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Our tours and cafe are recommended by the Lonely Planet Tibet (8th edition, April 2011). (Page 33 and Page 73)


COMMENTS FROM OUR PREVIOUS GROUP MEMBERS FOR THE TOUR ARRANGED BY SPINN CAFE, LHASA, TIBET

 

 

For anyone interested in travelling to Tibet, I would strongly recommend Pazu¡¯s services. He did a great job organising our visit to Tibet and was very sensitive to our needs as parents.

 

Karen Maric and her family (Australia)

http://karenmaric.fatcow.com/2012/08/19/some-tips-for-parents-travelling-with-small-kids-to-tibet/

 

 

The trip was absolutely wonderful and we had such a great time. I can honestly say that Kalsang was the best guide we could have possibly hoped for - he was so patient, knowledgeable and so calm in a potential crisis, when Holly had to be get down quickly off Kailash when she got a bit of altitude sickness.

 

Also, Pasang (our driver), was really good, he was also a great companion throughout the trip (especially during the Kora around Mt Kailash - which I ended up completing in two days due to Holly's altitude sickness). They both worked really well together, and seemed to be a great team - I think if you could pair those two up more often, that would be great.

 

I would 100% recommend the same driver to other travellers. The driving was excellent, he was really patient and careful. The driver and guide worked really well together, they really got on, and listened to each other (and us).

 

The tour guide Garong (Kelsang, aka Garong) was excellent, and would definitely recommend the same to others (it was a real adventure through a true wilderness). The guiding service again, I could not rate highly enough.

 

Your handling of the tour was also higher than five stars. Your advice for the trip and the time in which you responded to my initial emails made me choose you (all the other agencies that I contacted took sometimes days to get back to me, as opposed to you, who responded to me within the hour).

 

In a very challenging environment, you were able to provide excellent service. It is everything we could have hoped for.

 

The whole tour was brilliant. We loved Kailash and would recommend anyone to go and visit the area. What really made it was the great company provided by our guide and driver. It was sad to see them go at the border.

 

The weather was perfect, the guiding and driver was perfect - we could not have hoped for a better tour. Anyway, thanks again to you and Oat for organising this, and I wish you well in the future.

 

Alaric Parsons and Holly Matthews (United Kingdom)

 

 

We have just arrived back from China. The Tibet section of our travels went very well, but only because of the help of Kong at Spinn cafe. He was terrific and helped us beyond the call of duty by arranging train tickets for us and changing the schedule when we were held up for a day...nothing seems to be too much trouble for Kong and he speaks fluent english which is a huge help. It also helps to have a friendly face in Lhasa who you can ask about anything, from the restaurants to local prices etc. I cannot reccomend Spinn Cafe highly enough... thanks Kong for all your help and friendship... long may you prosper.

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g294222-i6446-k4405655-l35588163-Looking_for_partners_for_a_Lhasa_Overland_tour_in_August-Tibet.html (#24)

 

Simon and Carol (Johannesburg, South Africa)

 

 

We just came back from Tibet and used a company called Spinn cafe . They were really good , replied to all our enquiries quickly and were reasonably priced. We had a brilliant Tibetan guide and can't speak highly enough of them.

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g294223-i8162-k3933884-Which_travel_company_is_good_for_tibet_travel-Lhasa_Tibet.html (#3)

 

Jubob66 (Manchester, United Kingdom)

 

 

We miss you, too! We loved our experience in Tibet with you and am happy to share comments. We would absolutely recommend our driver Pempa, he is more than full marks!  He was a wonderful, safe driver, always very pleasant and helpful with luggage, getting in and out of vehicle, stopping whenever and wherever we wanted a photo op, and even giving Ethan a hit of oxygen at EBC!  I saw him checking out the vehicle every morning before we left; we always felt safe with him.  He was terrific - I hope you use him again and often!

 

Likewise for our tour guide Kelsang, full marks+!  He was very knowledgable about the culture of Tibet; we learned so much from him!  His manner is delightful - he has a great sense of humor, was always patient, very professional, kept all the permits and paperwork well-organized, and  moved at a good pace for us. His love for Tibet and the Tibetan people was such a joy to be part of!  Anybody would be lucky to have him  as a tour guide.

 

Kong, it was a very lucky day for us when we chose you to arrange our tour.  I contacted a number of agencies at the start, and did as much Internet research as I could.  Something about you grabbed me from the start.  Objectively, I was impressed with your prompt responses, cool website, obvious knowledge and the fact that you use Tibetan guides/drivers.  I reviewed posts you had made on Lonely Planet Thorntree and found you were always intelligent, well-spoken and to the point.  I loved your story - biking to Lhasa.  And there was something intangible that sealed the deal; I can only say that your personality comes across in your written communication and you are truly such an interesting and unique person that I just felt you were the guy for us.  You are far more than a 5 stars in our book!  You run a very professional and impressive business.

 

What we liked most in this tour? Allegra - "Everything!"   Ethan - "I really liked seeing the monasteries and seeing Pazu Kong!"  William - "The drive through the Himalaya and the grand monasteries."    Laurie - "The warmth of the Tibetan people, the cool, fresh mountain air, and sunrise at Everest."

 

PS: Laurie¡¯s family also posted the following comments to Tripadvisor.com.

 

l  We just returned from our Asia trip, spent 10 days in Tibet in June. We used Spinn Cafe and can enthusiastically recommend Pazu Kong. As you may be aware, the timing in June was precarious at best, and, in fact, we literally got one of the last permits issued the evening of June 13. The next day, permits were shut down. Through it all, Kong was immediately responsive, optimistic yet realistic, and encouraged us not to give up even when our original date to fly from Beijing came and went. He stayed on top of the situation and, when we got our permit, moved very quickly to overnight the paperwork and arrange travel to Lhasa. The trip was flawless - great guide, great driver, both Tibetan. Kong is a real gem, and it was a joy getting to know him. We hope to return to Tibet and look forward to working with him again!!

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com.my/ShowTopic-g294222-i6446-k4602019-Group_tour_to_tibet_any_recommendations_on_travel_companie-Tibet.html#save34652923 (#9)

 

Laurie, William, Allegra and Ethan Hill (Florida, USA)

 

 

I would recommed the driver to other travellers.  He was very jovial and friendly and made the experience enjoyable.  He drove slower than everyone else on the road, but consequently, I think that made him a better driver and I felt safer.  I don't think there was a time where I think I was afraid of his driving.

 

I would also recommend the tour guide to other travellers.  She was a little shy, but was incredibly knowledgeable about our trip and what we wanted to do.  She was very friendly and loved learning about us and vice versa.  I had a lot of fun talking with her and learning about Tibet. 

 

Well, personally, my Tibet trip far exceeded my expectations and that was due mainly to the hospitality and friendliness that you had provided at Spinn Cafe.  I felt like I was at home in Lhasa and that is a very special thing to feel when you are thousands and thousands of kilometers from home.  I thought that you handled the tour arrangement just as well as I would expect any tour operator to handle it.  I picked you over others because you seemed like a real person as opposed to someone working behind a computer desk punching numbers for a big company to get his paycheck.

 

I had full trust in you, I felt that our communication was good.  If there ever was a miscommunication, I think we both cleared it up quickly.  The communication I had with you was another reason as to why I chose you to arrange our trip as opposed to someone else.

 

The thing I liked most about our tour was hanging out in Lhasa.  You really made me feel at home and I loved going to the restaurants you took us to and all the people we met, and it was an all around great time.  You play a good daddy for us out-of-continent folk, haha. Spinn Caf¨¦ is definitely the best place to hang out in Lhasa. (I would venture to say it's one of the best places in the WORLD to hang out.)

 

If I were to do this tour again, I probably would also mainly just hang out in Lhasa because I have seen most other things, and there is nothing wrong with going out to elaborate 20-course dinners with Pazu Kong!

 

Thanks again for everything you did for our trip, it was greatly appreciated!  Hopefully, we can come back again sometime!

 

 

Sunil Gopal (Arizona, USA) and Robin Richardson (Illionois, USA)

 

 

An Indonesian blog recommending Spinn Caf¨¦:  http://www.acupofjenns.com/2011/07/spinn-cafe.html

I really had fun hanging out with you at your cafe and at the swamp! I wish we had more time to explore tibet with you.

 

We really liked the driver. its more comforting to know that he's a tibetan so he knows the local terrain. not to mention, he drove really well. no speeding or sudden jerks or dangerous cuts.

 

We would also recommend Dorjee (our tour guide). He's a very pleasant fellow who is not overbearing and very attentive, punctual and helpful. He also has a good command of english (I overheard some french tour's tour guide, her english was terrible ). We really liked spending time with him and he's very easy going and knowledgeable about literally everything.

 

I was very pleased with the way you handled the arrangement. I value efficiency and you were always quick and responsive over email or by phone and most importantly you were transparent and clear regarding prices and procedure, i liked that very much. i chose spinn cafe for its price, i felt that it was the most reasonable and transparent.

 

I found spinn cafe's website on google. i actually went through all the pages of the search engine and looked at each tour operator before finally choosing you guys.

 

Zhang Yumeng (Singapore) and Natalie Ng Un Tong (United Kingdom/Hong Kong)

 

 

Our driver is excellent. He has good knowledge of the roads and good driving skills. He is quite funny too.

 

Our tour guide Penpa is excellent too. He is very knowledgeable, an we learned so much about the religion, culture and history of Tibet from him during the tour.

 

We learned about you and Spinn Cafe from a friend and then we did some internet research about you and were happy with we found. Overall we are happy about your service.

 

The things we like most in our tour, the Tibetan, the tour guide, the driver and you - and of course the food and drinks at Spinn Cafe.

 

Kelvin, Lilian, Stephen Tao, Wandy (Hong Kong and United States)

 

 

I am very thankful for your help in organizing our trip in Tibet. We all had a great experience.

 

First of all, you response very fast and answered all the questions. I found, you and your team are very effective. Especially, when I got panic about the permit at the last day. Your team assisted me very well.

