April. <BR>He is now researching what tour to go with and spent all Friday in B&N deciding which guide books will be most useful. He bought four of them!<BR><BR>I do worry whether such trip from the East Coast of the US is a smart decission for a person of his age. He is 82 year old man.<BR><BR>What would you tell your family memeber who is this age? Go, not to go? Why?<BR>My father wouldn't listen anyway.<BR>What about health issues and cleanliness of food in China?<BR>Any other things I should worry about?

Don't discourage him - encourage him! He sounds like a savy traveller, and I expect he'll love China. He's on the right track, buying guide books. You might want to read some of the guide books yourself. I expect that will reassure you that China is a wonderful destination, and the major cities and surrounding countryside are certainly on the "traveler's trail."

There is no reason he shouldn't go. You say he is physically fit and in good health. He will have a great time. We had an 89 year old lady on our tour (just got back last Saturday) and she had a blast. Her goal is to return in 10 years after the 3 Gorges Lake is completed to see the changes.<BR><BR>Travelling from the East Coast he may want to spend a day or two in San Francisco / L.A. on his way there and back. Heck, I'm 36 and stopped in San Francisco - I didn't want to do the whole trip in one day.

Agree with the other posters. It sounds like your father is very active and well traveled. There is no reason he shouldn't go to China. Plus if he's planning to go with a tour group, there will always be someone around and it's not like he's traveling alone. My grandfather is the same age and he just returned from a two and a half week trip to China. If you're concerned about the long flights from the east coast, look into business class upgrades (at least for the transpacific portion). He will be much more rested on arrival. Last year I was talking to a couple on the flight over to Beijing, and they said that their tour company charged an extra $900 roundtrip per person to upgrade to business class (this was on China Eastern from LAX). The husband said it was the best $900 he ever spent.

Also go a day early and then rest up. Your tour company will arrange it and transfers for a bit extra. I"m only 59....only!...ha!.....and I do this on every trip!!! Its sooo worth it!!

Good for him. I wish I will have his energy in my 80s. My folks are 84 and 89 and they just returned from a 7 day cruise to Canada. Let him enjoy every minute of his trip and his life.

Thank you all for great ideas. I just talked to my father and suggested that he should stay a couple days before and after his tour in LA and perhaps get to China two days earlier. He is already working on these arrangements and he wants to be in China three days earlier because there is more to see than his tour will cover. <BR>Go figure and worried for many years that after my father retires I will have to take care of him. <BR>He wants to be independent and enjoy his life as long as possible. He also told me that his entire life he had only one addiction, travel, and he is not thinking about quiting. <BR>Thanks again