What Happened On The 9th Day

Posted by : foongpc | Wednesday, October 14, 2009 | Published in

ADVERTISEMENT


I am following the voices of the majority so here it is! Part 2 of Did We Pay The Tour Company?

Fast forward to my 9th day in China. We were back in Guilin. After the not so good experience at Backstreet Youth Hostel, I was glad that we checked into another hostel in Guilin. It's called Guilin Oasis Inn.

This would be the last place we stay in China, as we would be returning to Malaysia the following day.

Oasis hostel room 2

At only 135 yuan (RM68) per night for a three-bed room, I thought it was worth our money!

Oasis Hostel room 1.2

This did not look like a hostel but more like a real hotel!

Oasis hostel room 4

The service was good and the place was reasonably clean. I was going to have a good sleep that night! Or so I thought.

After having our dinner and walking along the pedestrian streets, visiting the night markets, we decided to call it a day and return to Oasis Inn. As soon as we entered the lobby, the lady at the counter received a phone call asking for Jam.

That caught us by surprise. Who would want to contact Jam in China? Nobody knew where we were staying!

As soon as Jam answered the call, I could see the expression on his face changed. He did not say much and then he put down the phone. I was like, what the ....?

The lady at the counter looked at us suspiciously as we hurried into our room. It was them! Jam told us it was the tour agent calling! My worst nightmare had come true! How the hell did they find out where we were staying?

And Jam had hanged up just like that. Great! What would the caller on the other side think? They would surely be on their way to Oasis Inn, we had no doubt about that! Maybe we should move out of the hostel? Run away like fugitives? That's out of the question! I do not want to end up in jail! Especially Chinese jail!

And guess what's worse. They could be bringing some gangsters to rough us out! Who knows what the Chinese people are capable of? Frankly, the thought of this made me a little panicky.

But luckily, we managed to calm ourselves and think rationally.

First things first. Did we try to avoid paying them? No, we didn't.

Did we try to run away? Not really. In actual fact, we were waiting for them to collect the payment from us, and it was not our fault if they did not do so.

So why were we so afraid? Maybe because Jam had hanged up on them. That's why! Jam, I am not blaming you for this. I would most probably do the same thing too if I were in your shoes. It was just too unexpected. Who would have thought that they would chase after us after so many days passed by without any news from them?

I told Jam maybe he should call them and explain the matter. Just then, there was a knock on our door. We stood there, too stunned to move.

Oh my God! They are here already!! How did they arrive so fast?

To my relief, it turned out to be the hostel staff. Phew!!

It was a call for Jam. Must be them again! Jam went to answer the call and came back telling us that they would be coming to collect the payment. I think the owner of the hostel was a little worried and asked us what was the problem. We said no problem! And went back into our room.

Gosh, I could not believe we did that! Oh, well....

We decided that we would meet them at the hostel lobby as it was not safe to meet them in our room. They could do anything to us inside the room! So we told the hostel staff to inform us once they arrive.

Meantime, we planned our strategy. Well, we were about to go to war!

We decided that we would not pay for the whole package that include the Li River Cruise, tour guide to Yangshuo's 5 tourist attractions and The "Impression Liu San Jie" show. That's because we went to the "Impression Liu San Jie" show by ourselves. So we would only agree to pay for the Li River Cruise and tour guide in Yangshuo. That would cost us 330 yuan (RM165) per person. Nothing more, and to be fair, nothing less.

Even then, Jam and his friend did not have enough money. They had splurged way too much thinking that the tour company would not be after us!

Fortunately, I had excess money with me, so I lent it to them.

Our main strategy of course, would be to make a big fuss over their poor service and question them over their inefficiency at collecting payment from us. Haha! We would act as if we were angry! They want to be angry with us? Let us show them that WE were the ones who were pissed off! Not them.

Despite this, I could not help feeling a bit jittery. Waiting for them to arrive must have felt like one of the longest nights in my whole China trip.

As it turned out, we had nothing much to worry about. A lady from the tour company came to meet us at the lobby. There were no men, no gangsters. Well, maybe the gangsters were outside, ready to move in if we fail to make the payment. Who knows? I could see the hostel owner was as worried as us. Poor fellow!

