More than just a room in China

Our hotel room was in this building. There is a lobby and a coffee and beer bar on the first floor. There is also a tiny gift shop. Each time we entered the resort area, the cab would stop at the gate and wait for the policeman to come out, open the gate, and speak into a walkie talkie. So, when the cab pulled up at the front of this building, our little hostess, Rose, would appear as if by magic to see what we needed next. More about that in another post.

This is the recreation hall that housed a bowling alley, pool tables, ping pong, etc. Nathan went bowling there but the lack of air conditioning kept John and I away. If we had small children, I am sure they would have given this place a workout.

This is the bowling alley!

This is the building where we ate our meals. We were never allowed to eat in the large restaurant on the first floor. Instead, our hostess would usher us into the elevator and take us to a private dining room on the second floor.

And this is the spa. I wish we had pictures of the interior. The magnetic springs have healing properties, supposed to be good for arthritis. However, since Nathan found some algae-like slipperiness in one of the connecting pools, I didn't try it out. (Could have also been my lack of interest in parading my cellulite). The spa boasted locker rooms for men and women, saunas, floating pools, massages and manicures (neither of which were, for some reason, allowed during the Olympics -- when I asked Rose said "FORBIDDEN!" Maybe there is some security risk in taming foreigner's unruly cuticles.) There was also a teahouse on the second floor. This was a lovely quiet place where, if the fans were strategically placed, you could enjoy a cup of tea or even of coffee and relax amidst polished wood, gently bobbing wooden-bead curtains, under the gaze of a mahogany tea-drinking Buddha perched on an ornately carved table.