What Kind of Traveller Am I?

I am a DRIFTER!

I grew up in the concrete jungle of Beijing. I am a Beijinger – born and bred. My parents, however, were neither born nor bred in the city. They moved to the city as adults. For them, the city was a place to find economic opportunity and always escape to the village to enjoy the fresh air and the landscape. My father’s village was always the place to escape to. So, every few months when schools were closed my siblings and I would be bundled out of the city and sent to my grandparents’ village. Wedged in the plains along the northern periphery of Beijing, the village was surrounded by the Taijang and Yan Mountains. Growing up in this fashion I developed an appreciation of both the city and the village life. Perhaps this is why when I travel now I tend to enjoy staying with local people especially on the periphery of a big city. In this way I get to enjoy the vibrancy of the city while at the same having nature and open landscapes within grasp. I hope I never have to choose between the lovely chaos of cities and the peace and tranquility of the nature in the country-side. If push came to shove, however, I would always choose the city over the country. I believe the city is where my heart has always been.

I enjoy travelling with company but not in groups. I am beating the stereotype of large groups of Chinese travelers. If I cannot travel with companion, I almost always choose to travel alone. This has particularly been the case over the last few years as I have gained more confidence of travelling to new places alone. Before this I always looked for a travelling companion because I was scared to travel alone as a single Chinese woman. Travelling with company was also preferable because it reduces costs of travelling. Although I am a drafter, travelling costs can still be too high for an unemployed student traveler. Thanks to room renting services like AirBnB travelers like myself can drift into new places without much hassle.

But the most important benefit of such services in my opinion is not that they are cheap. No. It is how close they bring the traveler to the local culture. I love cultures. Therefore, I enjoy speaking to local people, eating, local food, hiking through local trails, and enjoying the local cuisine. This explains my love cities. Because cities often have every aspect of the culture that one might want to interact with in any place. It is melting pot of local culture and life. In this case, my travelling leans towards cultural exploration.