We talked to the lady and complained all we could. Well, it's part of our strategy and it worked. She agreed that we pay for the whole package except the "Impression Liu San Jie" show. So we paid up.

Before she left, we asked her how she managed to track us down. According to her, it was her duty to track us down. If she fail to do so, she would have to pay the company for the losses! So she went all out and contacted all the backpacker hostels in Guilin in search for us!

Oasis street 1.2

I could not help thinking what a coincidence it must be for us to be at the Oasis Inn's lobby when she first made the call. The phone actually rang the moment we walked in. If we had entered the lobby just a few seconds later, she would have missed us. And we would have gotten away with it!

I have never really believed in coincidences. There are no coincidences, as they say. I can only say this is karma at work. How else can you explain it?

It never once crossed my mind that a trip to China would reinforce my belief in karma. Anyway, it was a hell of an experience! And I'm pretty sure that this experience would remain in my memory for a long, long time.

Coming Up Next : My Yulong River Rafting Adventure

Photobucket

FIRST COMMENTER

(80) Comments

  1. Anonymous

    Don't underestimate these Chinese tour companies man. They sure can track people down even if you try to hide.

    Honestly though, if you guys weren't planning on forgoing the payment due to the tour company, why panick?

    October 14, 2009 at 8:29 AM
  2. Che-Cheh said...

    Even if you guys entered the lobby a few seconds later, she would still be able to locate you guys because you have your names registered in Oasis Inn ma.

    I've seen karma at work too.

    October 14, 2009 at 9:25 AM
  3. Superman said...

    The connection of the the tour guide is very very good in China. Got to really be careful. They will get a little potion of what you have spent during the tour.

    October 14, 2009 at 9:49 AM
  4. Willie a.k.a Reptoz said...

    You can run, but you can't hide. Spooky huh?

    October 14, 2009 at 10:02 AM
  5. wenn said...

    well..it's for the best..

    October 14, 2009 at 10:05 AM
  6. HappySurfer said...

    That looks like a great room at a great price. This three-bed room concept sure comes in handy - for threesomes.

    October 14, 2009 at 10:58 AM
  7. HappySurfer said...

    I'm sure you are relieved that this episode is behind you now. Btw, how much was the discount in the end?

    October 14, 2009 at 11:10 AM
  8. Donna said...

    wah... your room is so huge!!!
    gor 3 beds some more..
    eh.. but deal with china man need to be really careful leh.. >.<

    October 14, 2009 at 11:18 AM
  9. khengsiong said...

    When I read your posts, I recalled my ex-boss.

    He told us his story in the office. When he was young, he had a meal with his friends in a stall. After the meal, they ran away without paying.

    He boasted to us his 'exciting' experience, but I was cursing him, "Shameful!"

    Well, I am happy that I don't have to curse you.

    October 14, 2009 at 11:27 AM
  10. CheaHSan said...

    Moment of Truth ~ can imagine you loading up your caliber.45, Jam and friend with the samurai sword walking down the hostel in slow motion ready to..[cut]haha too much movies..I presume that moment was your very worst in your entire life.

    October 14, 2009 at 11:52 AM
  11. manglish said...

    HAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHA............told ya.....nothing is mei you in china!!!!! see how fast they track u down oredi.....scary leh?! HAAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHAAHHAHHAHAAH.....i am sure you are still wondering how they managed to track down you all right?! WTF!!! hahhahahhahahahah.....like i said before,China got amazing landscape and the people, unbelievable. exclamation point.

    October 14, 2009 at 11:54 AM
  12. Ken Wooi said...

    lol scary lah.. you made me think that there are gangster looking for you.. hmm. maybe the lady is gangster herself.. pretending to be good first, if you dont pay at all.. she'll bash up you guys.. haha..

    anyway, glad everything is alright =)

    kenwooi.com

    October 14, 2009 at 12:47 PM
  13. Reanaclaire said...

    u cannot find those tour guides as efficient as her in MALAYSIA! hahahaa.. really.. it is like they hv put a micro chip in your shirt or somewhere? I read too many spy books.. hahhaa.. anyway, i m sure u all continue yr tour in peace, right? :)

    October 14, 2009 at 12:50 PM
  14. lina said...

    have to pity the lady oso lah... imagine having your pay deducted.

