My tour group experience: 2-Day Tour to Wuxi and Hangzhou

I don't really enjoy being in a guided tour group when I am traveling; I don't know why although it seemed like an old-age and convenient way to travel and I do not have to worry about a single thing. From food to accommodation to the places to visit and schedule, everything is covered under the tour itinerary.
I guess I just like the part of doing research, planning, checking out good deals, making my own reservations and exploring the places of interest at my own leisure time and according to my own pace (usually everything is in a hurry when you are on a tour).
However, I may consider a tour group when I am older, as it is really a lot easier and transportation are all settled by them and all I need to do is pay.

I have recently had my experience with a tour group as I joined my mother-in-law who booked us a tour to visit two states in the Jiangsu province; Wuxi and Hangzhou.
It was a nice gesture, and I am not complaining to spend time to travel with her and my father-in-law, as my hubby had been doing previously.
I wouldn't say it was the most memorable experience, to travel with a tour group, I mean, as I felt despite them being a local tour, things were terribly disorganized and the tour guides just did not seem to be that hospitable, despite being knowledgeable. No complaints about the first tour guide though, but well, I will leave that in another story.

Signing up with a tour meant following a planned itinerary and our day started early as we were told to gather and meet at the Suzhou Bus station where we would be picked up by a local contact person to guide us to Wuxi; our first destination.


That translated to waking up at 4.00-5.00am and arriving at the bus station at 6.00am.
While we were waiting outside the bus station and freezing ourselves as it was really cold, I was impressed with the group of early bird vendors who have taken to the streets at that hour.

They seemed to be up and about, and I am sure this is their daily routine; as this is what they do for a living.

It was not that much warmer inside the bus station, as I have learnt while sitting and waiting for the bus and watching how people curl on their sides on the metal chairs. (I wonder why there were metal chairs instead of chairs with a little fabric to keep us well, a little warmer)


Our bus departs at 6.30am, from this gate.


The tour guide was punctual and he boarded the bus at one of the stops. Anyway, I was quite glad that the tour group was rather small, and the whole bus was quite spacious for that small crowd in our group.


We were told to wear a badge; which is to identify the tour group during our visit to the tourist attractions. That aside, it makes me feel like I am back in school!:p


Our tour guide, Xiao Jiang, was a rather serious guy, but a responsible one, I must say as he was quite diligent in his job and at the same time, sensitive to his group's needs; which to me deserved a mention here on my blog.

He was the tour guide to bring us through Wuxi's attractions, on the first day.

I will be covering on the interesting places we visited in Wuxi in my following posts...

Perth 2010 DAY 3: Special Feature on Wine Tasting at Lamont's Vineyard

This is a special post on Lamont's Vineyard which we went to; the last vineyard on our itinerary for the day.



Lamont's Vineyard was recommended by our travel guide book, as the preferred vineyard over the Sandalford.

Since we missed the vineyard tour in Sandalford, we decided to try our luck at Lamont's.


This was located in a rather quiet and lonely neighborhood within Swan Valley and is privately owned.
We were greeted by the friendly hosts who ushered us in and started chatting with us like we were old friends.

Scott; was our host for the day, and he was just the best person to tell you about wines.


I have to admit, I am totally new at this and I was rather conservative initially, but my curiosity and research for years on wine made me ask him question after question and Scott just initiated a simple wine tasting session for us as well.

He was patient and really kind, and introduced nice and not too strong-tasting wines to first-timers like us.


The first he poured for us was Champagne!~
(2008 Methode Champenoise)

It was just the right wine for us, don't you think, with our recent engagement, it was like Scott knew about it (no, we didn't tell him at all) and he just told us about Champagne and how to tell the fine quality.

I am not really good with alcohol and I could feel the strong scent and taste of alcohol as I took my first sip.
It was sparkling and bubbly; as all champagnes are designed to be which made it the one to be used in all celebrations and special occasions.

Next, was a white wine (2010 White Monster)


The next one which I was offered to sample was the 2010 Mt Barker Riesling



This was supposed to have a lemon zesty scent/taste about it and goes well with seafood.
Scott even prepared some prawns for me to taste; and taught me to taste the wine by taking a small sip first, then take a small bite of the prawn and then sip the wine again.



I felt that the wine sort of cleansed the palates of the prawn taste when I sipped it after the prawns.
It further left a citrusy and lemony scent lingering on my tongue, a very unique experience.


It was the effect that Scott said would take place with the wine as well, so yeay, I passed the wine tasting test, LOL!

Although I was not really up for more wine, I could not bear to disappoint the kind host who was just so willing and helpful to share his knowledge and their lovely labor of wines that I attempted a few more sips of their wine.

The Bunyip Rose

This had a rather light and flowery scent; as the name suggests, there was a fragrant rose scent and also fruity taste with it (promegranate like)

Scott also constantly checked with us on our tasting despite the crowd of customers in the shop by then.
He asked about our preferences in taste, and whether we liked sweeter wines, etc.

When I expressed my interest in the knowledge of red wine, he recommended me the best red wine in the house; their 2008 Black Monster



To be frank, I was only interested in the making of red wines because they somehow, always fascinated me for some reason which I could not fathom.

Scott was explaining the art of making red wine and also some trivia about wine.


Their red wine was rich and rather smooth in texture, that is my opinion.
(I am no expert in wines)



I could not take it much more, but Scott saved the best for last.
(Scott just told us to pour away mouthfuls of wine we could not finish, as it was a winery and there are no rules that we must finish the wine. That was a really good tip and healthy for non-wine drinkers like us)

The last and one of the finest wines I have tasted is the Navera

This is also the smallest bottle of the lot and yet, it left the most memorable taste on my tongue.
It was quite sweet but was very rich and luscious as it glides down the throat.



The scent of alcohol was not really that strong, which made it very pleasant for drinking and it was distinctively sweet with the taste of apricots and raisins.
It was definitely one of the best wines I have drank and for the day =)

It tasted even better after adding ice cubes into it, as recommended by Scott~


Scott's words of wisdom


I had the opportunity to be given a private guided tour into the wine making cellar by Scott and he explained in detail and even allowed me to take photos of the place.
However, out of respect for Lamont's privacy, I will not be posting a lot of photos of the wine cellar.



My face was quite red although I only had small sips of the wine. That is supposed to be a good thing right, because it means that the wine evaporate and dispersed really fast without harming the liver.

I believed I looked drunk!

The wine at Lamont's may not be the world's best yet, but like Scott said, their wines are FULL OF LOVE and one can really taste it through every sip.






I can second that, I am truly touched by the kind hospitality provided by each and everyone of them at Lamont's and special thanks to Scott who spent so much time teaching me every little thing about wine and also giving me that short guided tour through the cellar.
He wanted to bring me through the detailed tour through the vineyards to the cellar to the shop as well, but unfortunately their weekends were usually busy and it would be better if I was there on a weekday.

I will remember that kind offer, and I might just take him up on it the next time.
I will make an appointment the next time, but I may not be able to taste wine anymore as I have just discovered after my maiden wine tasting that I was allergic to alcohol.

It only takes one day to convert a non-alcoholic to one who drinks and to one who is allergic.
It is my first and last time, but I still want to thank Scott for making my trip memorable with his excellent hospitality!

Cheers~

For more information on Lamont's, please check out their website here