How far is it to your nearest Starbucks? What do you typically pay for your favorite drink at Starbucks?
Here’s a breakdown on my Starbucks stats:
The Journey:
- 15 minutes – Walk from apartment to bus
- 15 minutes – Wait for bus
- 30-40 minutes – Bus ride to train station
- 60 minutes – Wait for train
- 5 hours – Train ride from Dali (Xiaguan) to Kunming
- There is an 8-9 hour “night train” option, but we’ll ignore that choice for now!
- 15 minutes – Wait for Taxi
- 15-30 minutes – Taxi to my nearest Starbucks
So, total time to Starbucks: 7.5 hours!
But, to avoid an overnight hotel bill, I should probably return home, so that puts the round trip at 15 hours…minimum!
The Cost:
- 1.8 RMB (or CYN) – Bus to Train Station
- 198 RMB – “Soft Sleeper” Train from Dali to Kunming
- 26 RMB – Taxi from Train Station to Starbucks
Since I still need to return home after visiting Starbucks, total cost: 452 RMB ($74 USD).
Including a Tall Americano, my cost is just over $75 USD for a single cup of coffee.
Does that sound a bit different than your normal experience? Welcome to life in remote SW China.
Now that you know why it could easily be 5 months before my next Starbucks Americano, I hope you will enjoy your next trip to Starbucks just a little bit more!
Copyright © Kevin Beaty, YUNEV and “Feet on the Ground…”, 2015. All rights reserved.
The beauty is almost worth the price, but I’m not a Starbuck coffee addict.