 

Our driver Kigae is highly experienced, punctual, professional. He drove really well and knows all the curve and bends of Tibetan streets. He also found the best photo spots for us. At Kulu-la pass, he stopped before and drove pass slowly the main parking so that we do not have to pay for the tickets. We were thankful. I would highly recommend him to other travellers. :-D

 

We were impressed with our tour guide Tenzin Yangchin's knowledge about Tibet's history, Buddhism, culture, geography, ..basically everything. She made sure that we got what we needed. She took us around Lhasa by bus, as we wished. And it was a great experience and fun to be packed with locals in a bus. I would also highly recommend her to other tourists.

 

Your arrangement was great. Very efficient. I liked complementary drinks at spinn cafe.

 

I found by from a blog of Thai girls travelling to Tibet. They mentioned Spinn Caf¨¦.

 

The reason that I chose your service is that we had freedom to choose places to visit, hotels and restaurants. Everything went really well.

 

Jarunan Panyasantisuk, Thirachai Panyasantisuk, Sarawut Panyasantisuk, Kitti Panyasantisuk (a family from Thailand)

 

 

Thank you for the great trip!

 

Our tour guide Tenzin Yangchin was very good, especially background information about the culture were excellent.

 

The trip arrangement was very good, and especially the detailed background information were helpful.

 

It was a really good package and also from the schedule perspective it worked out fine.

 

I found you on Google, and your tour had the best background information on the website. This builds trust that you know what you are doing.

 

Thank you again.

 

Adrian Fiechter (Switzerland) and Sanna Lindeman (Finland)

 

 

I would absolutely recommend the same driver, I really like his driving style and is easy to see his experience.

 

I definitively would recommend Tenzin Sangpo, he is a great tourist guide with a lot of knowledge in religious matters.

 

Your service was just what we were looking for and I would rate it with a 5 (out of 5).

 

Thank you very much for everything, you will have my full advice for any that would like to make this trip!

 

Mauricio Baltodano and Indiana Morales (Costa Rica)

 

 

Tomorrow we are leaving Tibet, thank you for your kindness. We are appreciated for your helping and this is our memorable trip. By the way our tour guide Tenzin Yangchin, she is very good guide for us. We will recommend your tour for our friends.

 

Putsada Sriphet and Puitinai Buttasen (Thailand)

 

 

I realise I am EXTREMELY late with this feedback, but I have just recently been asked by a friend about travel to Tibet and recommended Spinn caf¨¦, so I wanted to provide this feedback.

 

I really enjoyed having our tour guide Garong, a real local who knew local places to eat. Perfect.

 

What we like most about tour guide, our guide (everything from the way we were picked up at the airport, to when we were taken back), the Spinn Caf¨¦ itself and of course you, everyone made the entire experience something I won't forget (even in writing this almost 12 months later, it's like only yesterday!)

 

It was really a perfect trip, we had the right amount of things on the itinerary for our trip, a good mix of places and especially appreciate your taking some time out to talk with Dan and myself... I really can't fault it.

 

I would have to say of the tour, the most memorable part was the wetlands at the end, relaxing, very much something that has stuck in my memory, it was a great way to end our trip.

 

I hope that you, and the Spinn caf¨¦ are all well, mate. I know in the future if I have any friends interested in going on a trip to Tibet, I will definitely recommend Spinn and yourself for it.

 

Take care.

 

Patrick MacDonald (Australia)

 

 

Professional, well planned, friendly, very knowledgeable. Your arrangement was excellent.

 

Dan Curtis (Australia)

 

 

Our driver was very good, no English but his driving was great, he was very patient and he was good at mentioning some area for us to take picture to Tenzin.

 

As for the guide Tenzin she also was very good, she was always willing to go the extra miles.

 

As for you it is a big 5+, we were very pleased with you last time and you did not disappointed us this time either. We like your efficiency and communication. We would definitely recommended you to anyone.

 

So thanks again, we had a great time and hopefully we come back to Tibet again and if so we will contact you.

 

Micheline & Atsushi (Canada)

 

 

Im pleased to give my opinion. Here are our thoughts.

 

We would recommend this driver. The driving is good, not too slow or fast. He is helpful on what he can such as carrying our luggages there and there. We are somehow feeling that he is nice :-)

 

We would recommend this tour guide as well. He has done his job decently. He has been answering to our many questions and make us understand about things more. We know that sometimes our questions are such detailed. He is nice and friendly. He is considered and caring; remembering what we like to eat, for example.

 

I personally and actually chose you as our tour agent because when i first emailed you you make me comfortable to communicate with. I did emailed others too. But i didnt even compare you to other tour after the first email. :-) so just wanna say that the first impression is very important to me. What we were looking for is a local tour which can make us happy and fun with an acceptable price. Overall rate would be 5 (out of

 

We love the knowledge of our tour guide. We are people who do homework before came here. The guide really help to fulfil our questions and understanding. It makes us understand and have more feeling toward the culture, society, and religion of tibet. So far we enjoy your service and happy with the trip.

 

We found you on Pantip website, and word of mouth. :-)

 

Natladda Denkovitkit (khun Oil), Supaporn Tangjitathithan, Nattapat Masvanich, Napapan Nilasri, Chompunut Wongchitvutikrai, Jastikar Lertpaibul (Thailand)

 

 

The driver is a very good, skilful and mature driver. He drove carefully. Though the roads are all the ways up and down the hills, we felt secured when he drove the car. We really like him.

 

Also, we are impressed the way he drove and handle unexpected events, such as when there were a few groups of youngsters blocking the road and pleading for money. He did not argue with him, but simply took his phone to take photos of them. Then, they disappeared.

 

He could control himself very well and acted calmly. He is also far better than the driver in Beijing and Nepal. I think it comes with his age and long-years driving experience.

 

I will also recommend the tour guide to other people. Tenzin is a helpful, friendly and patience guide. He brought with him a tirelessly enthusiasm to work & also excited to see the scenic views. I believe he has seen the mountains and monasteries more than 10 times, but he was not seem bored when describing us about each place history.

 

His English was good though he could be fast sometimes (not a big concern). Possibly, he is too energetic. He also had good knowledge about places. His personality created relaxing atmosphere and communication among us. Tenzin did observe the group's health and keep checking, which is one of the good qualifications of him.

 

Sometimes, we called or texted him outside working hours. He quickly responded to us and never gets moody.

 

During the long day at work and bumpy journey, he was still in a good mood and took care of us very well. We really like him & think he is one of our friends. I think he was born to be a tour guide.

 

And I think you are very professional. Yes, it¡¯s a personal reason that I found you and Oat 4 years ago. The first impression, that Oat told me and my friends left our stuff, has shaped our good attitudes towards you that this kind of person should be a good person to contact.

 

Also, you are straightforward when handling our train tickets and when we want to refund tickets. It is not about the money issue, but its more sincerity that you would charge only the service that we used. Oh, also we are impressed that you offered us to pay the remaining balance after the trip. I never ever saw this before. Thank you for your trust in us.

 

You gave us freedom of choice, which made our trip more personal and private. I'd also like to give credit to your consistent response, follow-up, flexibility and sincerity, which less expected that from other big agents. I would recommend your travel agent to our contacts who want to come to Tibet.

 

Noon, one of my friends, knew you by Google when she searched for Tibet permit. Your info was also in Pantips blog, there was a Thai girl mentioned she was in your caf¨¦. Then, I realized that we had met before in Kathmandu. We hope our feedback would be useful to you somehow. Look forward to seeing you and Oat again in the future. If you have a chance to come to Bangkok again, we are eager to meet you!

 

Noon and Nittaya Noi (Thailand)

 

 

Our driver is kind and supportive.

 

We will also recommend our tour guide Tenzin Yangchin to other traveller for sure.

 

You had a quick response and organize everything for us smoothly. Thanks again

 

We really appreciate everything that has happened. It's our great experiences.

 

I myself (Rujida) know this tour from Google searching, I've found Spinn Cafe Facebook (http://facebook.com/spinncafe) and i really appreciate the way you reached Tibet. At first I wanna go by my self but when my friends heard about this journey they joined.

 

We will recommend your service for sure! Thanks :)

 

Rujida Sukprakarn, Manuporn Luengaram, Chantawat Prohmvitak (Thailand)

 

 

 

Hello Pazu, we really liked the tour, the length of the tour was perfect. The prices very fine and the tour guide and the driver were very good people. Our tour guide always look out for our best interest, trying to save us money and giving good advices to where to buy, how much to pay, etc. He knew very well the culture, traditions, and history of all the places we went. He almost tried to answer our questions in the best way he could. He was very respectful and helpful. A very honest person. The driver, as well, was very opened to us.

 

We loved Tibet. In my opinion it is one of the best places in the world. I will definitively go again using your services.

 

Thank you again!

 

Pamela Rojas (ÂóÀ¶Äİ), Wilbert Sanchez, Yelba Martinez (Costa Rica)

 

 

We are very happy to give you some feedback on our trip.

 

We were very happy with our driver. We found him to be very pleasant and friendly. He drove very carefully and did not speed or cause us to worry about safety. He also was very attentive when I wished to take photographs and looked out for interesting things for us to see and stopped if he saw something interesting.

 

Tenzin Yangchin was a very good guide. She had very good knowledge of everything we visited. She would always open the car door for me and was very polite. She also has a sense of humour which meant she was fun to spend time with. We would be very happy to have her again as our guide.

 

Your organisation was great, when we asked you to change what you had originally suggested this was no problem. The reason I originally wrote to you was because of your mention in the lonely planet which says you are very transparent, you responded very quickly and your tone was friendly and helpful. Also your prices was competitive but more important was the fact that you were efficient and quick to answer questions.

 

We enjoyed the tour and we loved visiting the Jokhang Temple and the Potala Palace in Lhasa.

 

We found your name in the latest version of the 'Lonely Planet' book and we are glad that we did!

 

Thanks again for all your hard work Kong!

 

All the best for the future!

 

Alexander Mann and Rosalind Mann(United Kingdom)

 

 

Ultimately, I would recommend you to others, because you were quick to respond; your information was accurate; costs were clearly set out and we kept to budget; and we really liked the flexibility of the tours when we arrived - leaving us to choose our own hotel; arrange our own food, getting taxi's or even local buses instead of the expense of more unnecessary 4WD or transport etc within Lhasa. This was just brilliant and we valued it immensely. 

