On June 2012, we, a group of family of 13 with kids, teenagers and even two 75 years old grandmother ( one with back problem and the other with knee problem) , travel to Beijing and spend 4 nights there. We choose Catherine based on the great review she got on TA. And we are the living proof that those great reviews she had are REAL and TRUE.
On the night of arrival, our connecting flight from Hong Kong got delayed twice; the first one is due to queuing for take off (about 1 hour or so ). The second is when we are already in the air on our way to Beijing and there’s some issue of waiting for the clearance to fly in certain area. As we already know, the military control the air traffic in Mainland China, so we literally flying in circle for about 1 hour to wait for the clearance to pass that area.
After landing, right after switching on our smartphones, we got email saying that since we have not yet arrive as scheduled ( which is not our fault anyway), the hotel has to let go our booking. You can image how frustrated we are because at 23.00pm you got 13 people with no place to sleep.
So, in hoping that Cathy is not yet asleep, I called her and ask her to clarify the situation with the hotel and 10 minutes later, Cathy called and everything is OK, we still got all the room with specific details arrangement as we requested earlier. Nicely done , considering we have previously agreed that she will not be there to pick us up, because the driver can do that already.
During the tour, Cathy can get along very well with all the member of the groups. It is difficult to lead a group with diverse pace such as our family. You have to address the needs of adventures for the kids and teenagers, be very helpful to the parents.
More, you have to be very patient and understanding with the 2 grandmothers who had a slow pace in walking, with their every 10 minutes break to sit, and yet both still want to see everything. Not to mentioned her prompt action in finding my brother who got lost in Summer Palace….. Good Job Cathy !
She has the courtesy with enough leadership ability to keep the group moving along very well without being stressed out and exhausted or even bored to move from 1 site to another …. Not an easy job to do … And Cathy did an excellent job on it!!
Words just can’t describe the great time we have in Beijing with her ?? The kids loves her, and the teenagers feels at ease chatting with her…….
Me, my husband and all the parents are very thank full for her and the grandmothers misses he and still talk about her all the time. We have great time in Beijing and Catherine is the ingredients that make it all possible.