
| TRAINS & TRAVEL P.O. BOX 10625 RENO, NEVADA 89510-0625 Chris@traintrips.biz Rail Tours Manager. For question regarding tour itineraries and details. Deborah@traintrips.biz Office Manager: Accounting |
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1-800 359-4870 USA 1-800 752-1836 CANADA 1-800 266-8751 FAX (530) 836-1944 |
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Revelation Journeys is pleased to have offered annual China Rail tours since 2005. Within China, we work closely with CHINA BY RAIL INTERNATIONAL who provides bi-lingual guides, arranges for train and boat reservations as well as our careful drivers, hotels, and special needs.
All major expenses within China are covered, including all meals . Your most important expenses are: Air from and to home, China visa, and tips money . A more detailed information page will be sent upon booking, outlining what to pack, precautions, and tips to prepare in order to make your journey the most pleasant possible. The itineraries below are subject to change depending upon updated schedules, the actual operation of steam, and other factors. DAY 1 WEDNESDAY March 14: Independent Arrivals into Pudong Airport, SHANGHAI (timed to take advantage of mid-week lowest fares). We will meet you, then ride the 262 MPH MAG LEV into town, or option to take taxi. Hotel Rayfont Nanpu is near the Expo grounds close to Nanpu Bridge, with an excellent restaurant nearby plus a modern shopping mall. Location is in a delightful older neighborhood, safe to walk the area. DAY 2 THURSDAY March 15: Shanghai: Yuyan Gardens, the Expo Site, free time for shopping or walking along the Bund, evening one hour river cruise to see the brilliant lights (all refitted with new LED for Expo 2010). DAY 3 FRIDAY MARCH 16: Fast Train (but not the fastest…). 4 hours to WUHAN. Afternoon visit to Yellow Crane Tower, from where we see trains passing immediately beneath and crossing the "First Yangtze Bridge" built in 1957. Stay tonight at five-star Shangri-La Hotel, with its famous huge paintings in the lobby. This section covers the alternate choice to spend additional time on SHIBANXI NARROW GAUGE. (For Main Tour, skip to March 17). March 16 we depart Wuhan at 17:20 aboard train T264. March 17, arrive Chengdu 10:50 and transfer to Shibanxi (2-3 Hr). We will ride the afternoon train up to Bagou, where our guest house is situated. No autos or high rises, just the 1950s era preserved old town. Peach blossoms, yellow rape seed and flowers make this the favorite time to visit. Weekends are busy with special tour trains. During these four days you may ride the trains, walk the tracks in search of good photo locations, explore the river walk, visit the exhibition mine (one mile from Bagou at end of line), observe push cars at the active mine, see YueJin Mine with its battery electrics, and much more. We should also be able to visit the workshop, whose forge fabricates even the track spikes needed. Some meals will be freshly prepared in small trackside homes; often these are the best of the trip. Much more info will come with your brochure. On the 21st the main group arrives, and we will move to the lower end of the line into the larger Jiayang Hotel in SanJin town, 21 &22.. DAY 4 SATURDAY MARCH 17: Train to Yichang, K8084 Dp. 7:46, Ar. 13:00. Yichang is at the end of a branch line. City tour and cultural artifacts, including many discoveries unearthed during construction of Three Gorges Dam nearby. Tonight we settle into our five-star cruiser, ready to set off at first light. DAY 5-7 SUNDAY-TUESDAY MARCH 18-20: Three Glorious Days on the "River Through the Middle of the Earth"! The ChangJiang, or Long River. Each day there will be shore visits to see the Dam, float along a tributary in small craft, and visit Fengdu (The Ghost City), and White Emperor City. If you don't care to navigate all the steps at the latter, pay the chair man to carry you - you will be amazed how carefully and quickly they go about their task. Meals are buffet style, and there is always the open sun deck for jogging or morning Tai Chi, as well as entertainment each evening. You may make some friends among the 300 or so passengers from around the world. DAY 8 WEDNESDAY MARCH 21: We arrived into the bright lights of Chongqing last evening; now it is time to say farewell to our hard-working staff, many of whom depend heavily on tips from passengers ($40 is appropriate). Many of these workers were displaced from villages when the dam was constructed. This morning we take a ride on some unique local transportation: the ropeway across the Yangtze, and the riverbank-hugging monorail, both offering great vistas. This afternoon we ride express train D5111, only two hours to Chengdu! Dp. 14:25, arrive 16:30. Then, highway transfer to Shibanxi, mostly via expressway. Dinner en route, or upon arrival about 7-7:30 PM. DAY 9-10 THURSDAY-FRIDAY MARCH 22-23: We will enjoy two days to ride and watch the most delightful narrow gauge railway in China. There are four passenger round trips daily, each way end-to-end taking 75 minutes with a quick turnaround at the upper end of the line. Our hotel in SanJin sits near the YueJin station along the lower end of the line, where the electrified portion ends. Above that, steam hauls the passenger and occasional coal or bamboo trains. Late afternoon, March 23, we will transfer to Chengdu. Hotel here for two nights. DAY 11 SATURDAY MARCH 24: - Giant Panda Breeding and Research Center will be visited in the AM, when bears, including red pandas, are most likely to be active. In the PM we will visit JinLi old sector of the city, or at your leisure. DAY 12 SUNDAY MARCH 25: - Train K853 sets off at 8:14. I selected an early train to maximize daylight viewing along the northern portion of the spectacular Chengdu-Kunming Railway, which starts to become very scenic about noontime. This line represents a legendary feat of engineering. 