07 Oct 2017
Unimpressed, traffic was heavy but there was no need for the driver to get agitated and get out of his car shouting in Chinese. Put us on edge for the rest of the trip. When we got to the wall we were told it was 40RMB each to get the bus or the same price for him to park the car. That was not mentioned in the info pack but we paid it anyway. We did have free time at the wall and that was fine. When we returned to meet the driver he did acknowledge us, but was playing cards. So I suggested we got a beer and waited until his hand finished. I didn't want to upset him. On exiting the parking area he had our 80RMB ready to pay the car park charges but was waived through without paying, we did not get our money back. On returning to Beijing I was very surprised to see our hotel and he just dropped us there. After previously seeing what he was like in traffic I did not feel able to approach him and request to be taken to the summer palace as per our itinerary. Very disappointed as we only had 2 days in Beijing. It is possible this is not the sort of tour you might get and we were unlucky. Oh and he did not speak a single word other than to organise our tickets.