Griddable » Cost and Value

Cost and Value

Thursday, April 22nd, 2010 in: News, Travel

Ben has an interesting theory about the cost-value of things. I’ve been too wrapped up in the perceived value of things, which leads me to think “oh, this room is too big, I can get a cheaper room,” but while I might be saving a few bucks, I’m also losing a lot more value. The 7 Day Inn here focuses on only two things: the bed and the shower, because those are the most important thing to ensure their guests sleep well and are refreshed. Their rooms are small by China standards but still bigger than a business hotel in Tokyo, for less than $20 a night. Instead of thinking “oh I can make do with a cheaper room,” I should just be thankful for the extra value I’m getting out of my money. Ben says he wouldn’t travel to Japan, because he can stay 5 star hotels in China for about the same amount as it would cost to sleep on the streets in Japan. Value is relative.

It’s not that I don’t believe him, but I feel like I need to experience the differences in value so I’m better prepared to travel on my own. For a short while, $20 per night isn’t over my budget, but it does add up, and will eventually put a strain on my bank account if I’m not bringing any new cash in… I’m seeing things from the Japanese standard; I need to shift my perspective or I’ll never adjust to things here.

Willing to indulge my little experiment, Ben helped me check out from hotel #2. We were going to the new cultural museum, so I encased my bags in my pacsafe mesh and handed them to the reception desk for safe-keeping. We hopped on a bus and crossed the Yangtze.

The cultural museum included artifacts spanning the entire history of China. The crowning jewel was the contents of Marquis Li’s tomb, a lord who died 2,600 years ago. The outer sarcophagus was a bronze cube the size of my hotel room. Intricate urns, wine casks and weaponry surrounded the sarcophagus, but the most common artifacts in the tomb were musical instruments. Stringed Se, the predescessor of the Japanese koto, drums, and the most amazing set of bells and chimes, which took up even more space than the sarcophagus. In the auditorium next door, I got to watch a performance on replicas of the instruments. There were a lot of foreigners in to see the performance, but as the older couple from melbourne sitting next to me said, they were part of a group tour going on a river cruise tomorrow. (I took video of the performance, but you’ll have to wait until I find a way to get it on youtube)

We grabbed some dinner before picking my bags back up, and took another bus to the cheaper hotel, by the zoo on the bank of a large lake. Apparently, this whole area used to be a giant freshwater lake, but the Yangtze brought silt which filled the landscape, explaining both the quality of the soil around here and the presence of so many lakes. My room at the 7 Day Inn last night was 109 yuan ($16-17), and this one at the “Lark Hotel” is 88 yuan ($13-14). The difference in value, however, is palpable. This is a “Mah Jong Hotel,” where people rent the rooms so they can play Mah Jong. The room is larger, but half of it is taken up by a mechanical Mah Jong table! No internet, and the shower isn’t as nice, and the sink isn’t connected to the plumbing. The best part is the mixture of the clacking of Mah Jong tiles and badly sung karaoke permeating the walls. Hmmm, what a difference a few dollars make!

(Another video will go here when I can get it online).