40% of the line is over bridges (653) or in tunnels (427). Opened in July 1970 and electrified a decade ago, the 1,085 Km route winds along endless valleys and through numerous mountains, in places looping over itself. Our soft class sleeper (four bed private rooms) is adjacent to the diner - good Sichuan cooking! (Not everything is spicy… we will tailor menus to your likes). DAY 13 MONDAY MARCH 26: - Early arrival into Kunming at 6:28. Since we are far west it will just be getting light. Golden Temple, then, following lunch, to Stone Forest National Park with its weird rock formations you may wander through. DAY 14 TUESDAY MARCH 27: - A short train ride out and back along the meter gauge line which used to extend into Vietnam. Depart at 7:25 and return at 10:00, including one hour layover at the turnaround. A very worthwhile rail museum (in my opinion much better presented than the larger one in Beijing) is right at the station. Following lunch, option of city tour or time on your own. Train K394 heads east at 19:34 toward Guilin. DAY 15 WEDNESDAY MARCH 28: - Ar. 12:37 after a morning reveling in the karst (limestone) gum-drop mountain vistas. Sightseeing today may include Reed Flute Cave, and other places of geological and historic interest. Evening option (own expense) to watch Cormorant fisherman going about their intriguing and time-honored craft. DAY 16 THURSDAY MARCH 29: - The five hour LI RIVER trip is hailed as a highlight by nearly every visitor (if it does not rain…). The round top peaks are mesmerizing as they roll past, each turn revealing new vistas. Time at end to stroll the market before the bus returns us to town. Our last sleeping car journey awaits us aboard T78, Dp. 19:11. DAY 17 FRIDAY MARCH 30: - Shanghai Arrival at 15:07 and transfer to hotel. Time to relax before and after our farewell supper. DAY 18 SADTURDAY MARCH 31: - Flights for home -
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PRICES PRICES ARE PER PERSON Double room occupancy..............................$3998 Single room supplement.............................$ 998 Narrow Gauge Option................................$ 798 Deposit to hold space..................…...........$ 500 Final Payment due by December 14, 2011 ALL MEALS INCLUDED |
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TOUR PRICE: All tour prices are corrected to November 1, 2010 and are subject to change without notice, at any time. All prices based on double room
occupancy. We reserve the right to change tour prices if necessary.
PRICES DO NOT INCLUDE: Personal items, meals not listed in the itinerary, laundry, phone calls, excess baggage charges, rental cars, side tours, insurance, passport fees including visas, vaccinations, gratuities, medical costs, tips to train or motor coach staff, extra tour costs due to unanticipated changes in the itinerary for reasons beyond our control, including weather, travel conditions, or cancellations, government intervention, sickness, political disputes, and failure of transportation or other causes beyond our control.
TRAVEL AND HEALTH DOCUMENTS: A valid passport is required for our international tours. In some cases a visa is also needed. Consult your
health professional for the recommended immunizations and documents. Trains and Travel International , here on referred to as TTI, assumes no other responsibility if a client is refused entry into a country. Cost and cancellation fees will be paid by the client in the event they do not have valid documents.
CHANGE OF ITINERARY: We reserve the right to substitute, alter or modify the tour if any unexpected and unforeseen conditions beyond our control
preventing the completion of such. Conditions can include weather, train schedules, equipment, motive power, revision of train consist, train delays, labor strikes, political disputes, derailments, closure of a rail line, break down of railroad or motive power equipment, railroads not honoring contracts and bus equipment problems. We will always endeavor, in each case, to provide substitutes, if any changes take place. TTI is not responsible for canceled trains,
delays, hotel rooms, route changes or missed connections, for any reason whatsoever. We will not give refunds if such conditions or cancellations take place.
TRAVEL INSURANCE: Travel Insurance is mandatory for all tours. This insurance will cover and give the tour members many benefits and protection. Benefits include baggage, accident, life, trip cancellation, sickness, bankruptcy, strike, weather conditions, employer termination or layoff effecting you or
a person sharing the room with you, terrorist incident in your departure city or city of destination, jury duty, you are subpoenaed, hijacked, or quarantined,
your residence or traveling companion residence is rendered uninhabitable, emergency military duty, traffic accident, single supplement upgrade when your traveling companion cancels their trip, trip interruption, trip delay, missed connections, itinerary change, emergency medical benefits, medical evacuation, baggage delay and loss, pre-existing medical conditions if enrollment is within 21 days of your invoice date, burglary of you or your companion before departure, felonious assault of you or your traveling companion before departure, 24 hour hotline emergency assistance, emergency cash transfer and more.
