Traveling further south on this journey, lands us in Chengdu. Chengdu is surrounded by mountains and lies in a valley. Hiking and biking opportunities are prominent in this area. Green tea is also the gem of this area and much of the landscape is characterized by tea farms. As an outdoor enthusiast, the golden ticket of this trip was Southern China which did not fail to wow me.
My hiking experience started in Leshan with a journey to the Giant Buddha. Once again, my guide in Chengdu failed to disappoint. His name was Bruce and he was training to be in a triathlon and has biked across Scotland. He is from the Sichaun Province originally so Hot Pot Soup and the mountains are close to his heart. He took me the back way up the mountain to the Giant Buddha which is the less frequented way. This way passes large Buddhist temples where you can see the afternoon prayer and folks practicing Thai Chi. Again, trekking poles will come in handy as the way down to view the full Giant Buddha is by way of a steep stairway. At the base of the statue and confluence of Minjiang, Dadu, Qingyi Rivers you have the best view of the Giant Buddha which was carved by hand over a period of 70 years starting in 713 AD.
The Sichuan Province is said to be the most well known and popular cuisine in China, with good reason. Hot Pot soup is at the forefront of its popularity and is a chili based, clear broth soup. Once boiling, you can drop in fresh meat and vegetables in order to make the soup. While Hot Pot is native of Sichuan, you can find this dish all over China. If you don't love spice, then you have an option to have clear both soup without the chilis but be warned, most people in Sichuan don't know what the word "mild" means.
Adventure Life is always an excellent choice when planning complicated, extreme, or exotic vacations or expeditions. They provide friendly professional services and advice and are enthusiastic and encouraging in helping us to prepare and thoroughly enjoy our trip. They handle all the details which greatly reduces the stress of planning a difficult trip. I'm very impressed with Adventure Life and definitely recommend them to friends and family.
Scott Trochim
2 days ago
The response from Adventure Life to my first inquiry was prompt and promising. I worked with Jamie Broeckel, Trip Planner, via text, email, and phone calls- always extremely responsive and thorough with information and explaining the process to arrange a private tour for me to Malaysia Borneo. Within about week, the booking was complete and I made decisions because of Jamie's great customer service , friendly manner, and overall competence on behalf of the company's travel expertise. Now I have an itinerary, additional Trip Planner Assistants, several links for vital information for traveling to Maylasia, etc. Still many details for Sept. trip, but now the heavy lifting is done and I can enjoy the rest of the anticipation and research!! Thanks Jamie- you are amazing!!!!
Susan Campo
4 days ago
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
5 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.