Beijing & Tibet with JMG Tibet Tours

Jeff Garrett, owner of JMG Tibet Tours (6001 Falls Cir. Dr., Ste. 301, Lauderhill, FL 33319; 866/548-4238, www.jmgtibettours.com), does an amazing job of coordinating all travel plans and keeping expenses down. I can’t say enough about the wonderful job that he did making my April 5-23, 2007, trip such a success. The cost of the tour, not including international airfare, was $2,895.

The tour was very well organized. Group members came and went, with up to 16 at times.

In Beijing we stayed at the Howard Johnson Paragon Hotel, across the street from a Starbucks coffee shop. Connected to the hotel is a large shopping center, and on the second floor of this is the Old Hong Kong Restaurant, where the food was very fresh, plentiful and inexpensive. More food than one could eat ran about $3-$4.

In Lhasa we stayed at the Kyichu Hotel, which is within walking distance of Barkhor Square and the wonderful Snowland Restaurant (Zang Yiyan Lu; phone 86 891-633-7323) — excellent, quick service, with meals running no more than $3-$4 each.

Also in Lhasa, the Dunya Restaurant (100 Beijing Dong Lu; phone 86 891 633374 or visit www. shiagatsetravels.com/dunya), within walking distance of the hotel, is another wonderful place to eat. It is run by a group of five, including a Dutchman, an American and a Tibetan, and all the food is fresh and, again, very inexpensive.

Incidentally, traveling from Beijing to Tibet on Air China, water bottles were allowed on the plane after an attendant unscrewed the cap and gave it a smell to see that it was water. U.S. airlines should take a lesson.

JULIE BAKER

Rapid City, MI