And there was hot water the next morning. Lashings of the stuff. The then evident lack of any towels meant using the duvet cover for drying purposes - but it did the job. And at least, unlike rkkwan, I wasn't accused of nicking the towels on check-out!
The next day saw me visiting a student I taught a couple of years back. She's now working as a teacher in her home village and helping mum and dad with the farming. I've visited a few farmer's homes before, but never to stay overnight which I did on this trip - and it's a pretty humbling experience. As Westerners we tend to class a whole range of things as 'essential' when in reality they're not.
And then it was onto Lanzhou for a night-stop and then with ZH to CAN via XIY. And ZH get the thumbs up for probably the best domestic service (Y) I've encountered in China.
My last 2 nights in China were spent in Dongguan (easily reached by direct bus from CAN in about 70 minutes) and in the type of hotel I love - no facilities of it's own, but set on a back street that was teeming with life until the early hours. Corner shop - check, street stands - check, beer market - check. The most notable thing about my inspection visit to the room was the 4 packs of condoms lovingly (no pun intended!) placed by the bed which suggested the midnight phone call would be something of a certainty. But it never came so a peaceful night was assured.
All up it was great to get to China again. China Railways did themselves proud in terms of ticket availibility which was the one thing that could really have thrown a spanner into the works. Catching up with students I taught up to 5 years ago is a fantastic experience in terms of seeing what they have done with themselves. And it's just interesting visiting places I've not seen for a few years as it really emphasises the pace at which China is changing. And of course, Chinese hospitality is as fantastic as ever.
If you are going to be doing more than one visit to China I'd highly reccommend making the effort and getting out into the sticks.