Testimonials

Tailor Made Great Wall & Fragrant Hill Tour

Salaam Hanna,

I just arrived back in Singapore this morning. I have actually filled in the form and given it to Tina, the guide at the end of the tour. You might want to ask her for the survey.

I also gave $450 to Tina for the driver and guide fees. It would be good in future if you could provide a receipt.

Overall, I enjoyed the experience. Tina was very good and took very good care of me. It was a bit too early for everyone but we managed to get some sleep in-between journey and Mr Tian the driver also managed to get some sleep when waiting for us on our tour.

Mr Tian was also very good driver as he knew a lot of the back road and avoided a lot of traffic and we had a smooth journey throughout. There was some traffic jam on highway on the return to Beijing from Mutianyu but Mr Tian managed to find alternative routes and we got back by 5.30 pm. Delayed by 30 minutes but it was okay because it could have been worse with the jam. I would use Mr Tian again, his driving was good and he is on time and schedule.

The air quality was not good on the day and so visibility was not good but I still enjoyed myself. We started with the mosque. Unfortunately, the ladies section had no lights and I had to pray in the men's area. We left soon after 5.30 am and headed for Fragrant Hill. We got to Fragrant Hill by 6.20 am. There was no traffic jam. It was good advice to go to Fragrant Hill first because by the time we finished and drove down, the traffic was bad going up the hill. We climbed up half way to the peak at Fragrant Hill, it was a good exercise and Tina was good in helping me with the climb and we saw the "sunrise".

We got to Aman Summer Palace early i.e. before 9.00 am and had breakfast together with Mr Tian. I think both Tina and Mr Tian enjoyed the new experience eating at Aman. There was a western waiter who helped to take my breakfast order to ensure that the food is prepared in a halal way. We explored the Amanresort after breakfast to see what the property is like.

We left Aman at about 10.00 am and drove to Yanqihu. Mr Tian drove past the Olympic village and saw the Bird's Nest stadium. We arrived at Yanqihu around 11.00 am and spend about an hour there. The drive was easy and no traffic. When we got to the Yanqihu Park, we were told that the Kempinski Hotel was off-limits because of the upcoming Apec Summit and it is closed for security reasons. Yanqihu Park has been done up very nicely for the Apec. I took a 3 minute speedboat ride to see a closer look of the hotel from the lake. There were not many tourists there and I would recommend that this be a destination that you offer to your customers in future because it is a very nice lake and after Apec and if the weather is clear, the hotel and the dome looks very impressive from the lake and hopefully visitors can stay and go to the hotel next time. I did my prayers at the park which was very pleasant and nice to pray.

From Yanqihu we decided to find a place nearby for lunch and saw a shop/residential area called Spring Legend Alpine Village.....and stopped there for lunch. There was no halal restaurant and the guide and driver had lunch at a nearby restaurant and I waited in the car. I brought some sandwiches and snack to eat. I also had a heavy breakfast at Aman, so was still quite full for lunch.

By 1.00 pm we headed for Mutianyu. The drive was less than an hour from the Yanqihu area and no traffic. We reached there before 2.00 pm and the timing was perfect because there were not many tourists queuing and we were able to get tickets and take the shuttle without having to wait. We took the cable car up to Great Wall - spend about 30 minutes up there and came down. By the time we finished, it was around 3.00 pm and we head back to Beijing city center.

Everything was on schedule and went according to plan.

I hope to return to China again and maybe do other trips within China. I am particularly interested in visiting Urumqi as I don't believe many tourists go there. Maybe next autumn when the autumn colors are nice. There was not much autumn colors at Fragrant Hill but Great Wall had more colors.

Thank you for helping to arrange and I would certainly want Tina and Mr Tian if I tour Beijing again. They make my journey very comfortable.

Best regards,

Sarina

Sarina Singapore Oct 19, 2014

Shanghai Suzhou & Hangzhou Tours

Assalamualaikum

Dear Brother Johan,

The tour guide Promise was very helpful and knowledgeable.   There was no problems in communication because there was Dr Thor in my group who speaks Mandarin.   The ICT sales in communicating with me has been excellent.  The driver was friendly and ever willing to accommodate our wanting to stop to go to toilet issues.  The hotel was excellent too.  The restaurants chosen had great food but the rest rooms inside the restaurants was not clean (the level of hygiene was poor which was disappointing because it was in a place where food was being prepared....Alhamdulillah none of us came down with food poisoning).   I would suggest that if a trip takes 3 hours to go there and to get back it is better to suggest to the tourists to spent a night at that place rather than have to rush back.

