Following our misty mountain hop through Zhangjiajie, we traveled south by train to the town of Jishou. Jishou isn’t really anything, it’s a transportation center masquerading as a fugly provincial town, but it’s a convenient gateway to the towns of Fenghuang and Dehang. We had made reservations in Jishou while still on the train, some binguan recommended by Lonely Planet. We walked down the street, still in our sweaty, smelly hiking clothes to the hotel, it was pretty depressing. Fortunately right across the street was a gleaming new “international business hotel.”
YJ and I looked at each other, looked at the dusty old lobby of our reserved binguan, and hustled across the street to check on rack rates and possible discounts. Blithely ignoring the “appropriate clothing only” sign on the door, we sloshed our way across the marble floor and politely inquired as to available rooms. Sure enough a “deluxe double” was available for 298 RMB. Now, that might sound like a lot in Jishou — and it is — but then we saw our room. Flat screen, giant bathtub, great view, huge room, it was the Suite Life with YJ and Jeremiah. After two days of hiking and guesthouses,