We got to Shangri-La that afternoon and checked into our 4 star hotel. I am positive that the star rating system is way different from the US hotel star rating. Maybe China uses a rating of 4 out of 10 instead of 4 out of 5. This hotel did have a business center that was open but the computers didn’t work. The rooms had been getting smaller and smaller the further north we traveled and this one was the smallest with the smallest bathroom. No AC but we didn’t really need it. It was very cool and you could open the windows (no screens though). The carpeted floors were filthy (looked like a frat house after a rush party) with many, many stains and burns. Chairs had stains and the wallpaper was peeling. We saw an English sign in the room that had its room rate at $60 USD. On the other side in Chinese was the Chinese room rate 60 RMB a night – that is about $7.50. Think they might be gouging the foreigners just a little?
I forgot to mention the “extra” we had in our room. In the corner of the room we had a large machine that allowed you to plug in an oxygen tank (which you could purchase downstairs at the front desk.) Our elevation had been increasing each city but this was the first place that I really felt ‘winded’ and had a headache. My headache finally went away by the end of the 2nd day but I still huffed and puffed more than usual with any hill or stair climbing. Elevation here was a little over 3000 meters. We saw many tour groups carrying around their portable oxygen bottles. We never bought one, we just wheezed.