 

I'm very pleased that I found you on the web and saw your website - we really appreciated all your help with the tickets and organising the hotel etc.  We were very pleased to have Tenzin as our guide - we found her very friendly; knowledgeable and helpful. We would recommend her services to others. She is an asset.

 

See all our other comments below - I hope they help. I would be very pleased to hear how you are getting on in the future - and would be pleased to act as a recommender of your company.

 

During the day to Namtso Lake, our driver was very friendly, helpful and his driving was very good. I would recommend him to others.

 

We found Tenzin to be an excellent guide and would recommend her to others. She was very knowledgable and i valued her expertise and history of the Dalai Lama and Tibetan Buddhism in order to understand the history and the places we visited. She was very friendly, made suggestions to help us, and it was a pleasure to have spent the days on tour with her. She went out of her way to help us by offering to post some postcards to the UK for us, as we had not had chance to send them - all the postcards arrived with our family members and we were very grateful! She is an asset to your team.

 

I was very pleased to have found you, and read your website with interest. The information enabled me to draw up a rough costing and likely route of entry to Tibet and the tours that we would need. The good reviews of your company speak volumes and it was this and the way that you set out the various details and options that gave me enough confidence to approach you and see whether we could work out a tour. You were the only place that i could find that could helpfully explain all the various costs depending on what you wanted to do. This was very important and really really helped me to draw up my trip. I knew i could then email with a good idea as to what i wanted to do.

 

I thought you handled the tour organisation very well, making it fit my plans as i wanted.  You were very quick to respond to me on email - and this was brilliant. I knew that my email hadn't just been ignored. Each time we emailed, you were very good at emailing back promptly. This gave me lots of confidence. It's not easy sending lots of money from other countries - so it really is your USP.

 

I found you within a forum; and saw spinn cafe as somewhere to get tours organised... and for somewhere within Tibet instead of being organised from Chengdu or elsewhere. I then saw that you were also in the Lonely Planet - this helped give me confidence that you were the right company to approach.

 

Thanks again for such a great trip, and please thank Tenzin again too, say hi and we hope she is well.

 

Kate and Keith (London, United Kingdom)

 

 

At long last I am back in the USA after my nearly 4 week stay in China. It was a very interesting trip, and Tibet was definitely among the highlights.

 

I give our tour guide Longdor a mark of 5 (out of 5).  He has a great manner, provided insight into Tibetan culture, and was able to tailor our visitations of sites to what the needs of our small group (which was sometimes a bit of a challenge given that we had a 12 year old with us).

 

I rate the overall organization a 5 (out of 5) as well.  Communication was very good, as were the tours once we arrived in Lhasa, including airport pick-up and return.

 

We found you by web search, including recommendations in comments section in Trip Advisor and Lonely Planet.

 

It was nice to have met you and visited Spinn Caf¨¦ during the days in Lhasa.

 

Thomas Walker, John Maurice, Brian Walker (United States)

 

 

Our tour guide Tashi has become a good friend of ours since the trip. At first, he was very patient with us as we couldn't walk more than 10 steps without taking pictures. He is helpful and very honest man. He tries his best to make our time in Tibet memorable. And thanks to him we had the best birthday party on EBC.

 

Honestly, I contacted few other agencies, but sometimes I have trust issues with them. Then I found your website online. It's very straight forward and very honest. As soon as I know you are from HK with a Thai friend living in Tibet. I looked no further. And my friend said we hope visit you again.

 

I found your website and emails extremely useful for preparing the trip. I love our itinerary and all the sights. Although a very long ride but we enjoyed every minutes.

 

We are totally happy with everything on this trip. Next time Mt. Kailash and Manasavar Lake for sure.

 

Thank you again for this wonderful trip!

 

Noppawan Treewatanawong (khun Meow), Buuranakitthawee Suttisin, Rodsattroo Rathwaranon, Sukapiriya Kittipong (Thailand)

 

 

Our tour guide Kelsang is super, he gets 5 (out of 5) from both of us. Hire him again, he is enthusiastic, nice and knowledgable.

 

I would rate your service a 5 as well.

 

We found you after lots of reading from internet and Lonely Planet.

 

Basar Kurtbayram, Yeliz Akgur (Turkey)

 

 

We are back home in Germany - with many good memories of the trip! Thanks again for your support during our time in Lhasa!

I have tried to answer your questions down below.

 

 

We liked the driver a lot. We felt safe at all times.

 

It was very good to have a Tibetan guide with all the background to culture & religion. Her English was absolutely sufficient to communicate. Advice on hotels, food and general support were great and always to our liking.

 

I read a lot of stuff in the internet about tours in Tibet and finally chose you because of your activity online. We found you by random internet forums and comparison. Finally I saw your postings in the Thorntree Forums (& and on Spinn Cafe Page) and thought that¡äs a trustable source.

 

Your communication was very open and fair. Keep that.

 

I personally liked the way we stayed in contact as it has not the feeling of being only a number in an big travel agency.

 

 

Christian Sdralek, Christian Haenisch, Jan Schneider, Laura Karsten, Miriam Niesel, Simon Peiner (Germany)

 

 

Our tour guide Tenzin was very knowledgeable, enthusiastic and accomodating. My nine-year-old son had altitude sickness and she catered the tour toward us and our needs. When my son was tired, she didn't push us and she asked me what I wanted. I love Tenzin's nature and soft-spoken personality.

 

I like that you responded promptly to my emails. I chose

your company because it seemed to be the most flexible of the

companies I contacted. I also like that you were open about the cost of each service your company provided. I found you guys to be really honest and I appreciate that.

 

If you or Tenzin ever plan on coming to California (We live in

Oakland, near San Francisco), you have a place to stay. Just email or call me.

 

Everybody should have the opportunity to visit such a wonderful place.

 

Tracy Camp, Kahlil Edouard Leneus (United States)

 

 

I like the driver Purbu. He drove good and very carefully. Even we asked him to raise the speed to find the toilet (since someone want to pee) he kept calm.

 

Our tour guide Pasang Dolma is nice. Very talkative and appropriate as a guide. She knew the history etc regarding places. She's also indulgent to us during the tour.

 

You are good. Quick answering our emails and regret not trying you at very beginning since we have already deal with another tour agency.

 

We found your company from Jen's blog (http://www.acupofjenns.com/2011/07/spinn-cafe.html).

 

Dessaptiani Holmberg, Etty Herlina, Heru Aulia Sastrawiguna, Pradjna Dyah Rahayu, Widya Susanti (Indonesia)

 

 

Your arrangement was very good. Compared with other tour agents I interacted with, for the preparation of this trip, you were the most responsive and also very transparent on pricing.

 

I found your reference in Lonely Planet.

 

All the best Pazu, that was a very nice trip!

 

Olivier, Daniel, Sarah and Juliana (a family from France)

 

 

 

We just arrived in Beijing and checked in our hotel. Tired but very happy with our Tibet experience. It was definitely the highlight of our trip. Our tour guide Penpa was fantastic he was very accommodating and detailed in sharing the local culture, and not to mention his very warm hospitality.

 

We'd also like to thank you again for arranging everything, the logistics, schedules, itineraries. It was seamless to say the least, so THANK YOU again.

 

With regards to the driver, we would rate him a 5 out of 5. We have no issues as to the way he drove and the car used during the trip was very comfortable for a long drive.

 

We highly recommend Penpa as a tour guide.  We give him a rating of 5 (out of 5) or higher if possible.  He was very hospitable, polite and full of information.  We really saw Tibet and enjoyed it through him. May we also note that his English is very clear and polished, making it easy for us to understand him.

 

As to the hotel, the rooms were clean; the ambiance, staff, and location were all great.

 

We chose you to arrange our tour as you came highly recommended by our friend Anne Astorga. We were very happy with way the arrangements and logistics were executed. All were done on time and as planned.  We also appreciate the way you replied to our inquiries with full details, not to mention your very prompt and clear replies. We give it a 5 rating.

 

The highlights for us were the cultural trips to Jokhang Monastery, Potala Palace and the debating monks at the Sera Monastery. These gave us a glimpse of the Tibetan culture. Penpa's detailed information during these portions of the trip all the more made it more interesting.

 

Thanks again for the memorable experience.

 

Dindin and Ram Yoro (the Philipines)

 

 

 

First of all we had a really good time in Tibet, the guide was outstanding and one of the best guides we have used, he was full of information and his knowledge of the temples and other sites we visited was amazing, we would use him again and recommend him to others.

 

As for you and the trip I first discovered your name recommended some where maybe it was a tripadvisor tourist, the best thing about you is the communication all the emails and details are very reassuring and very helpful to us wary tourists and the information you gave was fantastic.

 

We had a most amazing trip an experience of a lifetime and I thank you very much for arranging it for us and after all the months of emails it was a pleasure to finally meet you

 

Kind regard and a big thank you

 

Mark Whitley and Stephanie Auchabi (the United Kingdom) and Cyprien Bourgeois and Marc Bourgeois (France)

 

 

 

We both really enjoyed the tour. The driver we had was really good. It snowed near the lake so conditions were bad but he was very careful and we felt safe at all times. We would score the driver 5 (out of 5).

 

As for tour guide, we both loved Tenzin Sangbo. He was brilliant! He was polite, considerate and very knowledgeable and understands the needs of the customers. We would definitely give him the highest score possible. 

 

We are also really pleased with everything you did as your replies were fast and to the point when I was making enquiries and asking prices, itineraries etc. I honestly cannot fault anything about you're services. It has all been top notch. 

 

I can't tell you how much we have enjoyed the whole experience. Tibet has definitely lived up to expectations and we will have lasting memories. We would recommend your tours to other people and who knows maybe we will see you again. Thanks again for everything!

 

Alison Heywood (Manchester, United Kingdom), Julie Watson (Oldham, United Kingdom)

 

 

Firstly, many many thanks for organising such a wonderful trip for us all. We really appreciated the flexibility, warmth and helpfulness you offered us.  As you said, it is a leap of faith paying money to someone you never met - fortunately you put our minds to rest on the first night when you kindly arranged some alternative accommodation for us!

 

I'd be more than happy to provide a reference for any other travellers interested in your tours or be quoted on your website if you so wish.

