sleepy head

i like to document things while i travel. i keep a strict money diary (down to the cent), which tells me a ton of things: where i stayed, how i traveled, what i ate, what i saw, etc. so in my first installment of my money diary, i want to share how i slept each night - and what it cost me.

10 Oct: BEIJING/Elaine's apartment (on the college campus where she is teaching); Y0
11-12 Oct: BEIJING/Parents' apartment (owned by a church); Y0
13-14 Oct: BEIJING/Elaine's apartment; Y0
15-18 Oct: BEIJING/Parent's apartment; Y0
19 Oct: BEIJING-XI'AN/Overnight train (soft sleeper); Y405/2 (sleep + transport)
20-21 Oct: XI'AN/Hostel (private ensuite/shared bathroom); Y158 (x2)
22 Oct: XI'AN-CHONGQING/Overnight train (hard sleeper); Y191/2 (sleep + transport)
23-25 Oct: THREE GORGES/Cruise ship; US$350/3 (sleep+transport+tour fees)
26-28 Oct: SHANGHAI/Tram's apartment in Pudong; Y0
29-31 Oct: HANGZHOU/Hostel (4-bed female dorm room); Y50 (x3)
1-4 Nov: SHAOXING/Heng-Hartses' apartment (provided by the university where they are teaching); Y0
5-7 Nov: HONG KONG/Couch-surfed (floor of a couchsurfing host); Y0

total: Y764(US$101.87) + US$116.67 (1/3 of cruise) = US$218.54. not bad for a month's worth of sleeping!

twice during my trip, i stayed with strangers. the first time was in Shanghai, wherein i stayed with a younger sister (Tram) of a Seattle friend (Mai). i stayed there for three nights and was hosted graciously by Tram and her fiance, even though they were both super busy running the Chinese headquarters of the his family business and preparing for their wedding. (they were leaving for L.A. a few days after my departure.)

staying with Tram in Shanghai was a quite interesting affair. first of all, they live in a very fancy apartment a block away from what will be, for a few short weeks, the tallest building in the world (World Financial Center). to give you an idea on how fancy the place is, there are no key or code entry for the apartment - only fingerprint. secondly, there wasn't a spare bed - so i slept in the window alcove (that was comfortably cushioned) of their office. a unique arrangement for sure, but the cool thing was that i had a view of Pudong from my "bed".

my second round sleeping with a stranger was via Couch-Surfing. i got turned onto the idea when i got concerned about the guy who was subletting my apartment. i wanted to make sure that my departure in early October wasn't too late; that he had a place to stay in the meantime; perhaps like my former subletter, he was staying with friends. so i asked him if he was couchsurfing.

he answered, "no, but i did that in Europe!"

huh??

so couch surfing is a real thing - not just something you do with friends when you get in a fight with your parents or partner!

the basic idea is: you log onto a site, search for cities where people are offering up their couches (or in this case, a floor), contact the individual and ask to be hosted, and then sleep on a couch. the intention is to be an open community of hosts and guests - to be a host and to be hosted.

anticipating that Hong Kong would be both overwhelming and expensive, I decided to give it a shot while there. (i had the money to stay at a hostel - even a hotel, but i wanted to try this method of lodging.) So before i even left Seattle, i contacted a woman who was offering her floor. she had similar demographics as me: single, in her late 30s, social worker, living in a tiny apartment in the city. we emailed back and forth over the next few weeks (she was in Croatia traveling when i first contacted her), making plans for my arrival (which was always in flux since i wasn't traveling with an itinerary.)

despite some minor trepidation (it was my first time couch-surfing; it was her first time hosting) about inviting/staying with a stranger in a strange city, we hit it off splendidly. she was extremely accomodating (even taking some time off from work to host me). she got to practice her English with me, and i got to learn about/experience H.K. from a native's perspective. it was a wonderful experience, and i'm hooked to this cross-cultural exchange idea. moreover, lodging didn't cost me a thing! (i did treat her to a couple modest meals while we were out together, but the cost was significantly less than what i would've paid for lodging. anyway, i wouldn't have gotten, what was essentially, a native tour guide in the mix!) we are now Skype and Facebook friends too!

when i return to my own computer (i'm in a PC bahng right now), i'll post pictures of Fong and her lovely apartment. needless to say, couchsurfing was a resounding success!