Hotel from Hell

Still not quite used them waiting while we read the menu and find it extremely irritating. We always try and indicate to the waiter (who seem to take their job titles literally) that we need more time to look, but rarely do they understand. So, as usual we take forever to decide what we want, and all the time, he's standing there impatiently waiting. We ordered way too much food. I was amused watching Ali struggle as she tried to eat a chicken wing using her chopsticks. Train ride to Nanjing was very pleasant and were even given a bunch of lychees as a thank you gift for swapping seats so that a group of friends could sit together. To pass the time, I initiated a memory game. I wanted to know every type of transport that we had taken since our fist drive to London Gatwick airport on March 17th. I also wanted to know how many times we had taken each type of transport. After seven weeks of traveling, the results are as follows... 2 planes, 13 trains, 3 coaches, 11 buses, 24 metros, 14 taxis, 15 cars, a ferry, waterbus, rickshaw, horse, bike, ski, aerial glide, ski lift, scooter and a boat. I'm going to try and keep this record up to date for the entire trip.

When we exited the station in Nanjing we were surrounded yet again by hotel touts, all trying to lure us in with crappy pictures and prices. We agree to one place that offered 45rmb a night. We are taken there by car (now the 16th to date) and then argued with the staff once we got there after they start showing us 200rmb rooms. After 20 minutes of this nonsensical behavior, we finally settle for a 100rmb room. It's a twin room with private bath. I wasn't impressed with this place at all. Without going into detail about the dirt, lack of sheets, poo smells and dilapidated interior, I think the bathroom deserves much more focus. 1) The toilet doesn't flush, or at least in the way it should. After informing the key girl (see #4) of the minor problem she kindly showed us the correct way to flush. Stupidly, we didn't realise that you had to fill the big red plastic bowl that was on the floor with water from the shower hose (see #3) and empty it into the toilet which then has the equivalent effect of being flushed. 2) The tap on the sink didn't work. Or at least like normal ones. The tap is activated only when the handle on the make-shift pipes (one of the many that make up the complex and dodgy plumbing system) is turned in either direction. When this special 'mains' tap is turned, water gushes out of all the badly joined connections. 3) The shower, located within the same 4' x 6' room as the toilet and sink (no room for a shower curtain), is operated by turning the lever on the giant tank above. This was easier to operate than the tap which is why I used it for most things. Showering was difficult considering the size of the room and I was certainly grateful for my flip flops. Although I didn't even feel that safe walking around in those either. 4) We didn't get a key to our hotel room. This so-called 'hotel' (which by the way, smells of urine and is occupied by not so pleasant old men) has an unusual system with regards to keys. Keygirl (as I aptly named her) carries every single key on a giant ring like a prison officer. She opens the room for you when you arrive back to the hotel. The hotel felt (and looked) like a prison. I said "good night" trying not to think of all the bed bugs that really might bite.