 

Many thanks again, and I hope you have many successful years ahead introducing people to the wonderful places in Tibet.

 

We enjoyed travelling with the driver - he was friendly, patient and fun to be be with.  We had no complaints about his driving.

 

Tenzin was an excellent guide and mixed humour with a good street sense and an incredible knowledge of buddhism, we would definitely rate the service as a 5/5 and thoroughly recommend him to anyone else considering a trip to Tibet. 

 

Your handling of the tour was excellent, especially the flexibility you provided, as undoubtedly the most difficult thing for us was deciding what was practical, as we had no prior experience of Tibet.  We chose you as you were recommended by my cousin in Hong Kong!

 

Wendy Kelly (Aylesbury, UK), Paul Kelly (High Wycombe, UK), Samuel Kelly (Reading, UK), Thomas Kelly (Reading, UK)

 

 

Very competent driver, especially over such demanding terrain near Mt Kailash. A real character also. Highly recommended. 5/5.

 

We couldn't have asked for a better tour guide, he was informative, sensitive to our needs and requests, reliable and had an excellent command of the English language. Again, highly recommended. 5/5.

 

From my perspective, arranging the tour was a fairly painless process, your correspondence was first class, you accommodated our preferences, and were on always on hand to support us or respond to a change in circumstances. We went with Spinn Cafe on strong recommendation from a friend and overall, the service we received was excellent, much better than I had anticipated 5/5.

 

To be honest, I was surprised by the professionalism and ease with which everything was conducted. 

 

What I like most are the Kailash and Namtso, our pseudo-fame, the jaw-dropping landscapes, your card tricks, the overall learning experience;  culturally and intellectually.

 

It was sad leaving Tibet.

 

The tour was perfect in everything - length, locations visited, the tour guide, planning.

 

Daniel Rowe (Middlesbrough, United Kingdom)

 

 

The driver was perfect, very helpful to other people. The guide is good, he told us a lot about the local life, invite us in the private home.

 

Your tour recommendation was good, the timing (Tibetan new year) was perfect for us. The offer was very transparent and this gives me trust. So we are very satisfied about the tour arrangement! I will leave you a reference on Couchsurfing.

 

The trip was very nice – really a great and best experience in ¡°China¡±.

 

Martin Urbanski (Stettin, Polland),

Joanna Juraszek (Krynica-Zdr¨®j, Polland)

 

 

 

I chose Spinn Cafe to organize our Tibet trip by chance. Googled around for tours in Tibet and found your website. I am verry happy with the way you handled the tour arrangements. Service rating = 5 stars!

 

I would recommend the driver as he was driving ok according to me. My tour guide was really informative and also took us to meet her family which was really a high point of the trip.  Throughout this tour, I like most the visit to our guide's family and the Everest Base Camp.

 

Anders Faltors (Gällivare, Sweden),

Mattias Bergstrom (Värmland, Sweden)

 

 

We love the entire arrangement and suggestions by you. We love Lhasa. We wish to come back some time later, and we actually are planning the time to be back! The most unforgottable thing is the experience in the village at Tashigang (Lunang).

 

Thank you so much for your help! Without your assisstant, we can't have this memorable trip~

 

Iris Yip (Hong Kong)

 

 

The driver was polite and a capable driver.  He obviously has a lifetime of experience driving the Tibet roadways.  When the drive was a bit fast for us he immediately slowed down at our request - well we want to watch the scenery and not be concerned about what's happening on the road. 

 

When we got to Namtso lake my wife's sister and husband were having altitude sickness - nausea and headache - so our driver valiantly drove us back to Lhasa that night and in the rain - a long driving day for him and he did great.  I gave him a tip after we got back to Lhasa.

 

Yes, we would recommend Tenzin Yangchin.  We liked her a lot.  She was always helpful with a smile.

 

You were number 1 (that means Rating 5, the best).  I chose you after searching online and reading people's comments on Lonely Planet.  I had also contacted I think it was *** in Chengdu.  But then I read that a woman had a difficult time on her tour and I read ***'s reply where she acknowledged the complaints but offered no real explanation.  I like that you were based in Lhasa with Tibetan drivers and guides.

 

What I liked was having our hotel walking distance to your cafe.  I always felt we could get in touch with you easily if needed.  That's a good feeling when you come to a new place and know nothing.

 

Jan Yan (Shaanxi, China) and Michael McCorman (Vermont, USA)

 

 

Good to hear from you.

 

General comment on the tour arrangement: overall we were very happy with how you organized our trip to Lhasa. Specific things that were very helpful:

l   Quick and straight forward, common-sense reply to e-mail

l   Buying the plane tickets for us

l   Giving us several options for the tour that were customized to our specific requests (we only had 7 days in total for Lhasa and we wanted to do EBC in a sensible way).

l   Answering your phone even late at night and taking care of any issues in a professional manner. We both appreciated how quickly you responded to my call about the issue and the honesty/transparency.

l   The international dinner in Lhasa was nice and we appreciated the invitation :)

 

Our driver drove very safely and responsibly and was flexible in terms of driving times (when to depart, how long to drive every day) which we very much appreciated.

 

Yes, we would definitely recommend the same guide (Ngawang Rinchin) to other travelers. He was very responsive to our needs, went 'beyond the call of duty' many times to fix any possible problems we might have. He was also very friendly and likable. His knowledge of the places we visited was very good.

 

We chose Spinn Cafe to organize our trips because we could find no negative reviews on Spinn Cafe on sites such as Tripadvisor and your site was also recommended a few times in different posts on Tripadvisor related to Lhasa and Tibet trips. We also read the info on your site and it seemed very logical and made a lot of sense.

 

Overall from all this info we got a sense of honesty about your site and we trusted we would not be scammed if we selected to book the tour with you. We are glad we did so.

 

Hmm...nothing really big comes to mind as to what you can do to do the trip better, which is a good thing I guess. :)

 

Pistol (Craiova, Romania), Lungu (Craiova, Romania)

 

 

Greetings from Kuala Lumpur and thank you for everything!

 

The driver was great, he had an excellent attitude and was eager to please. 

 

Penpa Tsering was an excellent guide. We all loved him.

 

You solved any minor problem that arose. You looked after us well and treated us with friendliness and respect. You were flexible with the schedule. I am very happy with everything.

 

I can't think of anything to make the trip better at the moment. I think you're doing things well. You already have the backpacker market cornered, I think, as other tour agencies are so much more expensive (and they deliver less flexibility and personal touch). Keep doing what you're doing!

 

Overall, I am very satisfied with the trip. I think you have an excellent business model that will really appeal to the non-package tourist types.

 

And, I think you should take control of the weather in future and make sure that it is always clear at EBC! ;)  Just kidding!

 

Cheers!

 

Robert Wilson (Colchester, United Kingdom), May Tam (Scarborough, Canada)

 

 

Our driver was awesome! 5/5! He always drove got us safely from A to B no matter how bad the road conditions were. He was very skillfull.

Tenzin also gets a 5/5 from me! I think we have already told you on the phone we are happy for him. He was really knowledgeable and gave us a great insight into the fascinating Tibetan culture! I wish him all the best for his future.

 

We chose you because of the reccomendations on the LonelyPlanet Forum. The service was great, especially the birthday cake for Wei!

 

It¡¯s hard to say what I like most in this tour, probably everything? Maybe: Mt Everest Base Camp, especially the stay in the tent. Our host Norbu made us feel so comfortable.

 

Thanks for organising everything, we sure had a great trip! I will certainly reccomend you to other travellers!

 

Isabel Frenzel (Braunschweig, Germany)

 

 

 

Driver is great! Very good  driving skill and can take up long hour drive. Very dedicated.

 

Tour  guide: very good knowledge and good English.

  

The Everest Base Camp was no doubt the highest point in this whole trip. The weather helped a lot. Hanging up the prayer flag was so unforgettable. I like it. You can recommend other tourists to do the same.

 

Vivian Long (Beijing, China)

 

 

Kris and I just got back to the USA a week ago and we've been busy visiting our families!

 

The driving was excellent, we felt very safe the whole time and we arrived on time or early to our destination every day. I would give our driver a rating of 5 (5 is the full mark). I was happy Kris and I could speak a little Mandarin so we could talk to him.

 

Tenzin was a wonderful guide. He was very friendly and obviously knew a lot about Tibetan Buddhism. He could always answer our questions. He told us a little about his life growing up in Tibet which was especially interesting to us. After having been to Tibet, I am very happy you use Tibetan guides - the experience would not have been the same with a Chinese guide. I was also happy you matched us with someone Kris and my same age.

 

I think you did a great job - in fact, I was in contact with a few other tour companies based in Chengdu before we came and so Kris and I could pick the best one - we thought you were by far the most professional and always answered our emails in a timely manner. The guidelines and process of getting the permits was very clear from the beginning which made us feel comfortable selecting Spinn. I would also give it a rating of 5!

 

Thanks again for a wonderful tour!

 

Kris Bahlke (Florida, USA), Kelly Wade (New Jersey, USA)

 

 

The driver is good, I never felt endangered and he was extremely nice and fun.

 

Yangchin was very good, she's usually very knowledgeable.

 

Facebook and a random youtube video talking in Cantonese to a reporter helped me to choose Spinn Cafe to organize my trip in Tibet. Paypal helped too, it's difficult to trust random amounts of money sent to personal accounts as there is little or know recourse. So, given all the recommendations on Facebook and other sites, I gave it a go. It's really just a security issue.

 

I think you handled it well, I had a lot of fun especially in Lhasa with you and the feast. Everyone should always have a Tibetan feast!

 

I'd say 4, it would be a 5 if that permit issue didn't worry me as I know mail in general can stall for ages, so preferably I was expecting the permits to arrive at the hostel before I even arrived.

 

You've been extremely informative.

 

I can say Lhasa, FEAST, Your Cafe and I guess just the journey are what I like most in this tour.

 

You're welcome to come to Vancouver and hang out with us! I'll probably make a trip up there with a friend again someday!

 

Gabriel Zi-hao Lai (Vancouver, Canada)

 

 

I appreciated the skill of our driver, who always made us feel safe along often narrow and treacherous roads. He drove carefully and, when necessary, slowly. Though I wasn't able to communicate with the driver because of the language barrier, it was clear that he cared about our comfort and health during the trip.