We will supply you with a travel insurance brochure with rates and application when we mail you the invoice after trip deposit is received. Travel insurance protects your vacation investments and is a very good investment for your travel and vacation money. US law allows us to offer this insurance to all persons
Worldwide. We will accept a "refusal of travel insurance wavier" if you do not wish to purchase any travel insurance. FOR CUBA: Because of the nature of these tours travel insurance is MANDATORY for everyone. We have a special American travel insurance company that will insure all folks going to Cuba on legal US approved tours. This insurance information will be sent to you upon receiving your booking.
RESPONSIBILITY AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY: Accepting your payment represents an agreement that you understand all the conditions, to
be a member of our tours. TTI gives notice that they are acting agents for the owners, contractors and suppliers, providing the transportation and all related travel services and assume no responsibility for injury, sickness, damage, loss, additional expenses accidental delay or irregularities which may be caused through willful or negligent acts or omissions on the part of the companies providing or engage in transportation, accommodations or services related to the accomplishment of the tour. Nor do we assume responsibility for natural disasters, social or political upheaval, acts of terrorism or acts of nature. TTI reserves
the right to substitute hotels, tour leaders, equipment, motive power, trains, onboard accommodations, routes and to alter the itinerary when deemed necessary without notice. The right is also reserved to cancel any trip or train prior to departure for any reason . TTI is not responsible for expenses incurred by tour members in preparing for the tour, including non-refundable airline tickets, visa fees, planning, phone calls, or any other expenses. TTI reserves the right to decline to accept, or ask to leave a tour, any person whose actions impede the daily operations of a tour, welfare or enjoyment of other tour members. TTI cannot give any refunds for any unused services. The terms contained herein shall serve as a waiver of liability to TTI. Assumption of risk on behalf of the client, their heirs, executor, administrators, successors, and assigns for any and all known persons injuries
RESERVATIONS: A deposit is due in our office within 14 days after you make your bookings. Full payment is due 90 days before departure. You will
receive an invoice, reservation form and current tour bulletins with your confirmation and travel insurance forms. No notice for final payment will be sent
to you. It is your responsible to make the final payment on-time.
CANCELLATIONS: TTI does not accept cancellations on the phone. Cancellations must be received by postal mail, email or fax before any refunds will be considered. Allow enough time if sending your written notice by US mail postal system. When a written cancellation is received in the Trains and Travel
office this will be the effective date of the cancellation. Please take note that it can take up to 60 days to to process some refunds. Cancellation refund rules:
100 days prior to the start of any tour you will receive a full refund less a $100 per person administration fee. 99 to 61 days before the departure of any tour
there will be a 80% cancellation penalty based on the full cost of the tour. Cancellations received 60 or less days before the start of any tour will not receive
any refund. GW Travel Ltd has their own cancellation rules and these will apply. If booking on GW Travel Ltd ask for cancellation rules.
PRE-DEPARTURE TOUR BULLETINS: Tour bulletins will be sent to clients that have booked on tours operated by TTI. Bulletins include travel info related to the tour. Final documents will be sent out about two to three weeks before a tour begins. We offer tours operated by other companies and they may
or may not send out tour bulletins and updates and most send out final documents only one to two weeks prior to the start of their tours.
PAYMENTS: Payments can be made with personal check drawn on a U.S. Dollar account, money order for U.S. Dollars, bank wire transfer, or credit card.
We accept Visa, Master Card, Discover or American Express. Final payment for all tours is due 90 days prior to departure. If final payment has not been received 7 days after the due date, a late fee of $50 per week will apply.
SINGLE SUPPLEMENT: All prices are based on double room occupancy. We will try and match you with a roommate if one is available. If not, you may
be charged the single room supplement listed for the tour you are booked on. Single rooms may not be available in some remote locations and on some trains.
TOUR REFUNDS: If for any reason tour members amend or delete any arrangements during travel, and leave the tour on their own, we cannot give any refunds on unused portions of the tour. If buses and trains are cancelled by the carrier or there is a labor strike or they go out of business, we cannot be held
responsible and we cannot give refunds. Travel insurance will protect you for any of these reasons. If TTI needs to cancel any tour everyone will receive a
full refund. Please take note that in some cases refunds can take up to 60 days to process.
PARTIAL TOURS: We will allow passengers to join or leave a tour at certain points. It will all depend on the tour and the conditions. Give us a call and
we will try and work up a custom option for you.
MILEAGE COLLECTORS: Mileage collectors please take note that TTI does not cater just to mileage collectors. We cater to all folks that enjoy trains and
Rail journeys. We give strong warning that itinerary and route changes do happen and this is totally beyond our control when it does. If the only reason that
you would want to book a tour is to collect the rare mileage, you need to understand that possible route changes do happen.
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