Before coming to China did you have all kinds of quaint and adventurous ideas like travelling along with the locals and experiencing the 'real China', instead of being in comfortable isolation, using the best method of transport and the best accommodation that you could afford? If so, you are not alone, although by now, if you have been here for some time you will have had your ideas adjusted, as I have.
My ideas have been adjusted for several reasons. One reason is that my Chinese friends questioned the fact that I wanted to travel with them by train, instead of flying to Hong Kong by myself. Mary gave me a good talking to, she said "You will not be able to stand a 36 hour train journey, why don't you just get the plane, you can afford it?" This was true but I replied "But you and our other friends can't afford the plane so we should all go together". She continued "Why? You don't have to suffer with us". I thought her reaction was strange and asked her "If you could afford the plane ticket and I couldn't and had to go by train, wouldn't you give up the plane and come with me?" She thought for a while and then answered "Yes, but that is different". I didn't agree and said "No it isn't, I should be loyal to you". I felt pretty good at my self-sacrificing spirit, until she told me the real reason she was trying to persuade me to go by plane. "Please, I beg you, don't come with us on the train, you will do nothing but complain and we will not be able to stand it. It is dirty and noisy, you won't be able sleep or use the toilets. We find it difficult already so if you are there complaining all the time……" Me! Complain? I hardly ever complain……Ok I got the message and went by plane. Hah! My friends know me too well. I consider myself to be adventurous but the toilets are an important factor for me. If they are too horrific my bladder dries up and my bowels refuse point blank to work.
Long distance buses are the same, the toilets on-board are unmentionable and you will be sleeping on bedlinen that probably hasn't been washed, ever. I think I have mentioned before how my friend's bed came with the addition of someone else's toenail clippings.
On both these methods of transport you will have to also put up with everybody else's habits at close proximity. The smells from the food consumed are quite pungent. If it was one or two smells mingled together it wouldn't be so bad, but as every area has their own specialities and people tend to bring them on board, the eventual result is olfactory hell.
Noise is also a problem. I am amazed at how loudly people speak here. I often tell my friends that they don't need to use their phones, they can just stand and shout and their friends will hear them wherever they are. Unfortunately the trains and buses mean that everyone can use their phones, and use them they do, at all times night and day.
As far as the trains are concerned, the ticket chaos and sheer number of people make it difficult to know as to who has and hasn't got a ticket, so sometimes it is a free for all. This means that all kinds of people can be wandering the train corridors.
Enough of travel, how about accommodation? Whilst I have stayed in budget hotels, and even booked a stay in a hostel, I haven't gone for the very bottom rung of the ladder like some of my friends have. They all unanimously say that the reason they made their travel and accommodation choices was based on their poor financial situation. However if you choose well, budget accommodation needn't necessarily be bad. I booked a space in a youth hostel in Beijing. It was clean, convenient and only 60 yuan a night. The downside was that there were eight beds in the room and seven of them were occupied by Chinese men, who were very startled at seeing me enter. I don't know who was more uncomfortable, me or them. I went back to reception and told them that they had made a mistake and I needed a room with women in it. They regretfully told me that there was no segregation. I was too nervous about this and elected not to stay. If there are several friends together, however, this is the perfect option, there are 8, 6 and four bed rooms so everyone can stay together. The youth hostels, if they are part of a bigger arrangement, tend to be quite decent and pre-booking is advised as the decent ones fill up pretty quickly. Also, you don't need to be a youth!!!
A word of caution, if you want to try some of the smaller hotels and hostels in the countryside, you must be prepared for two things:- Don't be surprised at what you get, cheap deals means cheap…..everything, cleaning may well be optional. My friends wanted a "rustic experience" but found that at their inn, they had to go out and buy their own cleaning materials and implements and do the job themselves. They were travelling China on a budget, they did indeed save money but their response was, had they known it was going to be so basic, they would have saved up some more and upgraded. They said that the smell in their room was so bad that even after cleaning with bleach it didn't dissipate. Their final conclusion was that they would never again rough it. The second point is that what passes for the star system here in the cheaper hotels is generally lower than the standards at home, so if you stay in a two or one star hostel, you will probably be unpleasantly surprised.
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Actually China is offering more and more choices for travellers, and although obviously if you stay in a remote area you will not necessarily be able to get five star luxury, you still should be able to find reasonable accommodation for a reasonable price wherever you go. Booking on the internet is still the best way to get great deals, as most hotels offer better prices for booking online. You can also speak to the hotel and ask for a better deal, more often than not they are quite flexible.
I have a couple of tips. What looks quaint and rustic in pictures sometimes translates as primitive facilities, no air conditioning and insects everywhere, therefore when looking for a place to stay don't have your romantic head on, put your practical head on. Check the reviews, particularly those of Chinese travellers, get your friends to translate if necessary. My other piece of advice is get the very best that you can afford. It may be less interesting but some experiences are really not worth having. Remember the golden rules, you get what you pay for and watch what the locals do. Chinese people don't slum it unless they have to.
