rhkkmk and dgunbug, thanks, I take your comments as a compliment. BTW, what part of the world are you two from ? We could atleast meet whenever we pass by your country.

Thoroughly enjoyed your report.
We hope to do China , July 2010 for 16 days, and except
for Shangai, we intend visiting the same places.
I have learnt alot from you so thank you.
LuLilly does have a website now, I found it on the TA China Forum. One of the posters there apparently helped set it up.

Dock - what is the TA China Forum and could you please provide me with LuLilly's website? Thanks - June

Before you consider hiring a guide in China, use the search box above to find threads that explain why this is almost always a bad idea, e.g.

http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...in-january.cfm

And for a more mixed account of the guide in question, with comments on the almost infinite amount of conning of foreign tourists that takes place around Yangshuo, see:

http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...n-may-2009.cfm

Peter N-H

Thanks DOCK, glad that the TR was useful. Surprised that Lilly Lu has set up a website so soon. Good for her.

Indiancouple:Fantastic trip report. I enjoyed each and every segment. Your details are done magnificently and your tips are very valuable. I have traveled to India a few times and have visited Beijing too.
But I was interesting in finding more about your shopping experience in China.
From my shopping experience in India I found that the prices were low and if you shopped at good stores, the quality was good too.
Thus, wondering how would you compare shopping between India and China. What do you think about the prices of some common items such as pearl necklaces that maybe your wife bought or even the shawls.
Do you think the prices and quality of items in China is better than in India?
Of course, some items such as Chinese antiques or other souvenirs that are special to each country are indeed a great buy at any price.
On my trip to Beijing, I, too, enjoyed the litchee tea. I, infact bought back a couple of containers of that to enjoy later.
I found their teapots and cups to be beautifully designed and very reasonably priced and thus I bought several of those too.
So, I hope you will share some shopping advice/tips comparing the experience of both countries, since you seem to be quite an avid traveler and maybe somewhat an expert.
If you remember any more little stories about your China travel, do write more.
Have a great day.

dgunbug, TA refers to Tripadvisor. Go to the China forum and serach for Lu Lilly.her web address is http://lillylu.webs.com
If you have difficulty accessing it do so thro the TA forums.

I am not advocating for a guide and most of our trip will be done independently, however for Yangshou we are considering her.
Travelling with 2 teens , there are times when I want someone else to do the prep. work for me.

Thank you very much for all your tips. It's only after reading your report I decided to do our China trip independently. I feel it was perfectly timed for me(of course many others too)and almost Heaven Sent! I'm also considering Lilly for Yangshou bit. Maybe I could also meet you somewhere in future along with other Fodorites!

Just be sure if you book with Lilly she upholds her end of the contract. Just days before indancouple used Lilly, we also had Lilly guide us. We booked four days with her and after 2 days she decided to not fulfill the rest of our plans. She even changed what we had agreed to. When she wants to do a good job, she will. But if you book to much activity, she'll find an excuse to cancel. I'm not the only person she's done this to. Just be informed please.

ileen, sorry for the delay in replying. Tough to compare shopping in China versus India, as I guess the stuff that one would buy would be different at each place. Admit that both countries are very cheap compared to Europe, but one has to be careful about quality at both places.

I think the stuff that DW bought in China were items specific to China, and could not be compared to Indian prices.

Images2 Thanks for letting me know. So should we have a back up? As we need to be picked from airport , if things go wrong it will be difficult, if we are left stranded.

> As we need to be picked from airport

What's wrong with using a bus or a cab like everyone else?

PeterN-H Because we have luggage with us, it would be easier if we have a pre arranged pick-up and go with same car to Yulong river and Silver Cave.I was told the river is on the way to Yangshou, so it's better to go there first,then to Silver cave and then to hotel. Thanks.

Your hotel can arrange a driver for you also, at reasonable rates. I know a bus is available, but that won't work for faridabobat. Watch out for drivers that want to take advantage of you financially. I think it's a good idea to have a driver lined up. Lilly will be at the airport for you if she says she will. She may just change your agreed upon schedule once you arrive though, as she did with us.

Faridabobat, I agree with Images2 that Lilly is not likely to ditch you at the airport. If she agrees to come, she will come. I carried a printout of whatever she had agreed with us. Whenever there was the slightest rumbling of change (there wasn't much with us), I showed her the agreed itinerary, and we had no problems.

Faridabobat: I know you're probably going to want to this with a guide and car booked in advance because you have set yourself such a tight schedule and have no time to spare, but for the record there are taxis there (as everywhere else in China) quite happy to be chartered to do precisely what you want and for probably less than half the prices that have been quoted for the unreliable guide and her vehicle.

The thing is, as you were advised right at the beginning by a few voices, you'd be best advised not to try to do so much and on a timetable that leaves you only minutes to spare.
Independent travel in that way, which compels you to pay through the nose for guides and tours, loses you the benefits it usually offers in cost-savings and flexibility, and unfortunately, while you may be lucky and everything goes like clockwork, you do need to be prepared for unexpected circumstances, and have some spare time in your schedule. Only consider the flight delays Images2 reported experiencing, and ask yourself where that would leave you if the same thing happened.

An old trip report from has just resurfaced from a couple with no Chinese experience who organised practically everything for themselves as they went along, and had a great time doing it, including in Yangshuo:

http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...o-yangshuo.cfm

I wouldn't recommend anyone to go to Yangshuo anymore (as opposed to 20 years ago when it started to earn the reputation for the hassle-free remoteness and tranquility it has now lost), but Lyn Clarke and husband took things at the right pace for China, and clearly had a wonderful time there. Note her comments on delays escaping Guilin, though, but how she's allowed time for that.

Peter N-H

Peter N-H, If not Yangshou, then where else would you suggest?

> Peter N-H, If not Yangshou, then where else would you suggest?

Could you elaborate on that request? Do you mean general countryside? The peace and quiet Yangshuo (note spelling--makes a completely different sound in Mandarin) used to have? Or are you particularly after karst scenery?

Would suggest you answer by starting a new thread to discuss this.

Peter N-H

PeterN-H thanks for the link to Lyn Clarke report. Are you saying that we go to Guilin without arranging anything, and we will easily manage to get a taxi that will take us for Yulong bamboo rafting, wait till we finish, then drive us to Silver cave, wait again and take us to our hotel and for half the price?
I do agree we have a tight schedule, and I am thinking about it. I'll have to read Images2 report to see where his flights were delayed.

faridabobat, we paid 400 Rmb for a pre-arranged car, which picked us up at Guilin airport at about noon, took us to Yulong river where we boarded the bamboo raft, met us at the downstream point where we boarded the taxi again for Silver Caves, then from Silver Caves to Yangshuo town (where we halted for 2 hours), and finally to our hotel (Li River Retreat) by around 9:30pm.

We had checked, and our hotel was charging the same to arrange a car for the same journey. So it appears that 400 Rmb is the going rate for this trip, if you arrange through your hotel or a guide. If you can get a taxi at half this price on the spot, it would certainly be worthwhile. I have no idea if it is possible. I would also worry about leaving my luggage in an unfamiliar taxi. If you don't want to use a guide, I would suggest you ask your hotel to send you a car for this trip. Might be safer.