From Yangshuo, I took the night bus to Guangzhou 广州 the bustling capital of neighboring province Guangdong 广东. It was another one of those sleeper buses similar to the one I took from Huaihua to Longsheng, only this time I don’t get dumped out of the bus in the middle of the night. The road to Guangzhou was through brand new highways so the trip was very smooth and quick. The bus got to Guangzhou just before seven in the morning and it left me at the Long Distance Bus Station in Fangcun district 芳村区.
I intend to go to another city nearby, but I needed to dump my stuff somewhere where I will be staying the night. I got a cab to Guanagzhou Jiangpan International Youth Hostel which also another member of the Hostelling International group of hostels. Immediately, I noticed that the cab driver is protected by some kind of cage. I guess crime is quite common here that the need this to be protected from hold-ups. This is the first time I have seen this in this trip. I have seen this in Shenzhen taxi cabs before which is also known for its crime. Now I remember how Qingting from Yangshuo was warning me how unsafe Guangzhou is when he found out I was heading there. So far, it doesn’t really feel unsafe but I’d rather err on the side of caution.
The hostel wasn’t really that far, in fact, I could have just taken the metro to the hostel since Fangcun station is just along the main road behind the hotel. But I didn’t bother trying to figure out how to do that anymore, a cab was more convenient, fortunately, it was nearby so I didn’t really spend a lot for the cab fare. The cab driver took a little time to find the place though and dropped me off there.
The hostel is located in a rather commercial district along the Pearl River 珠江. Beside it are bars and restaurants and the place it really quiet this time of the morning. Being in the middle of a major city, Jiangpan International Youth Hostel is not that cheap anymore in fact it was the most expensive of the hostels I’ve stayed in China. Fortunately, I still got my membership card and was able to get a discount for my room.
I tried to check in this early but there was no one at the counter. So I asked the guy in charge whether it was okay for me to leave my stuff behind reception while I go “somewhere” and come back to check in. He agreed and I quickly left me stuff there and left. Now I needed to find out how to get to my next destination.
Here is the address of the hostel:
Guangzhou Jiangpan International Youth Hostel
15 Changdi Street, Luju Road
Liwan District, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
广州江畔国际青年旅舍
广东省广州市荔湾区芳村陆居路长堤街15号
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