(SWI visits)

"Lotus is excellent and we would go with them again in a heartbeat!"

We had a wonderful time and lots of great family memories. First we have told others that Lotus was excellent and we would go with them again in a heartbeat. We've even talked about wanting to take the girls back the summer before their senior year in high school. It is hard to pick all the highlights, but we would all say that one of our favorite parts of the trip was going to Xian, seeing the Terracotta Warriors and bike riding on the city wall. That was a lot of fun. Every place we went had its own uniqueness. The orphanage visits were very special. Hallee did see her "nanny" and was able to eat lunch with her. We are extremely grateful to Lotus Travel for connecting us with her. We brought a photo album for the nanny and got lots of pictures. The same orphanage director was there as was 5 years ago and we also were able to feed the babies. There were lots of tears on our part. We also met the two ladies who brought Hallee to the orphanage and we got their pictures. At Julee's orphanage we met up with the same guide we had 7 years ago. We also met one of Julee's teachers. The orphanage had a banner for her with "Welcome back Xianyi". They treated her royally and even presented her with a beautiful porcelain vase. We do want to thank you for helping us make this a very memorable trip for our family. It was such a pleasure to work with both Marie and Sunny at Lotus. While in China we had great accommodations, guides, food and tours. Any glitches were taken care of. We have highly recommended you to our friends. A BIG THANK YOU AGAIN!

-The Zinck Family

“Favorite thing was visiting their orphanages… where the official stance is ‘no visits’”

“My daughters both said their favorite thing was visiting their towns and orphanages. I agree, especially since one of the orphanages was in an area where the official stance is “no visits.”  Both of these visits were truly special and in different ways, more than we had hoped for. For myself and my husband, seeing our children fall in love with China was the best part of all.”

Kathy S.

"Sincere thanks to Louie at Lotus Travel"

On behalf of my husband Ray, myself and my daughter Sarah Tao, I would like to send Louie at Lotus Travel our sincere thanks for arranging our orphanage visit at Changde Social Welfare Institute (SWI) in China's Hunan Province. Our tour guide for the day was Nadine who was most helpful. She assisted us in purchasing appropriate gifts for various people at the orphanage. The assistance was most welcome as she knew where to shop, what brands were good and what prices we should pay so we didn't get taken and pay more than we should. While at the orphanage, she was very good at translating for us and without her, we would have definitely been at loose ends. We thoroughly appreciate your help in organizing this very special part of our trip to China. We felt that visiting Sarah's orphanage has enabled us to come 'full circle' in her life.

- Barbara Lewis from Canada

 

"Thanks for the fantastic trip to China, Lotus Travel!"

We had a fantastic trip to China. Everything went very smoothly. We were always met at airports or railroad stations by English speaking guides and drivers. The guides are very excellent. They spoke so well and knew everything. We really enjoyed spending time with them. I also found the apartment in Guilin to be very convenient. My daughter, Janey, who was born in China, really enjoyed the trip. The high point for all of us was our visit to the orphanage in Nanjing where Janey spent the first 7 months of her life. Our guide did a great job of translating for us there.

- Raymond Hodell

"Lotus Travel-- the best choice among travel agencies"

We took a heritage tour with Lotus Travel this summer (2006) with our two daughters who were adopted from the People's Republic of China. While initially coordinating flights and planning our preferable itinerary presented some challenges, Lotus offered suggestions for places and events beyond those listed on the schedule. We felt that they were very accommodating in helping us to formulate a more customized journey suited to our needs. Our trip was wonderful! All our guides were exceptional and their English exemplary; they and their drivers looked after us. They were knowledgeable, informative, humorous, nurturing and they interacted with adults as easily as with children. We saw extraordinary places and museums, learned local customs and history, fell in love with the people and cities, and the highlight of our journey was certainly exceptional: great explorations at the towns and social welfare homes of our daughters. Our meetings were both poignant and gracious. We will never forget this profound experience which brought both laughter and tears. It is our wish to return to China in the not-too-distant future and we would not hesitate to call on Lotus Travel again to help with our arrangements. We have begun to share our experiences with friends and acquaintances and rated Lotus Travel the best choice among travel agencies.

- Robert and Nancy MacLachlan