Thank you for a giving us a meaningful journey.  If all goes well I may decide to go to Beijing in 2015 for the same conference only this time in a different city (provided the issue with MH 370 gets resolved first).

Thank you, Wassalam

Prof Dr Adlina Suleiman

Prof Dr Adlina Suleiman Malaysia Apr 12 to Apr 14, 2014

AirAsia Chengdu Muslim Tour 4 Days

Assalamualaikum,

Our recent trip to China was a pleasant experience. We went to all the places as planned in our itinerary, and it was enjoyable as the tour guide is friendly and helpful. On our first day of the tour (the next day after our arrival in Chengdu), we were quite uncomfortable with the driver as he was grumpy and he drove impatiently. The tour guide was aware of this and we had a different driver for the second and third day of our tour. The second driver was much better and we were comfortable with him and the way he drive.

As for the hotel, the room was small but comfortable. Communication with the hotel staff was difficult as none of them can speak English. Furthermore the location of the hotel is far from any convenience store and muslim restaurants.

We have no comment on the meals. We understand Echo, the tour guide, was trying his best to select the best menu for us. The meals was acceptable.

Overall, we are satisfied with your service, from my first communication with Mr. Johan till our departure back to Malaysia. Alhamdulillah everything went smooth.

Thank you for the good service.

Sincerely,

Nor Aziah

Nor Aziah Malaysia Apr 13 to Apr 16, 2014

Xian Muslim Tour

Salaam Johan

Our tour guide in Xian was SNOW. She was the best tour guide anyone can have. She spoke perfect English she had a great attitude she was very kind she also helped us with our needs during the trip and she knew her history very well and she was very smart and also very courteous.

I recommend you use her for tour guide for all of your tours from now on she gives your company a very good reputation...

Ma Salaam

Ahmad Ullah

Ahmad Ullah America Mar 18 to Mar 21, 2014

Tailor-made Shanghai Beijing Tour

Assalamualikum Johan,

Firstly I'd like to thank you for the service during my trip in China and I might use your service again if I travel to Tibet.

In my last day, I asked receipt/invoice of my tour to Carol, but she did not have it. Can you please send the soft copy of receipt/invoice of my tour as I need it for office administration.  Looking forward to receiving the receipt/invoice

Wassalam,
Astiti Suhirman

Astiti Suhirman Indonesia Mar 30 to Apr 04, 2014

Guangzhou Shenzhen Muslim Tour 5 Days

Salam Johan,

Just want to say we had a great trip to China last week, thanks so much for the assistance and cooperation throughout the process. It was a pleasure dealing with you. Wishing you all the best for the future.

Best regards,
Shahid

Shahid Malaysia Mar 23 to Mar 27, 2014

Tailor-made Lanzhou, Linxia & Xian Tour

Hallo Mandy and Johan,

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to give the feedback on our recent trip to China. Let me introduce myself, my name is normala sharif one of the group member that goes to China together with Abdul Hazim, Abdul Khalim and Abdul hafiz. For your information we families. I am writing on behalf of my family and below is our feedback.

Lanzhou:
Fly to Lanzhou on 25 Dec 2013

Tour Guide; Lily is there to receive us at the airport on time. We were given warm greetings with a smile and was given an explanation the itinerary whilst we were on the way to the airport. She make sure that everything is clear and ask her if there is any other things that we would like to do. Very informative and professional in giving us all the information that is valuable for a tourist. She is very helpful and friendly, she even offer to take pictures for us. She tried her best to get us to visit the village and the college. She walk together with us through the Muslim market. Never feel tired in sharing the stories and history of the places that we visited. I must compliment her for her excellent service.

Hotel; Good location and comfortable. The restaurant serve 'halal' food which enable us to have proper breakfast instead of just bread and coffee.

Meals; Lunch and Dinner was in a big and decent restaurant. Lily took us to the best Halal restaurant available in Lanzhou and Linxia. Food was good and 4 dishes were served for us. The restaurants are clean.

Itenerary; The itenerary  in Linxia is excellent. The drive to the Muslim village on the mountain is beautiful. We even stop along the way to snap pictures of the mountain with snow. Even though we only have 1 day tour in Linxia but with the information given by Lily, we get to know the place better with all the history.

Driver; Mr Wang very friendly and accommodating. He us feel safe and comfortable. Very respectfull.

Xi an:
Arrive in Xi an on 27 Dec. guide and driver were there to fetch us.

Tour Guide; Snow was with us all the while. Always smile and friendly. Has a lot of stories. Informative and professional in handling her guest. She make sure that we are happy with our accommodation, she even came up to see the room when we complaint that the room is a bit small. We were briefed on the itenerary upon arrival and reminded us of the weather and advise us to wear enough clothing to keep ourself warm. Always checking whether the food is ok with us. She is a caring guide and respectfull.

