China Day 1 - Our First Night

The Ningxia Hotel in Beijing was not what I expected. After traveling for 15 hours and having eaten only a strange Korean spaghetti experiment (rice noodles covered in tomato paste, garlic powder, and green beans) I wanted nothing more than to sleep, and to eat a familiar favorite...a Snickers bar. But as soon as we arrived at the Ningxia my exhausted spirits got a second wind! Spring and Tao said to expect a two or three star hotel, the functional equivalent of a Holiday Inn Express, but the Ningxia was beautiful! There was a spiral staircase and marble floors, fresh flowers, and friendly doormen. I was impressed.

While Tao settled his belongings with his family who lived nearby, Roy sauntered up to the counter and began to check in. Though Roy spoke no Chinese (he was still trying to master hello, excuse me, "knee how") and the kind desk clerk spoke little English, we started to realize that there might be a problem with Roy's reservation. The room reserved for Roy had been given away to someone else. There was only one room available in the entire hotel, and that was the room reserved for Percy and I. Ever the wise and congenial spirit, Percy laughed and patted Roy on the arm and said, "Roy, I guess you're bunking with the women. I hope you're alright with that. By the way, you get the cot." And thus began the roommate relationship between two mountaineering women and a really good sport.