To bathe or not to bathe

This trip has taught me something about myself. I'm going to be conceited for once and say that I think of myself as a seasoned traveller. If not seasoned, at least somewhat experienced and an easy going one as well. Accommodation is rarely a priority when planning trips - 5 star hotels and resorts are great, but I've also had great times at B&Bs, inns, youth hostels, etc.

Hence, when yours truly arrived at our hotel in Xi'an, I obviously thought nothing more about the following than the fact that Ren was trying to get us a good deal at a 3 star hotel and here we were!

-the non-English speaking staff
-the non-existing English translations of any signs/notices whatsoever
-the key card that would not open your room door, but instead served only to turn on the power in your room (to get into your room, you had to get one of the staff stationed on that floor to open it. I will never understand the logic of this)
-the worn out carpets and slightly stained walls
-the tub-less bathroom with dim lights and half a roll of toilet paper that was left in there

There was also a weighing machine, a big one I might add, that sat outside our room door. WHY? We tried to avoid looking at it everytime we left and came back to our room, but there it was, staring at our guilty faces every night after we've come back from our eating escapades. The good thing about it is that it is not quite accurate. Everyone weighed 3kg lesser than we normally did. There is justice after all.

Great. As long as there's a clean bathroom, I can stay anywhere! It is now time for a shower. I turn on the tap, and in about 10 seconds, the bathroom was filled with a horrible, indescribable stench. Surely there must be a sewerage or drainage problem going on. After a minute of standing in there, not knowing what to do, I decided to just hold my breath and took the quickest shower in all my life. It was Lanna's turn next. She went in, showered, came out and said nothing as well. Then I noticed a sign that was posted outside the bathroom door. It was in Chinese of course. I understood enough to know that it was a notice about the water. Fabulous.

The next day, over breakfast, Ren told us that the area we were staying in is close to the hot springs so the water comes directly from there. That stench was the smell of sulphur and other minerals in the water. Well, at least we know it's not going to kill us.

Lanna and I survived the first 2 days. But on the 3rd day, when the jewellery she wore turned colour after a shower, we decided to buy bottled water to wash our faces and brush our teeth. We also resorted to using wet wipes to dry clean ourselves one night because we just couldn't bear taking a second shower. I remember passing a group of people outside the hotel elevator one morning - lets just say that Channel No. 5 and Eternity would be considered a necessity in this situation. Of course, who are we to complain? We must have smelled just as bad. It took me 3 days and 6 washes to get the stench out of my hair after I left Xi'an. Fun, eh?

This is what I've learnt about myself. As much as I think I can bear staying just anywhere, I can be wrong. It's more like - as long as I can get a clean shower at the end of the day, I can care less if I was in a village hut or a hotel room. Oh, and no sewage smelling water. Please.