Hotel; The hotel is good, unfortunately on the first night there is a sound of people drilling coming from upstairs which happen after 12 midnight and continue until 3:30am. We complaint at the reception and was ask to move into another room at 3:30am. The second room was rather small. The next day after we complaint about the size of the room then we we're move to another room. The first room the heater is not working. The second room, the drainage at the shower area clog.

Meal; meals were taken in a big and decent restaurant which is clean. The food were good and variety. 3/4 dishes per meal. We were consulted by the guide on what we would like to eat which I really appreciate.

Itenerary; the main attraction is the terra cota. The itenerary is relax and we have so much free time. It might be good for us as we are not that young but for younger tourist they might need to have more activities. Places like stone tablets museum should not be included as we do not understand the characters. Perhaps you could include some sight seeing on places slightly out of Xi an. The flight from Xi an to Beijing is too early, we have to leave the hotel at 7:30 and we have to wake up at 5 am to get ready.

Driver; Mr Pu, a young driver. Ok

Khalim Rashid

Khalim Rashid Malaysia Dec 21 to Dec 25, 2013

Day Tour to Suzhou

Assalamualaikum...

Dear Brother Johan,

As we are leaving Shanghai for home this afternoon, I would like to thank you for arranging the one-day Suzhou tour for me and my husband yesterday. We had a good time learning about the history of Suzhou and some information on Shanghai from Ellen. She's very good at her work and guided us through the whole journey along with our skillful driver Michael professionally. We enjoyed the tour very much.

Once again thank you and sorry for all the inconvenience that I may have caused you or Ellen. Please thank her for us.  May Allah give you and your company barokah. Amin.

Siti

Siti Hajar Singapore Feb 28, 2014

Kunming Mulsim Tour 4 Days

Salam Mandy,

We just came back after our wonderful vacation at Kunming. The tour guide (Stephen) was really a kind person and helpful. He was very detailed and communicative. The arrangement of all the facilities were fantastic except the Hotel. Compare to a 3 Star hotel, The Yingrong Impression Hotel is no where comparable. They knew that we were total 3 person even though we did not ask for the extra bed but we have only asked for an extra pillow also the tour guide requested them to provide an extra pillow but they did not. The arrangement for Lunch and Dinner were above our expectation but the breakfast not suitable for non-Chinese visitor. It would be better if you kindly look into those points. Otherwise it was a great Kunming tour indeed and we really enjoyed.

Please convey our sincere thanks to the Tour guide. Hope to get another good service from you in the future when we will plan to visit China again.

Best regards

Abdullah Al Mamun

The Abdullah Al Mamun Family Bangladesh Dec 25 to Dec 28, 2013

Tailor-made Yangtze River Cruise Muslim Tour.

Dear Johan

Planning our trip with IslamiChina and working with you has been such a pleasure. Your assistance, advice, prompt response and help in planning the self made tour was genuinely appreciated.

We were very satisfied with our guides in Hong Kong, Guillin and Beijing. You and Garry in Hong Kong had gone an extra mile to make our trip as comfortable and enjoyable as possible. Johan, your excellent command of the English language, wealth of knowledge and willingness to share the knowledge with us has left a lasting impression of China. We were overwhelmed by yours and Garry services with a smile, even after hours and late into the night.

The guide in Xian swopped around the itinerary, giving us less time at the Great Mosque and to explore the Muslim quarters. Despite our request to start early we began our day at 10:30am. We also found it surprising that we were not given a tour of the Great Mosque in Xian. It is suggested that should be included for all tourists.

The hotels were of a good standard and the service was good. Although we were booked in 4 and 5 star hotels language was a barrier with all the staff besides the staff at the front desk. The Yangtze River Cruise is highly recommended. After being in the cities it is the place to unwind and enjoy one of the most scenic places in China.

 For the adventurous there is a variety of Chinese food but for the others it might be a challenge. The restaurants were of a good standard and we enjoyed most meals.Your catering to our halaal needs certainly added to our satisfaction.

Johan, we would definitely recommend you and IslamiChina to our family and friends. A SPECIAL THANKS TO YOU FOR MAKING THIS A MEMORABLE AND ENJOYABLE EXPERIENCE.

Shukran
Wassalaam
The Moola Family
Ebrahim, Mariam,
Zohra, Aneesa and Fathima
South Africa, September 2013

Mariam South Africa Sep 08 to Sep 23, 2013