I just received a flyer from smarTours, www.smarTours.com with a 10-day tour of Beijing and Shanghai for $699, including air from Los Angeles – for a New York departure, add $100.

People think that Asian travel is prohibitively expensive for an ordinary person. I beg to disagree! An average airplane ticket to Oklahoma City from Chicago (visiting grandchildren) is rarely below $330, and here is a trip that includes air to the Far East AND land arrangements, for an additional $400! tell me…how can you beat that…or use the excuse “it costs too much to travel out of the country.”

Both Beijing and Shanghai are fascinating and different cities to visit. Beijing, with its Forbidden City, The Great Wall (read my Great Wall article), Tiananmen Square – all included in the tour cost. And, if you like to shop (almost everything in my closet has a “Made in China” label in it)…this is the place. Knock-off heaven. But even if you aren’t looking for a famous brand knock-off, the bargains are incredible! There are many four-story buildings filled with clothing, shoes, backpacks, toys, jewelry, etc. I bought a puffy, embroidered parka for $23.00 last Fall. You must bargain HARD and be prepared to walk. If they let you walk more than 50 feet away without running after you, the price quoted WAS rock-bottom. Plan on shopping even if you aren’t a shopper.

Shanghai is a modern, exciting and vibrant city. New buildings going up around the entire city but still with quite a bit to see. The famous Shanghai Acrobats, The Bund (Shanghai’s famous waterfront) with its old buildings and the Foreign Concessions, Jade Buddha Temple, Yu Gardens (eat dumplings there) and you can easily do this on your own.

It’s very safe walking around both cities. Take a card – in Chinese – from your hotel so you can jump into a cab (inexpensive) and get back to the hotel without problems. The food has improved tremendously – there are even KFC’s, McDonald’s and Starbucks if you get a hankering for some plain old American fast food. Believe me, after spending several weeks touring in China eating Chinese food, there is nothing like a “Big Mac” or some KFC to hit the spot. Don’t worry about SARS, bird Flu or anything else…if an epidemic travels around the world, America is not going to be exempt from it. Worry more about a car accident on your way to work.

Yes, it is a long plane trip…no getting around that. I feel like a pretzel and miserable by the time I reach my destination, but a good night’s sleep and all is forgotten with the excitement of being in such a unique environment. And there are some extra costs involved. For example: taxes, airline fees, China visa and some meals are not included in the above costs, but try and find a trip around the U.S. for less than $1,000 (including air) for 10 days and let me know what you come up with.

smarTours is not the only company with inexpensive tours. Don’t be timid…expand your horizons and see China. You won’t regret it…