(Group Travel)
Hello Louie,
Checking in with you briefly since getting home from our Heritage Tour three days ago. Our tour was a spectacular experience! The selection of sites to visit and experiences were many and varied, always going to the heart of the purpose of the trip – to instill a sense of history, culture and identity in our kids. I saw my daughter, Maya, absorb it all and change in positive ways. She seemed more comfortable, mature and confident each day.
“Our guides were the best! Wonderful people, so kind and knowledgeable. They educated us, helped us fight through sometimes impossible crowds, supported us coming and going from airports and train stations, and shared of themselves in ways that enriched us.”
The food was glorious and we never wanted for a meal or local food experience.
I was very impressed with EVA Air and would not hesitate to fly with them again. Thank you for making our reservations and choosing EVA for most of Maya’s and my travel.
A thousand times thank you for all your hard work to make our heritage tour perfect!
Judith P and Maya D.
Portland, Oregon
Louie,
The past few nights have been spent hearing stories, looking at photos and maps. I want
to thank you for the doors of understanding opened for our daughter M., Judith and I. Most of all, I have deep gratitude for providing detailed consistency and safely handling all arrangements. You provide a wonderful mission and service.
Respectfully,
Lee Drucker
Louie,
Thank you for arranging our amazing two-week China adventure. We enjoyed every minute of it. The tour and translator guides were fantastic, the hotels were top-notch, transportation went like clockwork, the food was abundant and delicious, and the sites were beautiful and rich in history. We really loved the "local" experiences—visiting the school, taking the cooking class, visiting with the artist, and staying with the family.
I can only imagine how much work you and your team must have put into our trip We appreciated your attention to detail - even arranging extra laundry services, which were much needed given the intense heat and humidity.
This was a trip we will always remember and we're grateful to you for helping to make it happen.
Best,
Diane, Pete, and Mei F.
Just wanted to take a minute to thank you and your staff for the great China Birthland Tour that we just completed May 30. The trip was such a great experience for our daughter as well as mom and dad. The city guides were such wonderful people, so knowledgeable and helpful in each city. I really appreciate how they spent the extra effort getting us through the train stations and airport terminals instead of just dropping us off. Also, they were there waiting for our arrival at every station and terminal. The Hotels were absolutely great. The one at Chengdu was so nice it was difficult to leave. I admit we were all a little concerned about the plan to leave Chengdu and go spend the night at Donghan Village but it was really a great experience. The hosting families were very nice and took good care to make our visit pleasant. Our daughters enjoyed the interactions with the Village residents, especially playing games and dancing with the Village kids outside in the evening.
The trip to our daughter's orphanage was really great. Mary expertly handled that orphanage visit. We pulled into the orphanage driveway, a lady staff member ran down the driveway, grabbed and hugged Nicole. This lady was Nicole's caregiver 18 years ago when Nicole was a baby. The staff was so nice with a welcome home banner for Nicole, a gift for her, reviewed her records, provided us lunch and gave us driving tour of YiFeng after lunch. This visit was much more than we expected.
Yoland was our guide the next day as Mary took our companion family for their orphanage visit. Yoland arranged an afternoon visit to the Jin Feng Hotel which is where we received Nicole back in 2005. The Jin Feng hotel manager was so kind and welcoming to us. She had us sit down in the lobby area and had tea and moon cakes served to us. She was a lobby receptionist when we checked in there 18 years ago but now the manager. She took us up to the 11th floor lobby for photos. This was the lobby that 16 babies were presented to our group in 2005. That hotel visit was really special to see the kindness of the staff and share great memories with them from 2005.
Louie, thanks for providing us with a great trip and wonderful family memories.
Julian A.
Thank you, everything went smoothly. We wouldn't have had this amazing experience without you Louie and your team. I will post on FCC on Facebook to encourage other families to contact you Louie.
Both girls had a wonderful experience and returned wanting to learn mandarin to be better able to communicate for their next visit. Every hotel had a wonderful buffet and the food was generally different every place. Every tour guide was perfect. What a surprise to see how developed everything is in China now. It's nicer than the US.
One huge thing that we found and that I think you should update your clients on. You must have WeChat there (and get it 3-6mos ahead of time) And you should add WeChat pay or AlleyPay while you are in the states. Your credit cards will only be accepted at the hotel you are staying at. Cash isn't widely affected anymore either. ATM's are a little hard to find. My neighbor is Chinese American and they went back to China at the same time as us and this was his biggest frustration as well. My neighbor couldn't find any restaurants who would accept cash.
Anyway, we used the Papago translation app for talking to people when the guide wasn't with us. And also Google Lens to translate large items like a menu. We used Tmobile which has amazing coverage in China.
Shanghai
The hotel was nice and Carol, our guide, was perfect for what we were doing here. We recovered from jet lag and then went onto the tour with her. Surprisingly, even the new museums had the squat toilets, which wasn't an issue for me or the girls.
Wuhan
We were happy to have Christine with us - as a more experienced guide for the orphanage or Social Service Agency in Huanggang. We loved Wuhan and the river walks at night with all the beautiful buildings lite up
Huanggang
The visit to the orphanage was very nice and welcoming. Sydney's foster father worked for CCAA back then and still does. He and his wife Jenn Zhang (who is Sydney's foster mother) are in touch with Sydney. We printed off about 100 photos of Sydney from the adoption and every year at different ages. They were thrilled with them. They said "this is her home in China" and she should rely on them. And be the bridge between China and the world.
