Putting the "Shui" (water) in Jianshui

(Nik)

It was incredible. It was miraculous. It was likely freeze-dried, but at this point we didn't care. It was coffee, strong and black, the best we've had in a hotel so far. The Yunti Hotel has charms and faults like any establishment, however the coffee was enough to make the trek into the mountains worthwhile. We would descend later that day, and our high altitude buffet breakfast was more than a decent sendoff.

We drove from after breakfast until an early lunch at a small open air restaurant. Jackie wanted to avoid repeating the same dishes at all our meals, and thus convinced us to sample the local chicken gizzard prepared with garlic and spices. Gizzard is more pleasant than you might think, however, I think I will stick to drumsticks in the future. The meal, as always, was delicious.

After lunch we drove to Swallow Cave which is a cave where swallows congregate to make their homes during certain seasons. Their nests, congealed with saliva, are a valuable commodity for their health benefits, and are harvested by climbers who scale the walls of the cave without ropes, helmets, or even shoes in order to collect them. The stone formations in the cave are illuminated by a beautiful rainbow of lights that highlight their shapes. Many formations are named; we visited a grape garden, some frolicking elephants, and East and West Heaven within an hour and a half. I would not have suspected any celestial region would contain a food court. West heaven, however, houses a noodle shack and a place to buy bottled green teas.

Leaving the Swallow Cave, we arrived in Jianshui just as the sun was beginning to set. Jackie took us to the old town gate, a huge and quite splendid structure, elevated, with thick crimson sides and an orange roof. In the shadow of the gate, locals were congregating to dance, hawk, and converse in the shade. We walked into the center of the crowd and all eyes were upon us, especially as Mrs. Li filmed a local over-60's Zumba class with a live Erhu ensemble providing music. We walked around the old Tang-era town of Jianshui, and Lindsay and Arlen contemplated buying some local pottery.

Dumplings were requested at dinner, and despite them not being on the menu, they made their way to our table in a delicious soup. Abby and Ola, however, were more interested in two of the kitchen staff who were reported to be, as the locals say, feichang shuai.

Abby and Ola were the focus of attention after dinner as they hosted a gossip session in their room. During our chat, their bathroom casually flooded due to uneven tiling. Now, many hotels have slight leakage around their tubs, but as Ola said, "I was just trying to shampoo when I looked down, and what did I see? A sixth Great Lake forming right on the bathroom floor." Lake Jianshui was about two inches deep and had a surface area of about 14 square feet. Bailing out the girl's room became the new focus of the evening, and thoroughly exhausted everyone.

Xiexie!