International Self-Guided Travel Class · Asia Australia Chapter

Author: Liu Jie
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: International self-guided travel is far from being a part of the lifestyle of Chinese people in terms of popularity. Within the vast community of international self-guided travelers, residents from China are scarce. Those Chinese with deep experience in international self-guided travel have all had this experience: traveling anywhere in the world, they might encounter locals or backpackers from other countries who always guess you are from Japan or South Korea. When you proudly say you are from China, they naturally assume you are from Hong Kong or Taiwan. In their impression, people from mainland China do not engage in self-guided travel. They are almost right. Out of the over 200 countries and regions in the world, only a small portion have opened their tourism markets to China. Moreover, this "opening" refers only to tourist groups. Even this limited opening is a recent development. Among the countries on this limited list, the destinations visited by Chinese tourist groups are just a drop in the ocean: a country composed of thousands of islands, and they might visit only one or two islands, while the rest of the vast regions rarely see the presence of Chinese travelers. Occasionally, a few Chinese appear, not on business trips but visiting as part of their work, or running businesses, or studying locally. In the coming years, this situation will change rapidly. International self-guided travel will soon become a part of the lifestyle of Chinese people. The recent surge of mainland Chinese self-guided tourists in Hong Kong is a sign of this change. However, international self-guided travel remains a new concept for many people. In this book, "Asia and Australia," it records the author's travel experiences in Hong Kong, Macau, and six countries in Asia, as well as Australia, from January to April 2004, in the form of personal backpacking. Like countless others in China dreaming of self-guided travel abroad, the author had no recent opportunities for studying or working abroad, nor any financial support beyond personal income. What I can do, what I can do today, many others can also do, and can do today. Open sesame.