In a dodgy part of town in northern China.
A memorable trip to Shenyang (China) shortly after I first started working. I scrimped and saved so I could afford to travel. I was on a shoestring budget. To keep costs down, I accepted a friend's offer of accommodation but a few hours before my arrival, his mother fell ill and he had to rush back to his village to attend to her. -_-
a 3-wheel taxi
Arriving in a new place with no room reservation was a bad idea. I didn't know anyone and after some asking around, found a room no one else wanted at a price determined by how desperate I looked when I knocked on the door of the no-star hotel. lol
And I needed to make instant decision because the only room available was in a dodgy part of town. -_-
A palace to house the Imperial concubines
Fortunately, Shenyang's popular places of interest "compensated" me for the lousy room I paid for. I had a fantastic time learning about the ancient history of China.
I particularly love touring the Ancient Palace of Shenyang. But not impressed with the palace that housed hundreds of concubines for the Emperor and .....
public toilets which one could smell a hundred metres away. eewwww....
With not much money to spend, I could only stay in a cheap hotel and eat dodgy food....sigh
yeah i can't stand those public toilets in China either! lol @ dodgy food..poor thing!
ReplyDeleteMonica,
ReplyDeleteThe state of public toilets in China are still as horrible. They don't think it is important to have clean toilets.
Probably due to taste differences, the food in northern China is unpalatable to me. :P
well, as long as you enjoy it..
ReplyDeleteWonderful pics and lovely take on the themes!
ReplyDeleteHi East Coast Life --
ReplyDeleteThough dodgy (Mainland) Chinese toilets... ugh. I still have nightmares of some of the ones I encountered when visiting Beijing. :(
Sarawak is just 1 hour plus by plane. I am thinking about going to China with my mum's siblings to visit our old kampong, the hakka round fortress.
ReplyDeletewenn,
ReplyDeleteOnly enjoy visiting the ancient palace and historical site. :(
Thanks magiceye. :)
ReplyDeleteYTSL,
ReplyDeleteyay.... me too. I have to avoid drinking too much water and also hold my bladder until I get back to the hotel. :P
Ann,
ReplyDeleteI will definitely make time to visit Sarawak.
I heard about the round fortress too and that is a must visit for me as well. Reading about the reasons for building it is so fascinating. Would love to live in it for a few days to experience it for myself.
what an experience. thanks for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteewok1993,
ReplyDeleteYou're welcomed. :)
Kesian..left in an alien town. Any idea the 3 wheeler taxi is running on fuel or electric car? Actually cant expect much of a nicer toilet in smaller town. Heard those days the toilets in China got no doors and tourists especially the ladies have to buy umbrella to turn it into 'door'. The locals there got no problem can do bis or small biz even without door.
ReplyDeleteBananaz,
ReplyDeleteThe 3 wheeler taxi runs on fuel.
It's not only the public toilets in small towns that are horrible, even public toilets in busy cities like Shanghai and Beijing are as bad or worse due to higher population and traffic.
I still bring an umbrella whenever I go to China. There are still public toilets without doors. I am embarrassed to do my biz in front of strangers. hahaha....
The 3-wheeled car looks dodgy to me. I hope the food tasted better than it looks.
ReplyDeleteThe Indulged Furries,
ReplyDeleteIn a small city, such 3 wheelers local cars are common. It can't go fast and is safe.
No luck, the food was awful.
That's called an adventure, lol ! The house of the concubines looks beautiful ! What a life, if you are lucky he will have no time to call you, because there are 999 women standing in line !
ReplyDeleteI love the chinese history and have also read all books of Pearl S. Buck.
Budget travel can be like that. I'm at the point now where if I go on a trip I'll splurge - no more dodgy for me!
ReplyDeleteHave a good weekend.
Ewwwweee!
ReplyDeleteI've stayed in a few dodgy places myself... be we always make the best of it!
Happy Hunting ~
A great post for both themes my friend :)
ReplyDeleteDodgy or otherwise, I bet you look back and thought of it as an adventure! No? :)
ReplyDeleteGreat take on the theme. I've never seen a three wheel taxi.
ReplyDeleteoh, the accommodations would not have been thrilling. glad you survived to tell the tale. the history of the palace kind of makes you cringe, but it is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteLooks like you done some traveling and at times one need to dodgy out quicky.
ReplyDeleteMine is up and the coffee is on.
What a colorful and upbeat blog you have!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for stopping by.
G-Man
But, you got some awesome pictures!
ReplyDeleteHi ECL, great post and I had to giggle about your budget travel adventures. I remember one trip I took with friends (poor starving student college days) and we all crammed into a "no" star motel room because we didn't have enough cash for something better and bigger. Travel memories. As for the dodgy public WC's. Yikes. I've seen some of those while traveling and they are not pleasant. On a good note, glad that there were some nice things for you there too. Wonderful photos.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend.
You are brave and it sounds like quite an adventure. I hope your accommodations and food were okay. I guess if you're hungry almost anything looks good and from your picture it doesn't look too bad.
ReplyDeleteThe ride would have been fun ..on that 3 wheeler taxi..Cheers!
ReplyDeleteNice entry combining the two memes! Glad you survived the trip (and it made for some great memories after all!)
ReplyDelete