Backpacking China
With everyone writing about the Olympics I couldn’t help but remember the very strange experience I had backpacking through china.
courtesy of Birger Hoppe
There are many amazing things to see and experience, if you need some recommendation try this post. I just can’t shake the memory of a full local bus. As we backpackers are often on a budget we get to see some of the aspects of the real lives in Rural areas and the bus experience had an honorary place among all else. When you’ll be there you’ll get what I mean.
The toilet experience is another thing to write home about, some of the public toilets have no doors so all the women sit side by side doing their business. It certainly took some time getting used to.
The food lodging situation in many of the villages is again something that you should think about if you like the to visit the small untraveled villages and meet local people. At the small out of the way places there is usually one place that offers lodging so just go with the flow.
The last thing is the staring, there is no problem for an entire village to stare at you and it can be really annoying at times.
After saying all that just know that it is really a great experience to travel China, you can decide how native you want a be and choose tourist friendly locations, the main attractions are usually more accommodating.
If you’re the hardcore backpacker you won’t be scared by the conditions and after the initial cultural shock you’ll come to love every minute of your trip.
Hey Sarah, I have been living in China for over a year now, and i would like to backpack around china but in a very cheap and rural way. Where have u been ?
I was on a short trip of only few weeks so I’m really not an expert on backpacking China cheap or the best routes. But actually as you live there it can be a good way for you to backpack. Just start at the closet location and learn the area for few weeks. You can cover different areas at each time. The one recomemndation that I can give you is that the Rural the area the cheaper it is to travel if you are willing to travel and live like the locals