Day 357: 穷游 = “Budget Travel”

Shanghai, China

What did I do today? Nada! Si, nada!

Not true. I did go to Yanchen’s house to hang out. Then to a Couchsurfing meet-up at a Starbucks. Some 30 people attended. The whole 2nd floor was taken by Couchsurfers. Met a few interesting individuals.

But that was about it for the day. No sightseeing. I was just killing time in Shanghai to wait out for the Huangshan (Yellow Mountain) tour that I’d be joining the next day.

Same deal: The 3-day/2-night tour to Huangshan is cheaper than a DIY trip.

Good point:

• Pay lesser price.
• Convenient transportation.
• Good hotel with private room instead of hostel’s shared dorm.

Drawback:

• Being shepherd around like sheep.
• Having to sit through a couple hours of souvenir factories/shops’ (tea, bamboo products, snake oils, etc.) presentations.
• Everything is explained in Chinese. (Not a problem for me)