 

There's no question that Tenzin Sangbo is a terrific guide, very knowledgeable about Tibetan culture, history and religious practices and always eager to help. I was surprised to learn that he was only 24 years old -- his competence, street smarts and maturity led me to think him much older.

 

During my trip, I relied heavily upon his expertise, especially since I over-estimated my ability to handle the difficulties of acclimatization, attributing symptoms of altitude sickness to caffeine withdrawal! It was Tenzin who alerted me to my condition and who made sure I received proper treatment so that I could continue with my trip. I really don't know what I would have done without him. I recommend him as a guide without any reservations. He more than deserves his bonus.

 

What I liked most in this tour is Tenzin's willingness to ensure that our trip went smoothly and the care that was expressed by everyone involved - from Tenzin, to the driver, to even the owners of the nomad hotel, when it was clear I was unwell. I appreciated everyone's concern.

 

I am very pleased with my experiences with you and Spinn Cafe.

 

Thy Phu (Toronto, Canada)

 

 

We were very satisfied with the driver. The ride was smooth.

 

I would like to recommend the same tour guide to other travelers. I think she is very nice and she is familiar with Tibetan culture so that we could know more about interesting things about Tibetan culture. ex. why Tibetan women wear different colored dresses.

 

We like the flexibility of your tour arrangement. My husband and I was hesitating before the trip because we had limited vacation time, only 2 weeks. We had a lot of plans within the time frame.Most of  the Tibetan tours offered by other travel agencies are at lease 6 days but you could offer us something shorter.

 

The thing that I like the most in this tour is that we had a lot of free time so that we were able to do a lot of things by ourselves.

 

We both had a great time in Tibetan, even it was a short trip.

 

I appreciate you for everything in this trip. I wish you the best in you endeavors.

 

Charles Rooney (Connecticut, USA), Tracy Rooney (New York, USA)

 

 

Our drivers were really great! We are very glad to have them as guides. They were very friendly and we felt really safe with them. We would recommend them at anyone who would like to travel in Tibet.

 

We greatly appreciated Lobsang¡¯s services. She was really nice, helpful and accomodant. Maybe an older guide with more experience would be better for older people but it was perfect for us, crazy young French people! And we would surely recommend her to friends!

 

We are very grateful for your help on the tour arrangement, because you granted all our requests and accommodate to all the changes we asked! At first we wanted to find the cheapest travel agency, you were the cheapest, and your service was perfect!

 

It was good that you let us see and choose the hostels.

 

We would like to thank you again for your help on the handling of our tour. Everything was perfect and we really really enjoy this trip!

 

We wish you the best for the future!

 

Ivan Artuikh (Toulouse, France)

Corentin Aulagne (Saint Etienne, France)

Clemence Buisson (Chartres, France)

Laurent Courtois (Lille, France)

Eva Fernandez (Montauban, France)

Thomas Gelez (Lille, France)

Kevin Thibout (Dreux, France)

 

 

The driver is very good and always shows up early. 

 

We're amazed by how flexible and accommodating our guide is. He's very knowledgeable about the places we went to as well as other things related to the Tibetan culture. 

 

Like I mentioned when we met, I think your service is very professional. I think your very detailed and timely response to my information request was the deciding factor. I also appreciate your flexibility in terms of accommodation arrangements. My wife is relatively picky about accommodation, and we really appreciate your flexibility.

 

I think your travel service is perfect, and we really appreciate all your help. We look forward to visiting Tibet again in the future.

 

Johan Sulaeman (Sukabumi, Indonesia), Deserina Sulaeman (Jakarta, Indonesia)

 

 

I was really impressed with my driver. He was friendly, knowledgeable and drove very safely.

 

My guide was still good. His knowledge of Buddhism was very useful for me in monasteries.

 

I chose you because you came well recommended. I think your handling of the tour was good, considering the difficult circumstances. You were always quick to reply to my emails, and honest in your replies even when you couldn't deliver (ie the Chamdo permit).

 

Daniel McCrohan (London, UK)     

 

 

The driver was excellent. He was very kind and careful driver with a sense of humor.

 

Your handling was great and very helpful. You'd been very responsive, informative and interactive in the tour arrangement. I liked the way how you tailored the itinerary to suit our needs. I chose it because you're highly recommended by some friends and the way that we interacted through Gmail.

 

I think your service was excellent, and you were fast in replying our emails too. You were very kind to buy medicine (for attitude sickness) for us when we just arrived. Yet it would be better if you can enjoy the sunrise with us in Pabongkha Monastery, and will be even better if you could send the photos to us! :P

 

Thanks so much Pazu for bringing us this lovely trip! Keep enjoying everything in Tibet!

 

And thanks so much for the company and wonderful memories. Truly, we didn't feel that you're doing any business. You've been so sincere and enthusiastic. Truly some nice friends to enjoy Tibet together. 

 

Riding bicycles with you and Oat, hospitality and beautiful encounters under such sacred and magical skies were what we enjoyed most in Tibet.

 

Keep enjoying your magical life in Tibet and stay well and keep in touch.

 

 

Catherine Lau (Faculty of Law, the University of Hong Kong)

Bonnie Chung (Faculty of Law, the University of Hong Kong)

 

 

 

 

The driver is very dedicated despite the long travel distance.

 

You provide a good service and I will recommend your service if any of my friends would like to visit Tibet. For me maybe I will visit Tibet again few years later.

 

Also append a group photo that we took together in front of spinn cafe. Hope you like it. :)

 

Thank you!

 

Wai Leng (Malaysia)

 

 

The driver took me to airport, very nice pleasant and most helpful with luggage, a good driver, a big hug. I wish I could have known a bit of Tibetan language.

 

Excellent tour guide, so nice, courteous and polite and very knowledgeable about history, culture, etc.  Vbery pretty and intelligent.

 

Kong, you were very patient with me and all the delays about getting a train ticket. I appreciated.  I chose your agency on website after typing solo travel tibet,  your questions and answers gave a good impression. Honest and knowledgeable. I would recommend anytime.

 

I like everything in this tour: Lhasa, the Tibetans, the trip by train, the freedom I could choose my guesthouse, the guides, the weather, landscape, your services... I miss lhasa and hope to go back, this time to Lake Manasarovar and Mt Kailash.

 

Jeannie Perreault (La Perade, Canada)

 

 

The driver is fine, with occasional stops for us to take toilet breaks and he seems more than happy to stop along the way for us to take photos. He is also experienced enough to navigate through the dark moutainous trail with the help of our guide when we requested him to drive straight from Kailash to Saga which took more than 10hours of driving.

 

We are very happy with the services of our tour guide Tenzin. He is sincere. He makes effort to ensure our needs are met therefore making this trip a memorable one.

 

I thought that throughout the arrangement of the tour, we were able to get precise and frank responds from you within a short period of time which makes the arrangement easier.

 

I personally appreciate the dinners gatherings which you have arranged when we gotten back to Lhasa.

 

I find that the little arrangement like welcoming us at the airport with the white scarf, arranging a meeting with us prior to leaving for Kailash, passing us a set of map and oxygen canister each and of course our favourite Spinn Lemonade have made me feel very welcoming.

 

This is something which i have not experienced with other agency.

 

I chose Spinn because I feel comfortable with it when we first enquire on the tour. You are also very open about the cost of the tour and knowledgeable when handling with our queries. I think mostly importantly is that Spinn is able to portray to clients that it is reliable.

 

I also like the flexibility of our itinerary, the randoms stops along the road for photo-taking, the welcoming feeling from you and your staffs as well as our guide and driver & all the people we have met.

 

We enjoyed our tibet trip very much and it have been a fun journey for us. Nice to have met you guys. And after hearing so much on the trip, my parents are also very keen to go on there next year. Hope to link up with you again when the time is near.

 

Definitely I will recommend your service to other people.

 

Ong Jun Quan (Singapore)

 

 

Hola Pazu!!! Greetings from Guatemala!!!!

 

We had a wonderful journey to China & Tibet, and definetly the best nights were in Lhasa, at your bar!!! We're still laughing about your videos! Hope you put them in you tube, they're so funny!!!

 

It was great meeting you, I hope we can keep in touch and that you keep updating us with your videos so we can continue laughing! Alejandro says hello!

 

Ana Sagastume (Guatemala)

 

 

The driver is very experienced and practice safe driving (unlike majority of the other cars on the road). He is flexible and is willing to driving more than 12 hrs and able to take on difficult road at night (10+pm to 11+pm) in order for us to reach a town where we can stay (we decided not to board at the tent at Lake Mansarovar after our Mt Kailash trip, and going straight into 1 town, hence such long drive).

 

He is also able to understand Chinese and communicate with us in Chinese, telling us some of the history and stuffs together with our tour guide. He took the initiative to help us carry out bag when he see us carrying it, not many drivers has such kind of initiative. Very happy go lucky, thus it makes the overall trip an enjoyable one. I would definitely recommend the driver for long trip like us (given his excellent driving skill and knowledge), and for older travellers that may not know English very well, he will be of a great help.

 

As for the tour guide, I would recommend Tenzin to other traveler, given his age (same as us!), he is surprisingly well verse in many things, from political to history, myth and legend of Tibet. It is in fact a bonus for us to have him as a guide (thank you!). During our very tough trek in Kailash (us being city boys and girl), Tenzin helped us tremendously by guiding us, carrying our heavy bags together with his own (although he didn¡¯t have to), he even packed some dry food for us for fear that we didn't have enough.

 

It is really thoughtful of him. He continued to fulfill his duty as a guide, which is very remarkable. Also, unlike other guides that may want to earn more commission, he didnt take us to shops that sell expensive tourist-ish stuffs, but bring us to shops that we want and also restaurants that we want. During the drive at night, he even went down the car to guide our driver because there was no street light and it was very dark. He definitely put us first instead of himself. He will ensure that he helped us resolve difficult issues/problems before he take his rest (albeit a really LONG day).

 

For all these, I suppose Tenzin do deserve a rating of 5, and definitely deserve the extra commission (money). It a form a appreciation for all the hard-work he did.

