Hostel of horrors
Trip Start
Jan 24, 2004
1
31
Trip End
Apr 01, 2004
Nanning,
Guangxi Zhuang,
China
Thursday, April 1, 2004
Continued from ; Dragon's backbone soup
April fool's day
The road down is very steep . A panoramic view of stepped terraces through grimy windows. The old bus attacks hairpin bends as brakes squeal. Our shoeless driver must have done it a thousand times as his right arm works the gear stick to engage rapid down shifts. Inside the vehicle, school children and grandmothers are crammed in with chickens in wicker baskets. I don't need reminding of what chickens look like. I catch the connecting bus from Longsheng back to Guilin to collect my main pack there. And wait for the express bus to Nanning. Four and a half hours of video entertainment in Chinese. In Nanning town centre I can see my reflection in shop windows . I am surely having a bad hair day.
There's a cheap flop-house opposite the railway station which isn't unusual in Asia. I check into the Yin Bin hostel and pay 18 Yuan. To share a dormitory with a man from Singapore and a six legged creature. Mr Lee has travelled the world for the last twenty years. He must be 65. We go and eat at a point and shoot type restaurant which has a selection of ready cooked casseroles and fish. We also stroll through a market where I see a very tender topside of dog suspended from a meat hook. Back in the dormitory I sleep well after sealing all my bags. There is something large scuttling around under the beds and I don't want a repeat of my experiences in Cambodia. Ever. Where a giant cockroach had nested in my main pack and laid its eggs. Zips and pockets shut tight. That's my advice to anyone roughing it in Asia.
Next ; Blog 2. South West China and the Himalayas
