Expense Report: 6 Days in Guizhou

This is the second in an occasional series of “Expense Reports”  where I use my recent trips to examine the highly variable costs of travel in China. The first report covered the costs of Sichuan travel.

Guizhou is the poorest province in China, so going into the trip, I expected it would be quite a bit cheaper than my average jaunt around China. And, in fact, it was. My daily expenses were just $17, despite the fact that our “hub-and-spoke” itinerary had us coming back to Kaili every day or so. Key areas of savings were sightseeing and accommodation. We spent the days visiting markets, wandering around villages and watching a public festival, so the only admission fee we paid was to the village of Xijiang (60 RMB/20 RMB students). We also CouchSurfed for 3 nights, thereby saving a chunk of change on hotels (since there are no hostels in Guizhou).

The cost of attending the Dragon Boat Festival in Shibing: Free!

But I’ll be honest — in Guizhou, we got what we paid for. Probably less than we paid for, in some cases. While we were staying in an 80 RMB ($12) per night room at Kaili’s Petroleum Hotel, I found a cockroach rooting around in my toiletries case. Compare that to Mix Hostel in Chengdu, where for the same price we got a spotless and newly renovated room, albeit with a shared bathroom. If you’re planning a trip to Guizhou, be prepared for a slightly more “rustic” experience than you’ll get in other places in China.

Notes on This Budget:

• The full itinerary: Day trip to Shidong market (night in Kaili); 2 days in Shibing for Dragon Boat Festival; 1 day and night in Xijiang; Drive along the Leishan-Kaili road; Day trip to Paiyang
• We CouchSurfed for three nights in Kaili and spent the remaining four nights in hotels for 80-100 RMB for a double room. These hotels were not the kind of place I would take my parents — if you want a guaranteed cockroach-free experience, you’ll have to pay more.
• We got from place to place with a combination of local buses and trains.

Related posts:

1. Expense Report: Ten Days in Sichuan
2. Introducing Guizhou Province
3. Guizhou’s Spicy-Sour Specialties
4. Snapshots: Dancing Dragons
5. A First-Time CouchSurfing Success

Tagged as: blogsherpa, budget, budget travel, China, expense report, Guizhou