 

We got to know Spinn Cafe through Lonely Planet forum. We were looking for a trustworthy agency which we can trust in this tour arrangement, and your reply in Lonely Planet forum attracts us to book you since you know better than anyone how traveling etc works and the difficulty traveler may faced traveling in Tibet since you've experienced it first hand yourself. We would recommend your service to my relatives and friends definitely. :)

 

We also like the flexibility to change the itinerary as we like in between the tour, it¡¯s a private tour, so I dont have to tolerate other people¡¯s slowness etc, guide and driver being extremely accomodating, able to experience the other side of tibet which I believe large tour wouldn¡¯t be able to. Most imptly, traveling in a way not many people is able to in normal tour group.

 

Celestal Lee Xinying (Singapore)

 

 

Mei and i reached home yesterday morning in good health. You know, we already start missing Tibet and Spinn cafe when we were in the train to Chengdu. Just couldn't control my tears when the train moved away from the station.

 

Somehow, I feel glad that we had made the right choice of stayed in Lhasa longer. Though I left Lhasa with bundles of joys and memories.

 

Tibet was like a mystery and unreachable place for me. But now, the perceptions have changed. i feel like i found a home for my soul.........hahaha!!

 

Comments for the driver Kelsang: 

 

¡ñ         Very experince driver with good driving skills

¡ñ         Know the routes well

¡ñ         Able to provide estimated time frame and distance from one place to another

¡ñ         Very helpful in looking for the right hostel and negotiate for the best room rate for the group

¡ñ         Stopped at many spots without fail whenever requested by the photography mania

¡ñ         Can speak in Chinese language rather well

¡ñ         Played good Tibet songs and music with right volume

¡ñ         Overall comments: Highly recommanded for other travellers

 

Comments for the tour guide Tashi:

¡ñ         Very helpful, patient, pleasant and caring personal

¡ñ         Always tried his best to provide informations to his clients

¡ñ         Tried to get information from others whenever in doubts eg: monk in-charge of the chapel

¡ñ         Know well about the needs of his clients such as places for filling our stomach and best place to sleep from our very limited budget.

¡ñ         Passion to teach people about his language, religion, and cultural believes

 

 

Comments for the tour coordinator Pazu Kong:  

 

¡ñ         Reply to client's enquiries promptly

¡ñ         Provide very clear and transparent information and quatation

¡ñ         Able to give good advise or his personal opinions

¡ñ         Has good communication skills esp in English is a vast advantage to deal with foreigner travelllers. My personal experience, I had gone through a lot of hassel as tried to understand feedback/reply from some agents and the information provided were usually not specific.

¡ñ         Willing to take his efforts to follow up cases before finalized everything though the requests from client changed from time to time eg: changes of length of tour, visit spots, numbers of tour members, and permit application process.

¡ñ         Some hiccups did happened during the tour. However, prompt actions had been taken and problems solved.

¡ñ         Overall comments: You did it well. Keep it up.

 

What I like most of this tour is the warm hospitality and sincere friendship from Pazu Kong. And what I didn¡¯t like is the rules and regulations for Tibet entry and travel set by the authority.

 

Khoo May Pin (Melaka, Malaysia) and Tiew Geok Mei (Melaka, Malaysia)

 

 

The tour guide is good. The sharing of her life experiences with us also made the trip more interesting.

 

The driver was very nice and would give suggestions to make our road trip more comfortable. He would also slow down when we wanted to take pictures during the road trip and even helped us "bargain" at the restaurants where we had our lunches. He was attentive to our needs; at some point in time, even more than our tour guide.

 

Actually on our first day of arrival, we were quite surprised that you didn't ask us to pay immediately. Weren't you worried that we wouldn't pay you? Haha. But anyway, probably the culture in Tibet is based on a lot of trust.

 

As I have mentioned when we met up, I first chanced across your website via Google and decided to give it a try after reading positive feedback from many customers on the website. Overall, I'm pleased with your planning and handling of our situations.

 

Agnes Ye Zhengyu (Singapore)

 

 

I would recommend the same driver. His driving was very good and efficient. I would rate him 5.

 

Our tour guide Karma was fantastic. He¡¯s multi-lingual, very knowledgeable, and would go out of his way to help us. I would again rate him 5.

 

Kong - you did a great job. 5. I¡¯m told you came highly recommended.

 

I loved Mount Kailash C Truly remarkable. Karma was excellent here.

 

Richard Fields (Salisbury, United Kingdom)

 

 

Our driver our tour guide were very good. I chose you because you were recommended by Jim and Helen.

 

Everything was good.

 

Brian Cheadle (Northwich, Canada) and Barbara Cheadle (Leeds, Canada)

 

 

Thanks for helping me to organize my tour in Tibet. I enjoy my trip very much.

 

I rate my driver the highest point of 5 and I would recommend him to the other people. He is a friendly person, a responsible driver, and always kind toward other people. He has no complaints about making frequently stops for me to take photos and always energetic during driving. His driving skill is good and he drives very safe. 

 

I rate my guide the highest point of 5 and I would recommend her to the other people. She is very familiar with all the hotels and travelling procedures in Tibet. She is on time for meeting and explains everything very detail. She is considerate about me. I remember I missed my breakfast in Shigatse and she asked the hotel to give me some bananas. She also helped me to move my luggages during my trip.

 

Your handling of the tour arrangement is excellent (5 Points). Everything is very efficient and I got my questions anawered very quick.  I will recomend you to my friends.

 

Eric Yau Kin Kei (Los Angeles, United States)

 

 

I'd recommend the same guide and driver. We know that it is very hard to drive on off road so we recommend our driver for the long trip that we had. 


I'm satisfied with the way you organized our trip and already recommended Spinn Cafe to another travelers. 

 

What we like most of the tour is that it¡¯s dependably arranged, you¡¯ve delivered all the necessities.

Hana (Philipines) and Geshiela (Philipines)

 

 

My tour guide Penpa Tsering and the driver are excellent. I was very happy while in their company. By all means, they have done well. Thanks! It was nice meeting you, I would recommend Spinn Cafe anytime, any day.

 

The driver is careful in his driving, he follows the speed limit, and is very good.

 

And I can fully recommend my guide Penpa Tsering. He is young, enthusiastic, has a sense of humor, and very attentive to what I am saying and very kind.

 

Your handling of the tour was perfect, and thank you for helping me all the way. You were very responsive and very nice. Like i said, it was Hana who recommended me to Spinn Cafe.

 

Nice meeting you Kong, it was a pleasure to have been your visitor and your friend while in lhasa....

 

I salute you, you are a super cool guy, howI wish your book was translated in English for us.

 

Next time you find yourself in Manila, let me know, I can be your tour guide, free of charge, bring Penpa with you.

 

If you can get access, you may visit my site at :

 

1) http://ongcho.multiply.com/photos

2) http://ongcho2.multiply.com/photos

 

Oh well, if you don¡¯t know it yet, Spinn cafe is a very well regarded site and more power to you.

 

John Ong Sy (Manila, Philipines)

 

 

 

Greetings from Singapore.  I just wanted to say thanks for the great magic show and the directions to my hotel Shambhala in Lhasa, what an interesting evening.  Friendly contact in Singapore if you¡¯re ever passing through.

 

Patrick O' Riordan (Director Singapore, Indonesia & the Philippines, Enterprise Ireland, Embassy of Ireland Commercial Counsellor)

                                   

 

The driver drove very very good , not too fast and not made me fear at all ka. : ))

 

The tour guide is very nice and take care us every moment : )) plz say to him "Thank you so much miss my guide ka : )) and thanks for sent my postcard ka".

 

Your arrangement is great !!! and thanks you so much for change a itinerary with out any change : ) . The reason for choose your tour coz you keep replying my email and a price is reasonable. 

 

Everything perfect for me : ))

 

Passaporn Shompoopun (Bangkok, Thailand)

 

 

For personality and efforts he made to please me, the tour guide would get full marks. He is a very good and nice person. I also had many laughs with the guide which made this trip fun!

 

You did a fabulous job arranging the trip, I decided to choose you for your honesty. This was apparent in your writing with advice about other tour organizers.

 

Marisa de Jong (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

 

 

Overall great driving of the driver, and the tour guide is a very good and responsible person who takes good care of his clients.

 

You had a very detailed Q and A at your website, which gives us confident to choose you to arrange the tour. I think you made good arrangement with the transport and accommodations. Overall it was a great trip, real good experience.

 

Basically, I only have good comments regarding this trip.

 

I think your cafe made it extra special where we are able to meet other tourist in Tibet like those people from Hong Kong. We are able to sit around in your cafe and chill.

 

Chong Zheng Feong (Singapore)

 

 

I found the drivers very careful and responsible. The tour guide is excellent, he was very open and frank, had a good sense of humor and understood western idiosyncrasies well. We could know that he understood what we wanted to see and do. He was always prompt.

 

I chose your service because of a personal recommendation. I enjoyed your tour arrangement because it was so flexible and personalized. It kept us out of buses and down on the street level. 

 

All seemed to go smoothly.

 

Grant Bickel (United States)

 

 

I just wanted to let you know how much we enjoyed our tour. The driver is good and I gave positive feedback for our tour guide and would like to rate 5 for him. He is great at his job, insightful, knowledgeable, informative, helpful and kind.

 

Thanks again and we will make sure to recommend you to our friends and comrades who are thinking of visiting Tibet.

 

Novita Utami (Padang, Indonesia)

 

 

The driver is good and the tour guide is great, he has a lot of knowledge about the history and eager to learn any culture.

 

We are also satisfied with the way you handled our tour, we think you gave us details info which help us in Tibet. And from the beginning you handle our tour it was fast and simple. That was our reason to choose you.

 

Eva Ali (Eva Ali (Jakarta, Indonesia)

 

 

It was great to have the chance to know some of the secret corners of Jokhang Circuit with you, including the nunnery (best place in Lhasa for me!). Hanging around Namso lake and 'chatting' with the nomads doing the koras.

 

I think you provide great service. I think you are very professional and responsive and I would definitely want to use your services if I went to Tibet again.

 

I felt you treated us as friends and not only clients and I hope you continue to be so personable when your business grows and you have less time (as I'm sure it will grow!).

