Day 1:
My mother and I did this tour with Sophie, who is wonderful! She is knowledgeable, kind, courteous, and patient. She taught us a lot of Chinese history in a clear way with photos and resources to help our learning. She answered all of our questions with interest. When there was an opportunity to learn, she spoke Chinese to the locals to ask their permission to show us new things outside of the scope of the tour. We really appreciated her going above and beyond! She took great photos for us, researched restaurants and attractions for us to do on our own time, and told us so many great everyday tips for our stay in China. We loved this tour with Sophie so much that we booked one with her for the next day too!
On this tour, the driver was also phenomenal. He was extremely professional and polite, and his car was very clean. We appreciated his attentiveness to road safety (signalling etc). He offered us fresh water bottles at each stop, he was always on time, and he got out of the car at every stop to help us with the car doors, as did Sophie.
Day 2:
Sophie was as awesome as day one! Again, extremely knowledgeable, willing to teach, cheerful and attentive. Sophie is exceptional!
However, we were disappointed with the driver experience this time, especially in comparison to how exceptional the first driver was. The driver today needs to improve professionalism, road safety, and service. His car was clean, and he provided us with water as the first driver did. Overall the driving job was done, but not to the exceptional standard of the previous day.
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We would like to thank Sophie for making this trip wonderful, our time together is a huge highlight of our China trip! I hope to be able to tour with Sophie again soon, she rocked!