Andre Claessen

I will be in China from th 27th of April until the 5th. I will stay in the St Regis hotel, where I was last year. It was a perfect hotel and a perfect trip. <BR>I travel alot around the world. But I was disappointed by Panda tours, since the main attractions became the tourist and souvenirshops. Thats why I took a taxi to other places. Only now I am amazed reading the posts on the site concerning the cheap taxidrivers. In general I paid a lot of money, relatively speaking. <BR>In the hotel they told me to take a taxi in front of the hotel, they have the taxinumber in case something happens. That sounds save in a Chinese city I did not know at all.<BR>When I took a taxi from the St Regis to the Summerpalace where he waited 2 hours, than back to the Forbidden City I paid something like $80. Is that much?<BR>For the transfers from the airport to the St Regis, and vice versa I paid the CITS $100.<BR><BR>Is it possible just to take a taxi from the airport. I do have the hotelname in Chinese from my last trip. I have experienced a lot of taxidrivers do not speak a word english and do not understand you at all when heading back to the hotel. Even with a map (english) they are very confused.<BR><BR>When in Xian I will stay as a Starwood guest in the Sheraton Xian. Is this a good hotel, I only read about the Hyat in Xian.<BR>Does anyone has good experiences with Clarence of taxitours in Xian and his companion in Beijing of Taxitours?

John Owen

<BR>I have visited many cities in China, including Beijing, Zhengzhou, Nanjing, Xian, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Yichang, Wuhan, and Chongqing. By far, the best tour in any city was that provided by Clarence Guo. <BR><BR>Clarence offered a day tour that not only took us to the main attractions in Xian (the City Wall, Banpo Museum, and terra-cotta warriors, but he also took us off the beaten path for a look at cave homes--still occupied by local residents. Our planned one-day tour with Clarence turned into a two day tour, as we hired him for our second day also. <BR><BR>While driving in the countryside looking at some abandoned cave homes, we were driving down a small dirt road and heard music from the distance. We asked Clarence to find the source and were pleased to find a group of local musicians standing in a field practising their music. We asked to take pictures and were pleased with the response of the locals, as they even allowed me to play one of the large drums and take a picture--talk about a "Kodak Moment!" These local people then explained (through Clarence's interpretation) that they were practising for a small community festival that was planned the next day. The locals invited us to return and come and see them play the next day.<BR><BR>Well, to make a long story short, we hired Clarence again for the next day and he took us to the festival. This was the highlight of our trip. The people from the local countryside had gathered on the side of the hill for the festival. They had erected a few tarps making a make-shift stage. When we arrived local performers were in full make up performing a Chinese Opera. This was much better than any "staged" production, because it was not staged for the benefit of tourists--it was a real slice of Chinese life. We ate local fried bread, and barley noodles--that a man was making behind the stage with a large noodle-making contraption. <BR><BR>Clarence also arranged for us to visit a cave home that was occupied and we visited with the resident there. <BR><BR>In sum, the tour with Clarence was great and the price was very reasonable. Clarence not only will take you to the main attractions in Xian, but he will tailor a tour of Xian to your interests. For instance, this year I am going back to Xian with five friends and Clarence has arranged a tour of a school. One of the friends traveling with me is a school teacher and she wants to see what a school in China is like, where English is taught. <BR>Clarence has even arranged this.<BR><BR>If anyone wants a tour in Xian, I would strongly recommend Clarence Guo--but beware, he's already booked for April 4th and 5th for me and my friends.<BR><BR>Hope this is helpful.<BR><BR>John Owen (Anchorage, Alaska, U.S.A.)<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>-

Al

How much does he charge per day and what does the price include? Thanks.

Les

Andre,<BR>I stayed at the Sheraton in Xian. It's a very nice hotel, but it's too far from the center of town for my liking (you'll need a cab to get "downtown"). Next time, I would opt for a more centrally located hotel.

John Owen

If you are asking about Clarence Guo's price, you can usually get the most updated prices at his webpage: http://www.taxitour.com/ The price depends on the size of your group. The first time we used him there were only two of us. This year there will be six of us and we will pay $20 each, for the entire day. Clarence is also very good at responding to e-mail messages sent to him, so if you have any questions I would suggest you just ask him. I have used other tour guides and spent less, but the great thing about Clarence is his English--it is very good. His fair price coupled with his willingness to accommodate any size group from 1 to 11 persons, his willingness to tailor any Xian tour to your liking, and his knowledge of Xian, make him tops in my book.<BR><BR><BR><BR>

Peter N-H

On the taxi elements of the queries above, the prices quoted for the Summer Palace trips and airport connection are completely outrageous. It's the cabs that wait outside hotels that you usually need protection from, not the ones that pass by. There's something dodgy going on at the St Regis, as is quite well-known. Almost certainly the boys at the front are taking kick-backs to give cabs the right to wait. I was once placed in a 'hei' (black--illegal) cab by smiling staff, which had no meter, and which insisted on charging Y40 just to the station (Y10, tops).<BR><BR>Get the receptionist to write down the characters for Summer Palace for you, flag down a cab. Look as though you are following the route on a map. 99 times out of a hundred, no problem. Total cost, depending on the type of cab you take and where you start, about Y40-50 ($5), more if you went in the thick of the rush hour. Coming back, avoid waiting cabs (this is another tourist-as-victim area) and flag down a passing one. Show hotel card, look at map. Same price or cheaper going back.<BR><BR>For the airport, in a Y1.2 cab about Y70 ($8.50) including the toll, in a Y1.6 cab around Y100 ($12).<BR><BR>Getting a cab from the airport can be a little more problematic, because it's the kind of place where the dodgy guys wait. But if you first ignore anyone who walks up to you in the airport and offers you a cab (these are 'hei' cabs), and go to the rank, insist on getting a good view of the meter and making sure it's at zero (or have it reset), then show the card for the hotel to the driver, and you'll probably be all right. Remember that the St Regis the cab will have to go almost to the end of the expressway and then into town from there. If he shows any signs of going north about the fourth or third rings, he's ripping you off. South on either is feasible, as long as he turns west again fairly soon. Don't forget you pay the toll for the expressway (Y15, if I remember correctly, on top of the meter fare). NB: The rate per kilometre will jump by 20% after 15km. On the way out to the airport that's fair enough. On the way in, it's not--but every single cab driver will push a button on the front of his meter so that the jump occurs, even though he shouldn't. No point in arguing about this one. The prices quoted include the assumption that the button's been pressed.<BR><BR>If in doubt, make a show of copying down the details from the card with the cabby's picture on and especially the complaints phone number. If this card isn't clearly visible on the dashboard when you get in, by the way, then get out again straight away. Other indications of likely trouble include a meter buried right down behind the gear stick, and with a little face cloth folded on top of it. Insist on a clear view of the meter.<BR><BR>Peter N-H<BR>http://members.axion.net/~pnh/China.html

Peter

It' better to buy a book.