New York & Canada trip < July 15 - 26, 2009>

My family and I have joined the EAST COAST & CANADA 8 DAYS DELUXE TOUR last July 15 and go back to L.A. on July 26, as we have extended our vacation to New Yor and Atlantic City for another week.

I am writing this letter (very long, hoping you have time to read it) to extend our deep and sincere appreciation to our Tour Guide and Bus Driver who did a marveous job conducting our tour.  We also thank our travel agent, Travel International for arranging everything.

I do not know if you knew well enough and have experienced about our tour guide and bus driver or knew their full capabilities, and if you don't believe it is to your best interest if we tell you what we have seen and experienced about those two guys during our 8-days tour.

Bus Driver

His name and we knew him as Kim.  He was absolutely terrific.  Very cool, relax and collected and very focuse in his driving.  Not a single moment did he made us feel uncomfortable in his driving.  Seemingly, he knew all and every streets and streets corner of the many places we visited. He was absolutely certain where we were heading to and never became tentative in his directions.  It's s smooth driving/ride through and through.  I considered myself expert driver but I am convinced I am no match to him.  One time I asked Tony (Tour guide) if the driver is using a GPS and Tony said---"He has a much better GPS, all the directions are embedded in his brain", I was in awe.

Kim was very helpful. Starting in the morning from the hotel he gathered all and everyone's baggage and nicely loaded them in the bus, and at the end of the day he unloaded them when we arrived at the hotel for our every night stay.  Despite the large volume of baggage he was loading and unloading each day he was always cheerful and never showed sign of indifference.  It's a routine, he does it everyday.

Tour Guide

His name is Tony Chen.  Tony is a short guy, regulard built, maybe lass than 5 feet tall.  I called hims "small but terrible".  Tony started the day by greeting every body after everyone was seated in the bus.  He would say...."Good morning to everybody, I hope you all had a nice rest last night, and you are all OK for our next trip".  Since 95% of us on the bus (full to its capacity, over 50 people) were Chinese National Tony repeated the same greeting in chinese language, and every statement he made in English hre repeat them in chinese and vice versa.  Tony started the day by telling us our schedule for the day...the places to visit and the highlights of the trip.  Our routes and lenght of time to travel to our first destiantion to the next, and lenght of time of out visit on each place, and narrating to us the history or legend of each place we visited.  He mastered the history and narrating to us the history or legend of every place and never mumbled as he narrated them in a prayerful fashion, an indication of his mastery of his subjects.  And when the distance we travel were long and people sleep Tony up his microphone and wake us up as we arrive to our next stop.  Like Kim, TOny is super cool.  As we got out of the bus and have our walking tour he led and guided us (with his big bright yellow umbrella clearly visible from a far)  all the way everywhere.  Always cheerful and smiling and never get tired talking and explaining to everybody the history and legend of the places, their highlights etc.  Very kind and approachable and never got irritated by people in the bus who kept asking him many questions.  One time I asked Tony where he got and learned his phases of history and legends of those places we have visited and he said...by reading lot of books and magazines, the internet and research about those places.  He said, even at night in his hotel room before he goes to bed, to sharpen his memory for our next day trip, he read more books about the places we are visiting the next day. Here is a clincher for Tony.  One morning a Chinese guy "bulshitted" Tony for no valid reason, and TOny just kept his calm and cool composure.  Here's what happened.  One morning as we boarded the bus for our next trip, the guy and Tony were arguing for something in Chinese language.  I do not understand exaclty what they were arguing but I could sensed they were arguing about "the seat arrangement" in the bus.  The Chinese guy was so rude, impolite and disrespectful, screaming on top of his voice to Tony.  But Tony was cool as ice mainting his composure talking kindly and softly to the guy.  Everybody inside the bus was stunned by the guy's rudeness.