Shanghai, China July 21 (Rsvp D. Dean)

(TO D. Dean)Hey,
It's a great sense of relief to know that it's as hot somewhere else in the world. However, I'm sure I got you beat with over 85% humidity and 37 degrees C (=99 degrees F) in Suzhou and Hangzhou! No amount of mental pyche, "Think Alaska in the deep Freeze" could save us from intense heat and devilish humidity. Soaking wetness by merely walking, with an umbrella, with non-stop manual fanning, with a Chinese wide rimmed hat could save KC nor I from dripping wetness and clothes stuck to our skin. As much as I dislike guided tours, I must admit that I appreciate a waiting A/C vehicle within minutes of our finished tours (we got a tour package for each city we visit- bought out of Singapore- there is a lot of hidden agenda not revealed to us and we are surprised by them, no doubt). You see, I am a grassroot traveler [similar to Rick Steves', the Europe through the Back Door guru] and love the local and native feel of each country I come to see, and coming away with a sense of having truly “tasted” a slice of the country. It seems pointless to travel otherwise. I could replace travel with any amount of media, including youtube.

Kasey is not keeping up with our free lance travels and asked to do land tours. I swore never to take another tour after seeing the Forbidden Palace in two brief hours in the one and only tour I had to take when China initially opened her doors to tourism. I’m just not a “guided by the nose” and see “country in can” kind of traveler.
Oh, well, “make lemonade” moments is the order of the day while seeing China via tours. It has it's perks. "Tuk Tuk" (Bangkok term) shopping is a necessary part of these tours*, though it is infuriating to tourists who have traveled long distances to see the sights and not herded from one high priced shopping to another.
http://placesisee.blogspot.com/ (here) for more quirky details/ housekeeping notes of our Singapore/ China/ Asia experience.
We'll be home in time for school. Hope our home is still standing, and the lawn and yard is well and alive, and the Blacks are there and no natural disasters befall the area or our home.
From Shanghai (July 16-22),
Beijing July 23 (arrival in overnight train- bed in compartment - but I suspect nothing like 1st class Eurail berths in Western Europe - we absolutely loved that!)

(Comment by J Peterson of Shanghai:
Especially if you (Kate) can offer a quality service that avoids a lot of the annoyances of the typical tours. My wife's aunt went on a tour in Beijing and came back to the US thinking she got a steal of a deal on an 65$ necklace. She was pretty ticked when she found out we paid about that much in RMB for the same item right next to our [Shanghai] house. I even heard tale of some Chinese tourists physically locked in a mall until they bought something. I think for most westerners it becomes pretty infuriating when they realize that the reason the tour was so cheap was because the guide is getting a [kickback] proportion of their purchases and is only taking them to outrageously priced places and they end up spending lots of their time in stores they don't have any interest in visiting. It's more of a problem with the whole industry and western expectations, but there is definitely some money to be made by whoever finds a way to fix that divide between expectations and experience.
I'm not nearly as aware of what Asians think about the tour experience in China because I don't know what their expectations are or if they're just coming into it with no idea and don't find anything wrong with it. [Any Asian reading this, feel free to comment. usausak@hotmail.com]
(Kate's comment on tours out of USA and Singapore:
* However, because of how disappointing the guided tours were done here (via Singapore travel agent; and there are a lot of herding to high end shops to pressure tourists to purchase merchandise) I have decided that I may be interested in putting tours together and bypassing the middle men (the travel agency monopoly run by China). I have enough contacts (tour guides and van drivers/owners) and traveled in all kinds of public transportation (XMN, SHA, PEK traveled by intercity trains, public transportation - buses and subways, taxis, etc.) and have enough knowledge of shops and hotels that I could actually do a better job putting together tours, and enjoy this and be successful at it. J. Peterson (American living in Shanghai and familar with the language and culture ) could be my contact man in Shanghai.
I am also interested in a Beijing guide, and hoping to add Xian, Chongqing (and Wuhan got Yangtze cruise) and a few other contacts to the list.

I hope to sell this idea to R.Steves in Washington and one other contact in Utah.

If I could find a J or Kate in Singapore as contact, this whole scenario could be successful in Singapore too, and a USA registered company. In Singapore/ Malaysia, initially, for folks that are related.

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(From D Dean [Orem,UT]) Hi Kate,
Debbie and I just got back form Salem, Oregon and are heading off to Arizona Wednesday. I've been wondering how you're doing and if you've been able to travel to all of the places you planned on? Hope the heat there isn't as hot as what we've had here. Probably more humid than here isn't it? How is Kacy doing anyway. Will she be traveling over to see you? Do you know when you might be coming home. Let me know how you're doing. Hope all is well with your family over there.
Take care, D Dean