    That's why she had to track you down.

    October 14, 2009 at 1:05 PM
  15. lina said...

    Room look nice but I saw a few stains here and there (got what look like watermark oso on the ceiling). LOL

    October 14, 2009 at 1:06 PM
  16. molly said...

    At least you dont have a debt to pay the next life. Lucky you Haha

    October 14, 2009 at 1:18 PM
  17. Shingo T said...

    Wow, I admire her resourcefulness.

    80% of the worries in life are unfounded. Glad it ended up nicely, no gangsters whatsoever.

    Well, guess there's no such things as a free tour!

    October 14, 2009 at 1:44 PM
  18. ladyviral said...

    and here you thought you could of gotten away with it...

    October 14, 2009 at 3:24 PM
  19. ladyviral said...

    I guess they are the better Big-Ear-Holes? :P Hahahha!

    Good Trackers huh? At least there were no glass bottles throwing or pitchforks and burning fires hahaha :P

    October 14, 2009 at 3:25 PM
  20. ladyviral said...

    I would of made more fuss! Then maybe can get discount hahaha :P. But oh well, aren't you glad you paid them off... it is our own concious that we have to live with :P.

    Happy Ending!

    October 14, 2009 at 3:26 PM
  21. Tekkaus said...

    RM68 for 3 days? Wow! It looks superb! :)Perhaps this is like a 5 star hostel?

    October 14, 2009 at 3:40 PM
  22. Tekkaus said...

    Huh? How come the travel company knew about your whereabout? They must have tracked you guys huh! :(

    October 14, 2009 at 3:42 PM
  23. jam said...

    Make a little correction here. They did not call twice. The purpose I went out to the lobby was to ask the lady at the counter not to let the tour agent enter our room. Luckily, everything turns out well in the end!

    October 14, 2009 at 3:43 PM
  24. annant said...

    they say if u debt someone this life, u will gotta repay da debt by prostituting next life wo...

    she's very geng in hunting u both down :P

    October 14, 2009 at 3:44 PM
  25. Tekkaus said...

    Wow! They were pretty persistent huh! So you guys had to pay RM165 to the travel company lar? Thank goodness you had extra cash back then huh.

    October 14, 2009 at 3:45 PM
  26. Tekkaus said...

    Poor lady! You guys almost made her pay everything. Haha :D

    Well...I'm glad that in the end you guys paid the lousy company. Hahaha :D

    October 14, 2009 at 3:46 PM
  27. CheaHSan said...

    So in conclusion after all the suspense and long wait for 'years' our 2 "Malaysian Road Runners" - thought they "escaped" - beep, beep but somehow lost to "Speedy 'China' Gonzales" - ariba ariba gěiqián gěiqián [give money].

    October 14, 2009 at 4:33 PM
  28. day-dreamer said...

    LOL geng!

    October 14, 2009 at 4:51 PM
  29. Borneo Falcon said...

    Well, nothing is for free in this world

    October 14, 2009 at 9:52 PM
  30. LifeRamblings said...

    well, there's no such thing as a free lunch.

    October 14, 2009 at 10:23 PM
  31. LifeRamblings said...

    better don't play play with these china men. i'm sure they can track u down no matter where u hide.

    October 14, 2009 at 10:25 PM
  32. Monica said...

    yo they managed to track u guys down.. so scary lah :-D

    October 15, 2009 at 1:15 AM
  33. Monica said...

    wah RM68 per/n for a three-bed room?! so cheap huh and the room does look kinda nice...

    October 15, 2009 at 1:28 AM
  34. Mariuca said...

    LOL funny la u panicky dat time tot she bringing gangsters all hahahah!

    October 15, 2009 at 4:54 AM
  35. Mariuca said...

    But lucky u weren't alone, so u guys could stick together. And good thing the lady listened to reason. :)

    October 15, 2009 at 4:55 AM
  36. Mariuca said...

