I just spent 5 ½ days with Gregory Michiels as my guide discovering the most photogenic places the area of Guilin has to offer. The places we visited were Yangshuo, Xingping, Li River, Yulong River, Longji area with Pingan and Dazhai. The personalised itinerary that Mia put together, taking my preferences into account, was absolutely great. It was jam-packed with photo opportunities of beautiful landscapes, interesting villages and people going about their daily lives. Some of the opportunities were arranged in advance, such as an evening and a morning session with the cormorant fishermen and a session at the home of a minority family in the Longji area, others were spontaneous whenever there was an opportunity on the road. Both Gregory and George, the driver, were great company to travel with, very attentive, flexible, always looking for ways to enhance my overall experience – and last but not least very knowledgeable about the area. The program was very strenuous, literally from before sunrise to after sunset every day, however Greg was always full of energy and his enthusiasm to get create the best photo opportunity was fantastic. The logistics were excellent throughout the trip, the photo opportunities were great – got more than a couple of great shots, and had overall a truly fantastic experience. I really want to come back to this area, to see the rice fields filled with water during May/June, which must be even more spectacular than during this period and no doubt I will ask Mia again to organise that trip.
Reviewed 18 August 2015
