Dear lonely planet team,
I' ve been travelling with your books for the past 3 years now and I' ve been travelling a lot. I' ve always wanted to give you some updates about prices and/or other issues. This time I will, because I want to share my experience with fellow travelers.
It all started in 2004 when I was riding the Transsib from Beijing to Moscow . I was going through your China edition, when I ran over the Sichuan - Tibet Highway . Within the particular chapter one could read: one of the most beautiful and dangerous roads in the world.....
As soon as I had returned to my current hometown Seoul in Korea , I started working out a trip.
It had to be completly legal and, more so, it had to be very well organised.
I also bought your Tibet edition and was sort of frustrated to read (6th, May 2005, pg 316) that the Sichuan Tibet Hwy is not legaly open to foreign travellers.
One year of research and 9 months of intense communication later with a private Chinese Company, residing in Chengdu , we finally started our trip flying into Chengdu from Seoul via Beijing . We were picked up at the airport and placed in a very nice Hotel in Chengdu . We stocked up all necessary equipment and the following day we started at an elevation of 500m above sea level. From my experience I can say the entire trip was not only perfectly organized with a great driver and a knowlegable English spaeking tour guide, it was also very much taken in consideration that we were very gradually climbing in elevation day by day, always ensuring that we stayed over night at lower elevations than we had crossed earlier that day.
The trip itself included both cultural highlight as sceneries and landscapes beyond believe. We were equipped with a top model Toyota Landcruiser which hauled us over saealed roads, gravel, through muddy passages and through rivers were the road had been washed away. Up and down winding roads, crossing several passes over 5000m and many many over 4500m . Our driver stopped any place we asked him to, some times 20 times a day for taking picures, for having a snack or just for drinking a coffee in most remote areas.
After ten days we reached Lhasa . Besides minor exhaustion, none of us experienced serious montain sickness. Should one of us had been suffering from lack of oxygen, our guide would have been prepared to treat with oxygen, which we never had to make use of.
Food along the Northern Route of Sichuan Hwy proofed to be a challenge in the beginning, but our guide quickly anticipated our individual needs and than always found proper places. Regarding the rising remotness of our route, we concluded that we were accomodated in the best available hotels. Standards were, with one exception, always good.
Once we had crossed from Sichuan into Tibet , our guide formally registered the group upon arrival in Chamdo, presented all permits, and we were to move on. Not once were we stopped, checked or controlled. Not even at military installations which we had to pass.
As a party of 4 we spent a reasonable price for 10 days, including all accommodation, food, permits, etc. The travel agency set up a trust deed too.
From my experience I can say a great deal for a reasonable price, a lot of expertise and carefull planing to meet customers satisfaction.
Sincerely,
Winfried Lorek (Frankfurt/Germany)
P.S. I include the companies eMail address for your infomation
Ms. Echo Wang
"PTA Travel" This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Client's Information
Winfried Lorek, Kay Groneberg, Markus Frauenfeld and Christiane FrauenfeldFrom: Germany
Itinerary: Chengdu - Lhasa Overland 4WD 10 Days Tour