 

Thanks again for such great times in lhasa. you are a star!

 

Marion Khamis (Santiago de Chile)

 

 

Drivers did a good job. And the tour guide was very good. He had a sense of humour that is important for some westerners (I liked it). He was also very polite, helpful and seemed sincere. We were more than happy to tip him at the top end of your recommended range. 

 

You came well recommended and we appreciated your knowledge and personal attention to our problems.

 

I liked the Spinn caf¨¦ C the ambience and the music.

 

Thank you!

 

Malcolm Griffiths (Middlesbrough, Canada)

 

      

A belated 'Thank You'! We had a great time in Tibet, everything worked out perfectly!

 

Our guide, Migdon, was very helpful, pleasant and easy to work with.

 

I recommended your services to a young Belgian couple we met in Dunhuang - I hope they contact you!

 

Dennis Nicoll (Vancouver, Canada) and Catherine MacGregor (Windsor, Canada)

 

 

Five points to the driver and full marks to the tour guide as well.

 

We decided to join your tour through the recommendation of our friends, full marks to your service too.

 

Cultural social and monasterial facts were well explained. Thanks for all your help and we are very glad and fortunate to be able to visit Tibet.

 

Alfred Pawelek (Belitz, Polland) and Mary Pawelek (Newmarket, Canada)

 

 

Full marks for the driver and tour guide. And full mark for your service as well. I booked with you because you gave me the best price, the best service and you'd been recommended by a friend.

 

The lakes, the landscape and the people were amazing, also, the nunnery was great because we saw them chanting/praying and they were very welcoming!

 

Thanks a lot for the great time, I recommended you to plenty of people in China and to people I met in Nepal.

 

Wiebke Dittert (Hannover, Germany), Madeleine Huller (Texas, USA), Johannes Schmidt (Wurzen, Germany)

 

 

We will give our driver a rating of 5 (out of 5), the best driver!!!

 

Lobsang was the best guide we could ever have, he knows a lot of Tibetan culture, people and religion. He did more than a normal guide. I have travelled very much and I never had such a guide, he became a good friend. He's what we like most in our tour indeed!

 

Your arrangements and patience were excellent. Thank you very much for everything!

 

Javier Beltran from Spain (Malaga), Jaime Carceller from Spain (Santander), Jaime Gonzalez from Spain (Santander), Paula Toca from Spain (Santander)

 

 

We would recommend both the driver and the guide - they both went above and beyond, we will give them a rating of five out of five. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and kind, and also a lot of fun.  I was really happy with your service - you always answered quickly and let us know any alterations right away....I found your details on thorntree when researching the trip. ? Learning about Tibet and seeing the stunning scenery.

 

Adrian Young (Barnsley, Britain)

Sarah Warren (Swansea,  Britain)

 

 

I was very happy with the arrangements by Spinn cafe and found my Tibetan tour guide Tenzin to be thoughtful, informative and helpful. I had booked a no guide day to wander Lhasa on my own but ended up hiring him for that day too. If you get a good Tibetan guide  it will be an asset to understanding Tibet, not a liability. Tenzin, my tour guide, was excellent, pleasant, knowledgeable, adaptable to interests and needs of individual traveler. I thoroughly enjoyed our interaction.

 

My driver was also excellent, very good driving skills, patient with photography stops and a pleasure to share long trip on dirt roads with.

 

Kong, you have made sure everything went well clearly communicated requirements and plans adapted to changes in a pleasant competent and efficient way and does great card tricks. .

 

What I liked most in this tour was spending time with the tour guide and Tibetan people.

 

Thanks again Kong, I wish you all Peace, Happiness and Prosperity.

 

Steve Burger, www.globalfolkart.com/

Global Folk Art

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

 

 

Our trip was fantastic, I would highly recommend the driver, my only regret was that he didn't speak English and I didn't speak Tibetian, but he was really great. I would have loved to get to know him better, 10 stars to him.

 

Same same with the guide, he was also fantastic, 10 stars to him too!!! The guide was extremely knowledgeble and flexible with our time.

 

The package that you offered was great for individual travellers, good price, flexibility, great service, specially the magic tricks!!! I will definitely recommend you to fellow travellers.

 

Thanks for the great trip!

 

Trish Brown (Melbourne, Australia)

 

 

 

Thank you for a fascinating holiday. 

 

The driver was very good and careful. He was very kind and helpful. Highly recommend him. Good with Noah.

 

The tour guide was friendly, helpful, accommodating to changes in schedule.  Good with Noah.  We were still friends at the end of the holiday, which is important after all that time together.

 

Pete chose you as our tour agent because you have a good, believable website. He found you in lonely planet. Arrangements were very good. You were very cautious about booking each stage of the travel, which prevented costly mistakes.  Very welcoming and friendly and helpful. That made a lot of difference.

 

We found you on the lonely planet book.

 

Thank you again for a lovely holiday.

 

Annie-May, Noah, Pete (a family from the United Kingdom)

 

 

I appreciated your ¡°up front¡± honesty in dealing with the finances. Plans can and do change, so your flexibility was also appreciated.

 

You answered all of my emails promptly, and that for me was a real plus. You came through with the permit and train tickets on time. You delivered as promised.  What more could I ask?  I have no negatives. Keep up the prompt, honest approach.

 

All in all, it was a fine tour.

Thanks!

 

Sue and Polly (United States of America)

 

 

The driver was very good. He was very friendly and most importantly he was safe. He followed all traffic rules and at all times I felt comfortable with him. He was also very attentive in terms of thinking of what we would like to see - such as the first night drive to the hotel, he pointed out the Potala Palace; he slowed down for us to take photos on our road trip to and from Shigatse; he also pointed out the black necked cranes, etc. I would recommend him for your future clientele.

 

To be honest, I normally hate guides. However, Tenzin, was quite an exception. He was genuinely kind and accommodating throughout our whole trip. He was also very polite and considerate. If all tour guides could be like this, I would be very happy.  I would recommend him for your future clientele.

 

From day 1 of being in contact with you, I have felt quite comfortable in my dealings with you. Your blog, news articles, and cafe allow people from far away to feel that your services and business are legitimate.

 

You were very considerate in thinking of and preparing our needs related to expectation of accommodations and adjustment to altitude.

 

Communication was always very clear. I appreciated that you would send emails with final quotes and clarification on matters. Everything was quite transparent.

 

Besides the fantastic scenery and the culture, what I enjoyed about the tour was that our schedules/plans went smoothly. When we needed to change a plan, it was okay. Flexibility was probably what I appreciated the most.

 

You should be quite proud of the services you have offered us.

 

Michele Tung (United Kingdom),

Yoland Wang (United States),

Dominique Speekenbrink (the Netherlands)

 

 

The driver drove without fail whole way, even understood English quite well and was on the good mood all the time. I enjoyed our trip and I'm quite happy how everything went. I think that you made really good job, organizing the permits really fast and also your personality was great. You would have been great guide too. :)

 

Maria Laitala (Hollola, Finland)

 

 

It may have been the most incredible tour ever for me... and I appreciate how quickly you managed to organise everything for us and how fabulous it all was.

 

I really hope to come back through Tibet in the future and will definitely make arrangements through you.

 

Lisa Honey (Farnborough, United Kingdom)

 

 

All in all a fantastic trip and thanks for handling it all in such a nice and patient manner - we really felt well taken care of by you.

 

Katrine Skipper Pedersen (Allinge-Gudhjem, Denmark)

 

 

I enjoyed every bit of the experience. I suppose we could have packed in a bit more with the time we had, but given that it's our first time and not knowing how AMS would affect us, the slower pace suited us well.

 

Thanks very much for helping us with the planning, and your hospitality - we like the Strategy Game very much and guess what? I just bought two sets, one for Bee and one for myself.

 

We enjoyed the trip very much and will certainly recommend you shd any of our friends want to visit Tibet.

 

Chng It Soh (Singapore),

Tan Bee Hong (Singapore) 

 

 

Firstly wanted to say we really enjoyed our trip and for all the difficulties was definetly a trip of a lifetime and one I will not forget. Being able to organise through you was great as gave us much more freedom to do what we wanted to and not feel forced to do what the agency wanted to do. I guess it meant we could still remain a little independant!

 

The price was also great as was considerbly cheaper then any other tour (maybe you are too cheap!!)

 

About the driver, I would recommend him, felt safe the whole time, although we did notice he was slower on tarmac roads and much faster on gravel, we therefore think he must of been a rally car driver in a previous life!

 

About the tour guide, Gonkom, was pretty good, he came across as young and was very much on our level, as I saw a lot of the other tour guides and they seemed very boring. So for young westerners would recommend him.

 

The break down of pricing was great as well as really saw the cost. I liked the Rama Kharpo Guesthouse in Lhasa as felt really homely. The tent camp at EBC was good and also fun.

 

Overall we had a great time and was really happy with booking it though you and not some faceless agency, it was really easy to correspond with you and you always answered all my questions.

 

I will of course recommend you to any friends I know planning a trip. If you pass by Kuala Lumpur in the next couple of years (will be moving there next month) be sure to drop me line!!

 

Leo Frankel (London, United Kingdom),

Caroline Frankel (Brighton, United Kingdom)

 

 

We really appreciated you getting out of your way to help us. Like arranging us a biking tour with Oat, which was nice.

 

The driver was very fine. He was always on time and drove very carefully.

 

The tour guide has good knowledge of history and religion, good info for hotels/restaurant/places (outside Lhasa). He spoke good enough English.

 

The Barkhor area tour you gave us at the end was very nice, simple, funny and interesting.

 

We are sure you are gonna succeed with your Tibet tours. You really care for your guests. We`re sure they will be happy to meet you and do your tours, as we did.

 

Thank you for all your help, time and the movies you gave us. Please visit us, when you and Oat come to Shanghai/Taicang.

  

Thomas Maurischat (Langen, Germany),

Paola Pastor Leon (Guayaquil, Ecuador)

 

 

We did the Lhasa-Kathmandu trip with the agency Spinn Cafe in Lhasa. Spinn gives you very detailed information and prices. you will know exactly what is included and what is not. Also I found it very handy, to have the agency in Lhasa self.

