Antiques Tour China Tibet March - April 2010 (London - Beijing - Lhasa - Everest)
Antique Tour China Tibet March - April 2010 (London - Beijing - Lhasa - Everest)
My name is Trevor Cornforth. I have been an enthusiast of China and Tibet for many years and have been to China now around 42 times and to Tibet 5 times. I have been an antiques dealer since I was 8 years old and for the last 15 years have specialised in Oriental Antiques and collectables as well as writing two books on Snuff Bottles and appearing on several TV shows featuring antiques.
Over the last 20 years I have created and guided Antiques Trails around Europe ( featured on the BBC and Meridian Television), India, Peru, Vietnam, Indonesia and, of course, China (around 20 group tours) and Tibet ( 5 previous tours). Wherever we go I try to help my guests understand the local culture as well as the tourist spots and help them to buy items if they wish but my tours are not just for Antiques enthusiasts or dealers. I speak reasonable Mandarin so I am able to help my guests with buying as well as organising interesting dinner and other excursions and in Tibet have local friends who help as well as local interpreter/guides and drivers.
The majority of my guests are repeat visitors, some many times, but newcomers are always welcome and are quickly included and involved.
This, and indeed all my tours, are created with professional help and protection for the guests. This particular tour has been put together, under my instructions, by CTS Horizons, so is fully ABTA protected and they deal with the administrative and financial side of everything, Air Tickets, Visas, Tibet Permits etc. I do the leg work and look after my guests 24/7!
If you wish to see more about what I am involved in business wise then you can log on to ridgewayantiques.co.uk or chalkwellauctions.co.uk or check out Schiffer Books or simply key my name into Google.
Tibet is a wonderful place, and much in the news for political reasons, its people are warm and friendly and inspiring and I can safely say that none of my previous guests have left Tibet without a deep and personal experience as well as an understanding that things are not always what we think they are from the media. Come and see for yourself.
The tour is not strenuous and so will suit anyone who is mobile from 20s to 70s. The altitude may prevent a few people from travelling but is not such a huge issue and you get used to it after a few days and we have a few tricks up our sleeve anyway based on experience.
By popular demand I have created a return to Tibet tour for this year. The basic details are set out below, though they may be subject to slight alteration depending on local conditions including accessibility due to weather.
This is by far the most comprehensive tour of Tibet I have undertaken and includes some of the most dramatic and sacred places on the planet.
The tour starts and ends in Beijing where the time is free to explore as you wish. As most of the group will have an interest in antiques I will escort people to markets and recommended places but if anyone wants to visit tourist spots like the Great Wall or Forbidden City that will be easy to arrange and also inexpensive.
In Beijing we are staying in a four star hotel which is centrally located and ideal for us. In Tibet I have chosen to stay in Tibetan style hotels, which are mostly very comfortable particularly in Lhasa but in the remoter locations standards will be more basic, but the best available.
The group is limited to 15, for comfort and logistics, and 11 places were taken immediately by people who heard about the tour and wanted to either return (in most cases) or join a trip of a lifetime, so there is no time to lose in contacting me to register your interest. It is also imperative that we register names with British Airways for the flights.
I will be escorting the tour throughout, and where necessary will have the assistance of local guides, particularly in Tibet. Some meals (B breakfast L lunch D dinner) are included as shown above and others will be as we chose to take them. We usually find a suitable restaurant by consensus depending on local availability. In some of the remoter areas we have opted for an inclusive package as there may not be any other suitable restaurants locally.
The price for the tour is £2,795 including BA flights from the UK (£415 single supplement) plus £75 for the Chinese visa. Some passengers are already travelling from outside the UK so if you also live outside the UK we can tailor the price to exclude the BA flight or include another flight to join it.
Please call me and let me know if you are interested as soon as possible. Putting your name on a seat does not commit you but will hold the option for you for a few days.
Telephone me on +44 1702 333640 or +44 7866697583 to discuss it.
Join us.it can be a life changing place.