Bargain

Day 40: Guilin (CN) - Yangshuo. “Two people, two bags. 30 Yuan. No more”, Karen insisted as if she were a local. The ticket seller nodded reluctant agreement and gestured for us to put our bags in the hold as the driver started the engine of the rickety old service bus.

Travelling in China, you can't help but relax, because everything takes so long. Buying a bus ticket for example – back home the price is the price; you pay the money and off you go. Here on the other hand, this simple task can lead to a protracted and articulated negotiation, so much so that we had just spent the last 15 minutes arguing over the equivalent of £1 Cracking sport though!

Climbing the steps on to the bus, the air was heavy with stale tobacco smoke as all public transport tended to be in China. So entwined into the culture is smoking that the act of refusing a cigarette can actually be a great insult to your host – which little faux pas, I managed to commit back in Chongqing, prior to learning this little nugget of cultural etiquette. My excuse that I didn't smoke, clearly was not a good enough reason not to have cigarette and for a moment, I thought I would encounter the full wrath of the Triads!

Arriving at Yangshuo, we were mobbed by hawkers trying to entice us to the many hostels and hotels. Luckily, we stumbled on the fantastic 'West Lily Hotel' proving that the adage 'You get what you pay for' is not always true. Easily, the best accommodation we had encountered so far on our journey, and at £3 a night for an en- suite room, also the cheapest. Bargain.