Feng Shui, count me among your believers.

Since leaving L'America nearly 3 months ago (I KNOW, it'll be 3 months in a couple of days!), we've really upped our knowledge of every type of accommodation.  We've slept in a tent we pitched ourselves during a sandstorm in the Gobi, modern Chinese business hotels, a large and varied rainbow of love motels, a collection of hostels that range from grotty (Hong Kong) to sublime (Beijing), and plenty of gers.  Some rooms we stayed in for a night, some for 4, some for longer.  And what is just bizarre is that the quality of our sleep varies hugely place to place.

Before coming on this trip, I would have blamed a poor nights' sleep on one of a few factors: comfort of the bed, temperature, brightness of the room, noise.  But having now slept in dozens and dozens of strange rooms/tents in a few short months, I've revised my opinion.  I know y'all are going to say its a little dippy, but I think that the best nights' sleep are had in the hotels that practice legit Feng Shui.

Case in point...  The bedroom in our apartment on 9th street was my platonic ideal of a sleeping environment.  This wasn't unintentional; sleeping is my favorite thing to do on earth.  Don't be sad; its awesome and I'm very happy with my decision to put sleep first.  Anyway, our room.  We had a big bed topped by the Cadillac of Nasa-inspired mattress technology.  The walls were painted a calming, sleepy taupe and heavy chocolate velvet curtains blocked the sun and noise.  And yet, at some point every single night, I would awake in half sleeping panic.  I never knew where I was and the dark shapes of doorways and furniture were too near and unrecognizable and scary.  I didn't understand what caused the problem, but now I think I know.

In China, there are several chains of boutique business hotels springing up to serve major cities.  Places like the Home Inn, the Orange Hotel, and Motel 168 & 268 are a few examples.  These hotels are modern, convenient, and built on the principles of Feng Shui.  In Suzhou, we stayed at a Motel 168.  The bed was one of the hardest we slept on, the room was small, and the street below was noisy.  And yet we consistently slept like marathoners, usually straight through 9 hour stretches at a time. 

These new joints rely on the principles of Feng Shui rather than high thread counts or Cable (ha), to create comfort.  I don't yet know enough about the practice, but you can bet your bottom dollar I'll be learning before I decorate another bedroom.  Obviously, Benjamin Moore #1018 (Shabby Chic) can't compensate for the bad juju I created hanging wall mirrors willy nilly.  Duly noted, China.