    Yeah I blame it on Jam too hahah, so the hostel staff suspected something was amiss just from the call and ur expressions eh? Funny la! Lucky u guys are home now, safe and sound. :)

    October 15, 2009 at 4:56 AM
  37. Ice said...

    Sounds like if you guys don't pay, that lady would get fired or something huh?

    I would have thought that all fees are collected at the beginning of a tour. How did they miss out you guys in the first place anyway? Glad everything is settled :o)

    October 15, 2009 at 8:14 AM
  38. Agnes Sim said...

    so nice..can travel to overseas. come to visit ur blog. ;-)

    October 15, 2009 at 9:50 AM
  39. foongpc said...

    mei teng, why panic? I guess we do have the intention to escape payment at the back of our minds. Hehe.

    October 15, 2009 at 1:55 PM
  40. foongpc said...

    che-cheh, probably : )

    October 15, 2009 at 2:02 PM
  41. foongpc said...

    superman, haha you are right : )

    October 15, 2009 at 2:03 PM
  42. foongpc said...

    willie, haha! Yeah, we can run but we can't hide! : )

    October 15, 2009 at 2:04 PM
  43. foongpc said...

    wenn, yes : )

    October 15, 2009 at 2:08 PM
  44. foongpc said...

    happysurfer, yes it's a reasonably good room! Suitable for threesomes : )

    We didn't get any discounts! Just that we did not have to pay for the Liu San Jie show because we bought the tickets to the show ourselves and not through the tour company.

    October 15, 2009 at 2:13 PM
  45. foongpc said...

    dolly, yes the bedroom is not bad for the price we pay : )

    October 15, 2009 at 2:18 PM
  46. foongpc said...

    khengsiong, I don't think it's shameful of your ex-boss. I think he's smart : )

    October 15, 2009 at 2:23 PM
  47. foongpc said...

    cheahs@n, oh no that was not the worst moment in my life! I have encountered far worse situations. Haha! You have a good imagination. LOL!

    October 15, 2009 at 2:31 PM
  48. foongpc said...

    manglish, actually I thought they were rather slow in tracking us down. They should have located us earlier. What if we have already left China?

    October 15, 2009 at 2:38 PM
  49. foongpc said...

    kenwooi, haha who knows she may have kung fu skills? Haha!

    October 15, 2009 at 2:48 PM
  50. foongpc said...

    reanaclaire, actually we were leaving the next day already. If she came one day later, she would have missed us. Not that efficient after all : )

    October 15, 2009 at 2:50 PM
  51. foongpc said...

    lina, yes in fact it's not good of us to escape the payment and she ending up paying for it. Don't want to owe people money like that! Felt good that we paid up! : )

    Yeah, the room is not perfect lah. What to expect? So cheap rates already : )

    October 15, 2009 at 2:52 PM
  52. foongpc said...

    molly, yes lucky us : )

    October 15, 2009 at 2:53 PM
  53. foongpc said...

    shingo T, well I still think there is such thing as free lunch or free tour, but in the end, you will have to pay for it in other ways. Karma is always working in our lives : )

    October 15, 2009 at 2:55 PM
  54. foongpc said...

    ladyviral, haha it's a good ending to our China trip : )

    October 15, 2009 at 2:57 PM
  55. HappySurfer said...

    I see. You haven't covered Liu San Jie, have you? Oh, I forgot there are still the in-between days to cover, hor? Looking forward to them.

    October 15, 2009 at 3:07 PM
  56. HappySurfer said...

    Foong, I just discovered thru one of your ads that AirAsia has a new West Street hotel in Guilin. At least a hotel we're familiar with (the brand).

    October 15, 2009 at 3:21 PM
  57. fufu said...

    still writing about guilin... damn you guys real have too many adventures there...

    October 15, 2009 at 4:45 PM
  58. Pete said...

    All these guys in the tour business are connected to the hotel, vendors, shops, and many more. It is easy for them to find someone. The street vendors in Vietnam even know which was our hotel and where we were going to visit next.....they are connected!

    October 15, 2009 at 10:18 PM
  59. Cashmere said...

    Wow! I cannot believe that she went through all those.. But well, it is a lot of money.. Lucky for you nothing happened.

