I’m standing by the door, bag packed, train ticket booked and ready to check out of my accommodation. I was about to take a 12-hour train across China when my phone lit up. Someone had just sent me a video on Instagram, “5 places you can’t miss when visiting China.” Within the span of less than 10 minutes, my thought process went like this:wow, that looks sick. Oh, this one is only 2 hours away. I wonder if I can cancel my train? I can. But won’t get a refund. Oh well… This is probably the closest I’ll ever be. So let’s go… I guess?I booked a new train ticket and walked out the door.

One of the reasons I love travelling alone is the freedom to be spontaneous. On the train, I quickly booked a place to stay for the night, and that was the extent of my planning. Still, travelling through China without knowing the language was exhausting, and at times I wished I had someone with me to share the mental load of translating and navigating with limited internet access. Yet, China easily wins the award for having the kindest people. Everywhere I went, locals would stop to ask if I needed help, and more often than not, when I asked to pay the bill after a meal, the server would tell me that someone else in the restaurant had already covered it. I was constantly greeted with smiling faces and treated like a celebrity getting stopped for photos. My blonde hair would draw plenty of attention, sometimes a little more than I wanted. What happened next tested me: was this another example of China’s kindness, or was I about to get myself into trouble?

After a few hours on the train, I arrive at a police checkpoint, and the policeman is pointing at me, calling out my name before I have even opened my mouth. A wave of panic comes over me, how does he know my name? The policeman translates to me that he wants my passport to check my visa. Without saying a word, I hold up the visa page. He ushers me to follow him, and I immediately pull up the map on my phone. I realise that he is walking me to my accommodation... but how does he know where I’m staying? I still haven’t said a word. The reception desk is unmanned, so he reaches behind the desk and grabs a key, and then points to the stairs and begins to walk away. I checked myself into the room and then stood there thinking, ‘what the fuck just happened?’ Later, the owner tells me that the policeman is his brother and he had asked him to assist me as he knew I needed to pass through the police checkpoint to reach the accommodation. Turns out I had nothing to fear, China once again wins the award of having the kindest people.