 

The guide we had spoke very good English and had a lot of extra information. Also we could wander around alone in Lhasa. Many other tourists we have seen, were always with their guide.

 

The driver we had was very very good. He did not speak English, which was a shame, because I had the impression that he had a lot to tell. The tour guide was very knowledgeable. he told us many many things about the Potala. I think he was very clever, this helped us very much. I would recommend him to other travelers.

 

I would also highly recommend Spinn Cafe.

 

Oliver Ramseyer (Bern, Switzerland)

www.vadrouilleasiatique.blogspot.com

 

 

The driver drove very safely and responsibly for the duration of our tour, we can recommend him to other travelers.

 

You also gave us the best tour of our trip.

 

Kong's Service: 10/10- You were incredibly communicative and tried everything to make the tour enjoyable for us. We'll recommend contacting you to anyone who is considering coming to Tibet. The scenery on the drives was once in a lifetime. Staying in a tent at EBC was a great experience. The evenings we spent at your cafe were a lot of fun.

 

Derek Hazard (Minnesota, United States),

Andrea Hazard (Kempten, German)

 

 

Lamu was a great guide, quite knowledgeable and great insight as well. As for the preparation of my trip, I have no complaints whatsoever. It was excellent! You were very transparent from the start, from the payments, restrictions, breakdowns.

 

Your transparency was what made me decide to book it with you, and it was fairly priced. Everything was done according to specified plan, and I cant recall any deviation from the originally specified plan.

 

Other than experiencing Lhasa and the Tibetans, your personal touch to everything was a plus factor. :) I mean, especially for solo travelers like me, it can become quite depressing not being able to share the experience during the height of the excitement. Yeah, i know it shouldn't be in the realm of the business, but most of the time it can be a differential thing.

After all, great travel is always accompanied by the "making friends category".  It's a great thing you have the cafe, Kong.

To be used both for marketing and making friends.

 

I'm thinking of going back, really. When I was in Xi'an I was looking for at least a volunteer job in China. Haha. Obviously,

I haven't found one. I'm definitely doing the Shigatse, Gyantse, Everest Base Camp next time.

 

Thanks too for everything. :) And hello to everyone!

 

Anne Astorga (Manila, the Philipines)

 

 

We're Back in Belgium since a few hours, thank you once again for making our stay in Lhasa such an enjoyable experience.

 

The consistency of the tour was very okay, there was no communication problem at all. What we like most in this tour was your personal input and flexibility of the program. But time went by much too fast, we would like to add more time.

 

Once again we want to thank you so much for everything.

 

We saw on your Facebook page that Jim and Helen still had a great time with you after we left. Glad we met them.

 

We're still busy with filtering our more than 4000 pictures. I hope to put some of them on Facebook soon. In the meantime I'm sending you already a few pictures of our trip with Oat along the riverside and the old village.

 

Hugs and greetings,

Marion Ceunen (Gent, Belgium), Dimitri Declercq (Ronse, Belgium)

 

 

Driver Nyima was fine, he speaks little English but we have an English speaking guide. He was a good driver, quiet and friendly. Tour guide Tenzin was also okay, friendly and his English was ok.

 

We had no communication problems, communication with you was excellent and you were also very prompt in answering our emails.

We also appreciated the phone calls from you when underway.

 

What we like most was the scenery and the impromptu times we spent with you in Lhasa! We loved the drive to and from Mount Everest, the visit to Mount Everest base camp and staying near the base camp were the highlights of our trip.

 

Jim den Hartog (Leidschendam, the Netherlands),

Helen den Dekker (Andei, the Netherlands)

 

 

Hope everything is ok at your place, thanks for sending us the DVD and I will pass your contact data in the next days to one or two friends who're planning to go to Tibet, too.     

 

Our driver was very friendly and attentive. He had a relaxed way of driving. The tour guide was very educated in Tibetan culture and religion. He could tell us a lot of interesting and funny stories and we could enjoy a lot of entertaining sightseeing tours. The guiding service was excellent.

 

We really appreciated that your door was always open for us not depending on the daytime! ;) Thanks for helping us to organise the flight back for Tobias. The tour arrangement was consistent, there were no misunderstandings and our tour guide was very open for spontaneous changes in the day's programme.

 

We appreciate the kind-heartedness and openness of our tour-guide, and it was the highlights of our tour to see the Mount Everest and experience the Tibetan culture.

 

Florian Franke (Koblenz, Germany),

Sven Joerg Knueppel (Burgstadt, Germany),

Andreas Lars Wachaja (Backnang, Germany),

Tobias Glasenapp (Heidelberg, Germany)

 

 

I liked the driver very much, especially because he seemed to be in for jokes and didn't complain once when we asked for our 100th picture-stop.  Our tour guide knows a lot about Tibetan culture and religion and he seemed to enjoy all our questions; like trying to win a debating 'game' like the monks do.

 

I'm very satisfied about our tour. And I like the fact that along our way we could change our plans. I appreciate the possibility to change our itinerary on our way.

 

Thanks for arranging our tour; I'll recommend Spinn Cafe to other travellers!

 

Tamara van Driel (Eindhoven, the Netherlands)

 

 

I already recommended you to other travellers who were interested in tibet. Hope they contact you.

 

Driver Pasang was really nice, he understands english well (he is just to shy to speak it). He is reliable as a driver and drives very safely.

 

Our tour guide Tsering is very friendly and keen to share his knowledge. if he is not sure about a naggy question from me, he can say that he doesn't know the answer - which I prefer rather than telling me some wrong stories. He knows a lot about Tibetan Buddhism and the fact that he was in a monastry for some time makes it authentic what he says.

 

I liked the variety of sites we visited and foremost Tibet, its culture, religion, people and our team. it was a great experience. I appreciated and liked very much what I saw.

 

Christian Zehnder (Zurich, Switzerland)

 

Your handling of the tour was excellent. No complaints.  We decided to choose you because an acquaintance of ours put us in touch with you. 

 

Joanne Curtis (USA)

 

                                                                                                                               

Very good driver and he's also a good mechanics. He is a very responsible person, not driving too fast like some of the other drivers and risking the lives of passangers. He also was very well informed about the road condition on every part of our trip, plus he was very easy going.

 

Our tour guide Jorden (real name should be Droten) can tell a lot of every single monastry and hotels, He had a very broad knowledge about each monastry and of course Tibetan tradition. He has been also quite easy going, always eager to help and make the trip perfect for us.

 

I would rate Spinn Cafe the highest score because you have been solving all problems on time, there were a lot of explanations in the itinerary. You was recommended by a friend of us, your price were compared to two other agencies almost the same.

 

I like most about the hiking around Mt. Kailash, Sakya, Lhasa, Shigatse (in that order).

 

That's a great idea and surveys like that usually help to tailor good trips. I think everybody has their own taste/opinion about how the trip should be tailored. If you find ways to make as individual as possible and with the driver + guide being flexible (like we experience) your tours also in the future will be quite a success!

 

Axel Thomsen (Norden, Germany) and Silvia Lotze (Bad Muskau, Germany)

 

I found the driver personable. He was punctual.

 

Both Adam and I were very happy with our tour guide Yangchin. She fit perfectly what Adam and I were looking for, and we enjoyed spending time with her during our travels. Whenever we asked questions, she readily answered and provided what we were looking for. We found her to be a great match for what we were looking for and would ask for her again.

 

I'm very happy with Spinn Cafe and your service. We appreciated your efforts to help us find alternative lodging. And you were always available. We picked you originally because you provided very clear and helpful information on general touring in Tibet, and you seemed like you would be flexible. Your cost was reasonable and matched the service well. Your promptness in communicating both before we booked with you and after were appreciated.

 

My favorite part was the day trip out to Drigung Til and Tidrum. We both appreciated the flexibility, calmness and knowledge of our guide. If we do the tour again, we would definitely take more time, and travel further out from Lhasa.

 

Overall, we were very happy with the tour services you provided.

 

Michael Gerhardt (Colorado, USA), Adam Crenshaw (Wyonming, USA)

 

I will give the driver score 4 because I think the driver is capable of doing his job. He is familiar with the route very much.

 

The tour guide is a sanguine and outspoken girl. She  can take care the tour and handling all the matters.  In short, we are satisfied for her service.

 

I think you did a fantastic job on the arrangement of our trip. I¡¯ve heard about you from Paulianna whose co-worker took a Tibet trip in April. In addition, I also knew you from a travel forum. I like you to provide a lot of useful information, opinion and photos  to anyone who wants to go to Tibet. Finally, I like your flexibility on handing our trip.

 

 I hope  I could have a longer leave so that we could see more view points/places in Tibet because she is a pearl of the western part of China.

 

Chan Ming Tsai (Hong Kong), Carrie Wong (Hong Kong), Warren Chan (New York, USA), Bryan Chan (New York, USA)

 

We highly recommended the driver. Experienced & responsible driver. He is more than just a driver to us. He was there with us when the guide could not be with us.

 

The tour guide service is good enough.

             

Haha, of course, you¡¯re the best comparing to what I¡¯ve read from others. Give yourself a bonus or a pat on your back. Most importantly, we could deal with you directly in Lhasa if there¡¯s anything amiss, but so far so good. Your tour has no uncertainty for customers. Love your clear layout of your quote. Others may be cheaper but there are other costs that have not been factored.

 

We enjoyed the whole experience. We would like to come back again!

 

Lilian Lee and Edward Lee (Wellington, New Zealand)

 

 

Thanks for letting us crash at your Spinn Cafe while we were in Lhasa.  We had a lot of fun, and the trip to Tibet was really eye-opening for us.  If you are coming to New York at some point, make sure you let us know. 

 

Our driver was really courteous and friendly, and our tour guide (Tenzin Sangpo) was great also.  They both get a 5.

 

Your tour arrangement was very organized, which gave us confidence that you guys know what you are doing!

 

We really like the Tibetan perspective on the culture and environment.

 

David Tarin and Danica Tarin (New York, USA)

 

 

Please also check out their blog with an interview about us: http://www.onthegroundtravel.com/adventures/tibet-travel-questions-1/

http://www.onthegroundtravel.com/adventures/tibet-travel-questions-2/