I am back again, writing from the East! I write this while still at the hostel, while I wait for a train to Shanghai this evening. We checked out before 12 so effectively my experience of the place is complete. They are storing our bags and allowing us to use the communal facilities as we wait.

The hostel cost 260 Yuan a night plus 100 yuan deposit - this works out at about 100 pounds (this keyboard doesn't have a pound sign!) for our 5 night stay. Our room was a private double with ensuite, but there are a range of different rooms, from dorms (4-8 bed), to private twin or triple rooms to ensuites...we are snobs so we chose this option. I have used the shared bathroom a couple of times when trekking a further 10m to my room seemed too much effort.

The hostel served food, but we never had any as it was more expensive than surrounding restaurants- perhaps a small convenience tax. Pixxa and pasta is available as well as "traditional breakfast' which apparently was a poor effort, but I hear it is very hard in China to get a decent breakfast anywhere. Those that we saw having main meals all said they were very nice. We instead chose to eat on the busy street that the hostel was based on. There are various street vendors and cafes and restaurants. We went to one which cost 23Yuan for 3 of us to eat lunch - that's less than 2pounds, a far cry from the price of a KFC family bucket back home! For those that want something familiar, there are McDonalds and KFC, and even a Dairy Queen on the main street though we haven't visited them, preferring to go native.

Our room was set just off the adorable courtyard. The room had red walls and a very high ceiling. The attached bathroom was OK, but pretty stinky, sewerage in China is a bit hairy. You are also not allowed to flush paper down the toilet, so leaving it to fester in a bin for a day just added to the delightful fragrance. The shower was a bit rubbish too, but I hear they all are here, so that's something we will have to get used to. The bed was firm but fairly comfortable, and the rooms have air conditioning, although we barely had to use it as the weather wasn't too hot. One complaint was the level of noise. This morning some construction work started round the back of the hostel and I awoke to loud grinding. The walls were also very thin which could be irritating if you have neighbours who are late nighters or early risers. My friend was in a dorm room in the corridor by the entrance and she said it was very loud at night, and that it was annoying not being able to turn on the light because of the people she shared with. That said, I haven't stayed in many hostels, haven't done much travelling (yet), but I'm fairly sure these are pretty common problems in the world of hostels.