Posted: 12/10/2014 | December 10th, 2014
On the second Wednesday of the month, Kristin Addis from Be My travel Muse composes a guest column featuring ideas as well as recommendations on solo female travel. It’s an crucial topic I can’t cover so I brought in an professional to share her advice.
It was February in China and, considering the town of Lijiang’s elevation in Yunnan province, still extremely much a chilly wintertime wonderland. Standing outside waiting wasn’t exactly how I wished to spend the morning. however Ya Ting had such interest for the concept of hitchhiking that selecting the bus just seemed tiring at this point. She had been hitchhiking around China for months as well as thought about it such a laid-back as well as evident choice that it took the concern ideal out of me.
China had been on my container listing ever considering that studying Mandarin in Taiwan seven years prior. I understood from conversations with good friends that traveling around China would not be as carefree as well as simple as in Southeast Asia. What I didn’t plan on was costs about a month without coming across one more foreigner, hitchhiking over 1,000 miles, as well as discovering a lot more about Chinese culture as well as hospitality than I believe possible from traveling by bus or train.
Ya Ting had taken me under her wing after hearing me speaking Mandarin in a hostel dorm in Lijiang. She was fascinated by my fluency as well as wished to travel together, which was exactly how we ended up on the side of the road trying to find a trip to the Tiger Leaping Gorge. Within 20 minutes, we had our very first ride. I assumption it wouldn’t take hours after all. He couldn’t take us all the method as well as ended up dropping us at a freeway crossroads. I figured that would be the end of our luck, however nearly promptly we got one more ride.
Hitchhiking [turned out to be] a lot more of a research study of anthropology than a scary, irresponsible happiness ride. It was astonishingly simple as well as motorists [turned out to be] exceptionally great as well as normal. As a new hitchhiker, I expected creeps as well as serial murderers I’d have to fight off with mace. In reality, they came from all typical walks of life: members of minority village tribes, university students, as well as businessmen returning house from a work trip.
Not when did I feel threatened or unsafe.
Our a lot of noteworthy encounter was when a twenty-something youngster chosen us up. He couldn’t take us the whole method so his uncle gotten us lunch as well as a bus ticket for the rest of the journey. It’s as though he felt obligated to assist us discover a method to total our trip. It brought tears of happiness as well as gratitude to my eyes. This was the very first time I comprehended the value of generosity as well as the high esteem that guests command in China. It was a selfless act that would repeat itself in the weeks to come.
Ya Ting’s theory had been that we were so getting so lucky since we were a regional as well as a foreigner together, as well as that had stimulated intrigue. She didn’t believe we would get so lucky when we split up. After a few weeks traveling together, we stated good-bye as well as I would test her theory.
I stood behind the tollbooth on a heavily trafficked highway on-ramp in Sichuan province, casually reducing my thumb each time a authorities cars and truck drove by. I was well conscious of the difficulty before me. Ya Ting was no longer around to do the talking, nor did I have somebody to lean upon if something went wrong. now I was just a odd foreigner on her own who unexpectedly had to handle with a borderline-conversational Mandarin ability.
At first, a few cars and trucks slowed down for a better look, only to speed off. then others just weren’t going in my direction. minutes stretched on, as well as I was feeling defeated. After about 30 minutes (or an eternity depending upon who is counting), a kind duo chosen me up as well as took me the entire eight hours to Chengdu. They held lunch on the way, and, as I had come to discover was normal of Chinese culture, refused to enable me to pay for any type of of it. I was surprised at the generosity that was still prolonged to me now that I was just a foreigner on her own as well as no longer had Ya Ting’s dynamic character to assist me along. This reinforced my belief that people weren’t being friendly since of Ya Ting however that Chinese culture dictates a hospitality we don’t commonly see in the West.
A week later, two service partners returning from a trip from Tibet chosen me up. They drove about twice as quick as the buses and, in between white-knuckling it in the back seat as well as eating the occasional slice of yak jerky (delicious dehydrated beef-like meat with Tibetan spices), we discussed the topography of California as compared to Sichuan province.
They stopped on the way for a lunch of the popular ya an fish, which the driver, Mr. Li, had chosen from the fish tank, together with some six other large dishes to be split among us three people. He explained that the fish had a double-edged sword inside its head. provided my perplexed expression he elected to show me, calling over the waitress as well as asking her to break the fish’s head open.
I was all however persuaded I was going to have to eat fish brain up until the waitress triumphantly pulled out a sword-shaped bone from the fish’s head. She then cleaned it as well as fashioned it into a bracelet. It concurrently ended up being the most sharp as well as lethal yet really fascinating piece of fashion jewelry any individual had ever provided me. It felt like my heart grew two sizes it that moment.
China smashed lots of of my perceptions. before this, I never comprehended why any individual hitchhiked. getting into automobiles with strangers seemed hazardous as well as stupid. In reality, it taught me about kindness, improved my language capability immensely, as well as supplied an insider’s view as a foreigner in China. From eating meals with locals, to sitting in their cars, to hearing the music they liked most, or whether they favored bagged poultry feet to dried fruit, I witnessed Chinese life in a method that nearly nobody else gets to see. Without hitchhiking, I may never have comprehended the generous as well as communal nature of Chinese people.
Kristin Addis is a solo female travel professional who influences women to travel the world in an authentic as well as adventurous way. A former investment banker who offered all of her personal belongings as well as left California in 2012, Kristin has solo traveled the world for over four years, covering every continent (except for Antarctica, however it’s on her list). There’s nearly nothing she won’t try as well as nearly nowhere she won’t explore. You can discover a lot more of her musings at Be My travel Muse or on Instagram as well as Facebook.
Book Your trip to China: Logistical ideas as well as Tricks
Book Your Flight
Use Skyscanner or Momondo to discover a affordable flight. They are my two preferred browse engines since they browse web sites as well as airlines around the globe so you always understand no stone is left unturned. begin with Skyscanner very first though since they have the greatest reach!
Book Your Accommodation
You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the greatest stock as well as finest deals. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, utilize Booking.com as they consistently return the least expensive rates for guesthouses as well as affordable hotels.
Don’t fail to remember travel Insurance
Travel insurance coverage will secure you against illness, injury, theft, as well as cancellations. It’s detailed security in situation anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to utilize it lots of times in the past. My preferred business that offer the very best service as well as value are:
Safety Wing (for everybody below 70)
Insure My trip (for those over 70)
Medjet (for extra repatriation coverage)
Looking for the very best business to save money With?
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Want a lot more info on China?
Be sure to see our robust destination guide on China for even a lot more planning tips!