We were picked up at 7:00am and were disappointed to find a shuttle bus that could seat around 12+ people. At the time when I booked the tour, the website read 6 people max. (One of the reasons I made the booking.) I asked our tour guide, Mr. Sherman, how many people were on the tour and he said 10. I explained,\"the website read a max of 6 people.\" He said, \"yes, that\'s old information.\" I\'m a little irritated, but try and let it go. We pick up the rest of the tour group and we\'re on our way to the Great Wall. Well, at least that\'s what we all thought. There is a detour to a Jade Market. Ok, onward to the Great Wall. It was amazing! After about 1.5 hours exploring (plenty of time) we are off to lunch. Lunch was pretty tasty. Mr. Sherman was very accommodating in what foods to order for the table. I\'m not a meat eater, and he ordered fish which was very nice. Service at the restaurant was below par for China though. We were given one small bowl of rice for 10 of us and when we asked for more, they took the bowl and never returned it. They also snatched away the tea kettle midway through the lunch. (Note: tea is the only offered beverage that is included in the price of the tour. Soda, beer, juice, etc. are extra.)
Since our trip back into Beijing City Centre took place at rush-hour, so it took about double the time to get back to our hotels. We are next to last being dropped at our hotel at 19:00! dropped off an hour and a half later than expected.
Although Mr. Sherman and I had a rocky start, overall, he was a great tour guide. He had impeccable English and was sure to explain many happenings going on during our drive to and from the designated stops.
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[3 of 5 Stars!]
