LOTUS LAND

Well, what a perfect way to end our time in China - at LotusLand Hostel in Nanning. As we say, you win some, you lose some, then you win some... and here we did win. As we were wandering along a little back road trying to find the hostel, a friendly chap called Charlie approached us and asked us if we were looking for LotusLand. From that moment on, we were treated like VIP's by Charlie, his wife Nicky & their friend Bill (all Chinese by the way). The thing is, their brand new hostel wasn't officially open yet and we were their first guests! They took us out to lunch, drove us to the bus station & helped us buy our bus tickets to Hanoi, Vietnam, gave us free beers & even ordered in pizzas for dinner. We spent the whole day hanging out with them and enjoying, for the first time, talking to local Chinese people about their country and ours, amongst other things. But that aside, we cannot fail to mention how incredible their hostel is. They have created a place for backpackers to stay which is welcoming, stylish yet cosy, very comfortable & well-designed down to the last detail - in fact, it felt much more like a boutique hotel than a hostel. And it felt great, for once, to be the first filthy backpackers to use all the facilities!