Nanchang
Again, Mary, was a perfect guide for us. We loved Nanchang too. Less people and less honking of horns in traffic which was great.
Pingxiang
Again, lovely greeting at the orphanage. The old director and foster mother both came to the meeting and lunch. Then as a surprise they took us to a small village - over an hour away - and we met the "finder's" family. What a story we found out from the Liu's. That evening we were contacted by Ping's birth family. So, when they say bring a DNA kit I should have listened. However, now we are trying to get it done in China. Any suggestions are appreciated!
Sincerely,
Rhonda B.
“Louie and his staff are truly wonderful.”
My two daughters (ages 9 and 6) and I just returned from a trip to China that was coordinated by Lotus. Louie and his staff are truly wonderful. They accommodated my every need. I took their Panda package and asked if I could work in two orphanage visits. One of those visits was to a very remote place in China. We were given our own personal guide and driver to get us to DaoXian, coordinate an orphanage visit and actually take the Director shopping for orphanage clothing in the local market.
In addition, even on the trip, two times, it became necessary for me to have a schedule change and Louie made it happen. This was my first time using Lotus. My travel for my two adoption trips was coordinated by my placing agency. I would highly recommend Lotus Travel and would definitely use them again on our next trip.
Debbie Reynolds
Executive Director
Adoptive Family Services
“We most enjoyed catch a glimpse of ‘real life’ in China”
“It’s hard to select a highlight because the entire trip was fabulous. However, I think we most enjoyed the aspects of the trip that enabled us to catch a glimpse of “real” life in China and to connect with real people. Staying at the “B & B” village in Xian, visiting homes in the Beijing hutongs and visiting the orphanage were highlights for us.”Kathy J.
Using Lotus Travel made it possible to enjoy the best of China's sights and activities.
My family had a FABULOUS time on our trip to Yunnan Province and Chengdu. Really, words cannot describe how pleased we were with our guides, accommodations, meals, and itinerary. China is an incredible country to visit, and using Lotus made it possible to enjoy the best of its sights and activities. We feel that the national guide (Vicky) and local guides (Nancy, Jack, and Kal-Song) became our friends and took excellent care of us. The hotels were fabulous - much better than we would stay in here in the USA. And the food was always different and delicious. Thank you for doing such a terrific job taking care of us travelers. We would be pleased to serve as a reference.-Mitch
"Because of Lotus, my daughter had an exciting and positive view of China!"
I wanted to thank you for all of the work, thought and effort that went into the recent tour of China for my daughter and me. The construction of the itinerary was great, the arrangements all worked flawlessly and your staff in each city were truly wonderful. They went out of their way to make our trip interesting, and to make sure the kids had a good time. We had an amazing time, and most importantly, the trip gave my daughter an exciting and positive view of China, helped her connect in lots of ways small and big and left both of us feeling that we want to return.
-Cheryl Schaffer
“Trip exceeded our expectations……”
I would like to thank Lotus Travel for providing our family with outstanding service for our trip to China and South Korea this summer. Joyce Zhuang helped us create a spectacular itinerary. We made many changes to the itinerary before we started our journey, and Joyce was accommodating to the nth degree. We are indebted to her for her excellent organizational skills and people skills, and she deserves all the recognition you can give her.
The places we visited were unique and wonderful, the local restaurants were fabulous, and the guides and drivers at each location were very professional, highly knowledgeable, very organized, and greatly appreciated.
I also would like to commend Linda Ling, our guide in Beijing. We loved her charming and happy nature. So knowledgeable and fun to be with over the five days we were in the nation's capital. I also would like to recognize her for outstanding services.
I like to think that the moon, the stars, and Jupiter were all in alignment for the Chin family. But in reality it was Lotus Travel and your extensive connections in China. The bottom line is that we thoroughly enjoyed our trip. The trip exceeded our expectations, and, truth be told, our expectations were very high. We have already touted Lotus Travel as a premier travel company and have recommended your company to friends and colleagues who are planning to travel to China with their adoptive families.
Thank you and best wishes,
Lily, Lon, Zak, and Zan Chin
“Louie and his staff are truly wonderful.”My two daughters (ages 9 and 6) and I just returned from a trip to China that was coordinated by Lotus. Louie and his staff are truly wonderful. They accommodated my every need. I took their Panda package and asked if I could work in two orphanage visits. One of those visits was to a very remote place in China. We were given our own personal guide and driver to get us to DaoXian, coordinate an orphanage visit and actually take the Director shopping for orphanage clothing in the local market. |
“Lotus Travel really came through for us”“Thanks so much for helping us to plan our China trip. The trip completely exceeded my expectations! Everything was planned out well, the tour guides were knowledgeable and also fun and playful with the children, and the itinerary provided a great glimpse into Chinese culture and history. Lotus Travel really came through for us. Thank you!” |
Thank you doesn’t begin to express how grateful we are"
We would like to thank Lotus Travel for arranging the most incredible China trip for us! Our family enjoyed the beauty of China and her people for almost three weeks. Every region we visited was unique; and we had a new adventure to experience each day. We really appreciated Lotus' attention to detail. Everything was planned so well and all we had to do was enjoy ourselves! The tour guides were very knowledgeable and friendly; they really went the extra miles and added their personal touches at each stop along our way. Somehow "Thank You" doesn't express how grateful we are for the wonderful heritage tour you had planned for us. This was truly a trip of a lifetime!
- Jim, Tish and Ana Joros