    October 16, 2009 at 5:34 AM
  60. eiling lim said...

    So at least now you have a clear conscience and no bad karma!

    October 16, 2009 at 9:39 AM
  61. Donna said...

    wah... manglish laugh till so happy.. =.="

    October 16, 2009 at 4:16 PM
  62. eastcoastlife said...

    The poor girl would have to compensate her company if you all run and don't pay up.

    October 16, 2009 at 10:12 PM
  63. eastcoastlife said...

    Pity the girl. She had to go through so much trouble to track you down. :P

    October 16, 2009 at 10:13 PM
  64. foongpc said...

    tekkaus, RM68 is for one night only, not 3 nights!

    The travel company called up every backpacker hostels in Guilin to search for us! That's how they tracked us down : )

    October 17, 2009 at 12:09 AM
  65. foongpc said...

    cheahs@n, that's funny! Haha!

    October 17, 2009 at 12:10 AM
  66. foongpc said...

    day-dreamer, yeah : )

    October 17, 2009 at 12:11 AM
  67. foongpc said...

    borneo falcon, really? There are some things for free in this world. Like the air we breathe : )

    October 17, 2009 at 12:11 AM
  68. foongpc said...

    life ramblings, there are free lunches in this world if you know where to look. Haha!

    Actually, I think they were still inefficient in tracking us down. They could have gotten to us sooner. What if we left China one day earlier?

    October 17, 2009 at 12:13 AM
  69. foongpc said...

    monica, yeah, they managed to track us down. But it's a good thing cos I don't want to owe people money!

    Yes, the hostel rate was really cheap and the room was not bad : )

    October 17, 2009 at 12:16 AM
  70. foongpc said...

    mariuca, yes we were afraid they would bring gangsters to harm us. Oh, if I were alone I would not try to escape payment. Haha! Yeah, it's good to be safe and sound now but I didn't regret what we did cos it made my trip so much more enjoyable and memorable! : )

    October 17, 2009 at 12:19 AM
  71. foongpc said...

    ai shiang, I guess she would have to pay the company if she could not find us!

    Actually, yes the company asked us to pay upfront but we insisted to pay as we went along to ensure better service. You know, once you pay everything up front, you would be at the mercy of the tour company's whims and fancies : )

    October 17, 2009 at 12:21 AM
  72. foongpc said...

    agnes sim, thanks for dropping by! You can go travel too! : )

    October 17, 2009 at 12:22 AM
  73. foongpc said...

    happysurfer, yes have many more posts on my China trip coming up! : )

    Oh, AirAsia has its own hotel in Guilin? What? It's called West Street Hotel? Well, AirAsia is smart to do that, because their potential customers are huge! Guilin is a very famous tourist area and is in big demand from travelers all over the world.

    October 17, 2009 at 12:25 AM
  74. foongpc said...

    fufu, yeah still going on and on about Guilin - don't know when it will all end cos I still have tons of posts to share! : )

    October 17, 2009 at 12:26 AM
  75. foongpc said...

    pete, if they were that connected, I am surprised they could not track us down sooner. In fact, I thought they were pretty slow in finding us. We could have left China earlier!

    October 17, 2009 at 12:28 AM
  76. foongpc said...

    cashmere, yes, lucky us! Haha : )

    October 17, 2009 at 12:29 AM
  77. foongpc said...

    eiling lim, yes clear conscience and no bad karma, so can sleep at night : )

    October 17, 2009 at 12:30 AM
  78. foongpc said...

    dolly, yalah don't know what's wrong with him! Haha!

    October 17, 2009 at 12:30 AM
  79. foongpc said...

    eastcoastlife, pity the girl? Then who pity us? It's her job to track us down and it's our job to run away! haha, juz kidding : )

    October 17, 2009 at 12:31 AM
  80. Ayie said...

    I guess everything worked out for the best for everybody. Even if their service was that poor or didn't meet your expectations you still were able to use their facilities and services. Good enough that she haggled with your demands. Poor girl too if she didn't get to have you guys pay... she'll have to pay for all the dues.

    October 20, 2009 at 7:12 AM