I thought I'd add a post with some of my thoughts and experiences on the trip. Especially some of the more mundane things that might get forgotten later.
The hotel in Beijing had an awesome pillow menu, with 11 different options. I was really excited about it, as I'd never seen anything like it before. Many of them promised lots of health benefits. I decided to order the Silkworm Excrement Pillow for Saturday night. It promised, "Improve hearing and vision, relive [sic] rheumatism and prevent from cervical spondylosis and hypertension." It seemed worth a try. However, when I woke up Sunday morning, I had a neckache, so the Silkworm Excrement Pillow wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Maybe I should have chosen the "Camellia Pillow", which promised to "Regulate qi and blood, refreshment and improve the quality of your sleep." Or maybe the "Jasmine Pillow", which was to "Relax the mind and harmonize liver and spleen." I really need my spleen harmonized, so maybe next time.
We are now in Lanzhou, and although our hotel is a 5 star, there is unfortunately no pillow menu. However, there is a spa menu, so I availed myself of that. There is a whole booklet with glossy photos and wordy descriptions. It was hard to choose. I finally decided on the Chinese Foot Therapy. The brochure described the experience thus: "Effects: perking up blood circulation, dispersing pathogenic wind to reduce body temperature, enhancing the kidney and improving the bone, improving sleep, and eliminating fatigue." The part about dispersing pathogenic wind really made the choice for me. No one at the Spa spoke English, but I took along my menu and pointed to what I wanted. It turns out that Chinese Foot Therapy involves massage elsewhere, too. My feet soaked in hot water with an unknown substance in it, while my head, face, neck, shoulders and arms were massaged. There was regular massage, and some firm pushing straight into various points, as well as quick swipes that were almost tickly. Then my feet and ankles got a deep tissue massage, interspersed with more swipes and pushes on the soles that I could feel all the way into my hips. Also quick yanks of the legs and ankles and toes. It was fantastic! Then a few minutes were spent rubbing my legs, which are still sore from climbing the Great Wall on Saturday. I can't belive that the whole experience was only 98 Yuan (about $17), and lasted an entire hour. I'm not sure if the pathogenic wind has been dispersed or not, or if my kidney was enhanced and my bone improved, but I do feel invigorated.
