Hillside Retreat

I loved this place so much that I stayed 5 nights. Yang the owner speaks perfect English. I rang the day before and he was waiting at the train station with my name on a sign. He helped me organise the entrance fee. Mine was free as I'm 73 years old, even though I am a foreigner. I am travelling on my own from New Zealand. The train station pick up was free and very useful. If you take the bus it's a long way from the ticket office and bus stop into the village. Yang then transferred me into his smaller vehicle to go up the little lane to the hotel. The hotel is 5 minutes walk into the village and has a great view of the village.. It is quiet as it's a little bit away from the busy centre. The room was perfect. Everything new and very clean. And no smells. The bed was extremely comfortable with good quality bedding. I used the washing machine in the room to wash my clothes. There was tea and coffee provided. Yang took me on a full day trip to see some other local villages that have no tourists. We walked around the villages together. It was fantastic to have an English guide to explain everything. We saw people making rice wine, making indigo dye, building a house using traditional techniques. We saw a fighting buffalo. Yang chatted to the people and explained what they were doing. This was the best time I have had in China. He was a good careful driver. The breakfast was huge! So many dishes, including fruit. Yang was always available to help me with any questions and we had good talks every morning when he helped me plan my activities.

Everything was perfect