I’ve been kicking around the villages of Guangxi and Guizhou provinces in China for about a week now and I think I’ve spent about $10. Ok, I may have spent a bit more than that, but not much in the grand scheme of thing.
For example, I was just in a village called Langde about an hour outside a city called Kaili in Guizhou and am spending a grand total of 20 yuan per night including a very yummy, big dinner of mysterious things. I could have got that for less I think as I know accommodation here usually goes for 10 per night but I am just a lazy bargainer. Exchanged to US$, 20 yuan comes to less than $3. There’s no internet here, nothing really to do besides wander the hiking trails around the town or swim in the river, and life is simple and peaceful. But if you’re the type who is after some quiet time to write, think, work offline, paint or whatever, then the price is right and the setting is stunning.
A few nights ago I was in a village called Zhaoxing which is just as beautiful but more commercial. It has a bit more going on for the visitor in the way of restaurants and hiking trails to other villages and accommodation here only cost 20 yuan per night for a room with a fan, toilet, and even a TV. Noodles for breakfast cost only 3 yuan and dinner with a couple of beers cost only about 12 tuan.
Before that I was in Chengyang, a super small one bridge (the attraction is a large wooden wind and rain bridge) town and the hostel cost 20 yuan per night with free internet (but no wifi), a toilet, a fan and a balcony overlooking the river. There are lots of trails around this village, lots of day trippers, and a couple of hostels with food and bars and it’s only 20 minutes away from the larger city of Sanjiang.
Last week I was in Dazhai, a community set among the Dragon’s Backbone rice terraces and my hotel cost a bit more at 30 per night but again, there was free internet, clean rooms, cheap meals, and it’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been.
I just wanted to let everyone know how cheap you can live if you can do without certain things like Western food, wifi connections (although it is possible to set up a connection through a mobile phone… I think), and the hustle bustle of a big city. Living abroad really can cost as little as $5 per day in beautiful places if you know where to look.
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