A solo-travelling Brit has revealed how she stays for free with locals but admits they often treat her ‘like a zoo animal’.
Amy Aed has been trekking across Asia for the last two years and lifted the lid on the cost of her most recent trip to China.
The 26-year-old spent £0 on accommodation by staying with locals for free who would invite her into their homes.
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However, she revealed that because she was a foreigner in parts of the country that rarely sees tourists, she was often treated ‘like a zoo animal’ before the locals got to know her.
“After long days of travel, I really don’t want to be treated like a zoo animal,” Amy, from Wales, told Whats The Jam.
“The fact that I’m a foreigner in these random places seems to have the biggest impact and shock value.”
At first the locals would stare at her, take photos and even get her to promote their business on social media.
But after the initial ‘shock’ reaction, the conversations developed and she experienced one of the biggest parts of Chinese culture – hospitality.
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As a tea business owner, a lot of Amy’s travels are spent sampling local products and interacting with strangers.
Amy explained: “Once people know why I’m there and realise I’m genuinely interested in learning about tea rather than just passing through, they’re often incredibly welcoming.
“Quite a few families have invited me to stay in their homes instead of booking a hotel.
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“They usually won’t let me pay for accommodation, and they’ll often insist on feeding me too.
“I always offer to contribute or pay, but hospitality is such a big part of the culture in these tea-growing communities that it’s often politely refused.
“Staying with families is one of the best parts of travelling.
“Instead of just seeing a place as a visitor, I get to experience daily life, such as joining them for meals, watching tea being made, waking up in the mountains, and spending hours talking over tea.”
Amy has been solo travelling since a young age and, despite having to be wary in other parts of Asia, her 30-day China trip was the safest she ever felt.
Amy added: “China is one of the first places that me being a woman hasn’t blatantly affected me.”
Being welcomed in by families and offered a place to stay for free was an eye-opening experience for the Brit.
She said: “I have had to change seats a few times at train stations due to people watching me or taking photos.
“Due to the fact that I’m clearly a foreigner, people would interact with me more.
“One random guy gifted me a vase when I was browsing magnets on the side of a street.
“In Jingdezhen a pottery family took care of me for four days during the typhoon, and three times while sitting on the train I became friends with the person sitting next to me.
“So much so that we’d go for food and they’d always refuse to let me pay.”
The solo traveller actually admitted that she felt incredibly nervous before her 30-day stint in China due to being unable to access her daily apps such as Instagram, Whatsapp and Uber.
Amy said: “Honestly I was very nervous before arriving, as I knew that everything would be different.
“Without a VPN I wouldn’t have access to Instagram or Whatsapp and thus not be able to contact anyone, apps I usually use like Uber and UberEats were banned.
“I couldn’t use my credit cards and places rarely used cash so I had to sign up for the Chinese way of paying via a verified app on my phone.
“But actually, it was so easy to travel – comfort was affordable, and not just to foreigners but for locals, too.
“China is a very beautiful country.
“At the same time, there were days when I thought people were quite rude.
“But these would be days where I was travelling between places and passing thousands of people in small spaces, so of course, one or two people would stick out as rude.”
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