Connoisseurs Experience

Zen - Tea - Gardens of Japan & China
Cherry blossom, Zen, Tea and Japanese & Chinese gourmets - recharge in blissful Kyoto and
find “just as there is paradise in heaven, there are Suzhou and Hangzhou on earth”.
This Connoisseurs journey has been designed for those in
need of a colourful, fun and relaxing break after a period
of stress or simply due to an all-too-hectic life schedule.
Begin in Kyoto with the cherry blossom time that provides
magical vistas, fragrant air, seasonal delicacies and the opportunity
to wander around and explore Gion’s main streets
as most of the magic takes place on the smaller side streets.
We spend one week in Japan visiting the ancient temples
and shrines during the day and night and dine at a sleekly
modern restaurant. Glimpse at a geisha gliding down a cobblestone lane, bracketed by wooden machiya
houses. You feel yourself catapulted to the 18th century until you see her duct into a very 21st-century taxi,
with a passenger door that opens and shuts automatically.
Admire the beauty of Kyoto in simplicity and be cocooned, nurtured and inspired by this mystical city
of layered textures, fascinating culture and enveloping history. There are so many exotic pleasures of this
tour that will make your visit to Japan a fascinating experience.
From Japan, we fly to China and spend another week to
explore Shanghai and nearby area and learn the secrets
behind some of the world’s most delectable cuisines.
There is an old saying “Just as there is paradise in heaven,
there are Suzhou and Hangzhou on earth”. These cities hold
the fascination of poets, painters and photographers and are
renowned for their beauties that rival any in the world.
Shanghai, with its name alone, evokes so much modern
glitzy excess and old school mystique (charm). Find the
glamour of the past along the Bund’s Art Deco facades and through the colonial era boulevards in the
former French Concession. Feel the modern Shanghai when you are atop of the could piercing Shanghai
Tower and when you are wandering through the flashy malls of Nanjing Road. Shanghai is well on its
way to once again being a multicultural metropolis that effortlessly blends modernity with tradition.
In picturesque and elegant Hangzhou, cruise the West Lake, pick tea leaves in a plantation for the freshest
cup of tea ever tasted. Tea leaves at various stages of processing are shown including cut, sorted and dried
before being packaged to be shipped as one of China’s finest gift to the world.
Sometimes the smallest space can contain the most wonderful architectural delights. Master of the Nets
Garden is a prime example of this. It is the smallest of all Suzhou residential gardens, yet the most impressive
because of its masterful use of space creating the illusion of a much greater area. Visit one of I.M. Pei’s
last projects and a dedication to his home town, Suzhou Museum. The building draws on traditional Chinese
architecture, with whitewashed plaster walls and clay-tile roofs incorporated into a new, undeniably
modern design.
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