Outside the Shangrila Lamtin Youth Hostel 蓝田国际青年旅舍
It was a very long day of travelling for me. I have practically been travelling non stop since the previous night. The only rest I got was that small period at the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport. Now, I’m far away from Guangzhou, and I’m far away from anything else. I was in Shangrila, or at least the town that calls itself that. The James Hilton’s book Lost Horizon has a Shangrila which Chinese officials claimed was at this location. Whatever. This Shangrila was far from the utopia that was portrayed in the book, though it wasn’t a hellhole either. I took some time to get some rest at my hostel. I found this while going around in town and I saw the Hostelling International logo. I made reservations at a different hostel but that was at a totally different town. I still have to decide on whether I would be proceeding to that place. For now, Shangrila Lamtin Youth Hostel is home.
Common Area at Shangrila Lamtin Youth Hostel 蓝田国际青年旅舍
From the name itself I have a feeling that the hostel has Cantonese roots. Lamtin sounds very Cantonese and it is possible that it was someone from Guangdong province or Hong Kong who set up shop here. Shangrila Lamtin Youth Hostel is one of those old Tibetan houses which got converted into a hostel to serve the growing tourist traffic here. Their location near the entrance of the town is great and still quite separated from the noise of the main square just a block away. There is a common area on the ground floor which is Tibetan themed as well. This area seems to be built in a greenhouse with the roof in clear plastic, most probably to protect against the elements during the harsh winter here. I only got a bed this time, more affordable to me.
[xmlgm {http://www.worldwanderings.net/kml/ShangrilaLamtinYouthHostel.kmz} zoom=19]