2 Americans had fantastic time in Tibet in mid-April, 2009

Hi Fisher. Sorry for the long delay. Since I've returned I've been catching up at work.
We had a fantastic time in Tibet. Overall the trip was a great success. With one exception, the trip went completely smoothly.
1) The guide in Xining was average. Not particularly knowledgeable. We never really felt like we understood what we were visiting. For example, we walked around the (nearly empty) Tibetan Medicine Museum, but all the signage was in Chinese and the guide couldn't provide decent explanations so it was a waste of time. Going to the mosque would have been better. He also didn't seem prepared on the meal situation.
2) Train was totally smooth. Soft sleepers good. You should remind people to bring food on the train, though.
3) Yak Hotel in Lhasa was perfect. Close to the action, clean rooms, beautiful roof-top terrace.
4) Guide in Lhasa was great. Local, Tibetan, knowledgeable, flexible. We would recommend her to anyone. There was only one problem…
5) She was totally unprepared for our bike tour. Not only does she not know how to ride a bike, but she had no idea where to get a decent bike rental. She actually tried to talk us out of going. When we insisted, it turned out that the only place she could find a bike was at the Lhasa Hotel which had not officially opened for the season. The bikes were in such bad shape that we had to abandon the ride. In what was otherwise a fantastic trip, that was a real disappointment. In the future, if you are going to charge for biking as part of the tour, you need to make sure your local guides are prepared to offer that.
In spite of that hiccup, I have shared your contact info with several friends who are thinking of going to Lhasa this year.
Best Regards,
Scott