The journey is the reward.
Chinese proverb

My journey is now into its third day in Beijing and I feel I am being rewarded every moment of the day. As a frequent independent traveler I am always uncertain about choosing a group tour, but I feel I have hit the jackpot with Travel Directors. They have chosen an amazing itinerary with care given to every detail. The tour guide, Elena, is Russian and is very friendly and efficient. The local Chinese guide is May, one of the loveliest people you would meet anywhere. She is warm and cheerful, with a smile that lights up the world around. Her English is very good and her local knowledge is brilliant. She imparts interesting information in an animated manner that has you hanging on her every word.

Today we experienced a rickshaw ride through the narrow alleys of hutongs in old Beijing. We had lunch in one of the traditional courtyard residences of a local family. The husband cooked and the wife served a tasty meal of various dishes, all washed down with local beer. This family is one of a few who have been vetted and encouraged to provide tourists with such a cultural experience so that these hutongs do not disappear into the modern high rise city.

After our hutong explorations our tour guides informed us they were providing us with a surprise, and what a wonderful surprise it was. We were treated to an hour of the most heavenly foot massage imaginable. A group of students at a sports institute provided the pleasure and we sat back and lapped it up. This is just one example of the quality of this tour and company - great little extras ensuring a broad range of traditional local experiences.

Our evening consisted of more culture. After a meal of Peking duck we attended the Beijing opera. I can praise the colorful costumes, but this style of opera is not for me with the high pitched screeching sounds of the singers. We were given a table of snacks and treated to a very dextrous tea pourer's exhibition of twirling and serving our tea from a long spouted teapot.