Hanhzhou

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Next time we do a holiday, I will try to post pictures a bit faster! Once you get back to work and day to day life, this sure gets put on the back burner, but the memories of our holiday have not.

The second half of the Autumn Festival holiday started off on another drizzly day in Shanghai. Even though we knew the weather was not going to be nice, we were still hoping for some sun. But no, so mbreelas in hand, we headed off in a cab to the train station. We considered briefly taking a quick taxi to the Metro and the subway to the train, but in the end realized that it would be a lot of hassle of suitcases, backpacks and transfers.

The train station was easy and not a long wait - thank goodness for having bought the tickets ahead. Once inside, we had great seats, and a clean car. We discovered how worthwhile it was to have bought first class tickets when Barb and I went to find a coffee in the 'Bar Car'.

The closer to the back of the train, the more crowded it was, people in the aisles, sitting, standing, eating, snoring. Wending our way over legs, bodies and bags, we finally made it through many cars to the back of the train and a questionable looking kitchen, but having no Starbucks, it would have to do. Drip coffee through old grounds and then heated in a microwave - how much better can it get??

But she said it tasted surprisingly good and we wound our way back to our car, not an easy task with a very hot cup and no lid. As soon as people saw her with a hot cup, though, they got out of the way quickly! Not much time to relax and we were soon in Hangzhou.This city is renowned for its famous 'West Lake'. At school, every student that knew we were going here let out envious sighs and wishful thoughts that they could come with us, so we were very anxious to see this beautiful place.

Having arrived in late afternoon, our first priority was to enjoy the wonderful hotel room - the splurge of the week. Soft beds, cozy robes, nice bathroom, mini bar with snacks - such a treat in a week of cool, dreary weather. After a nap and unpacking our things, we headed out to explore for supper. We are usually pretty adventurous with food, but did not seem up to making decisions, so ended up in --wait for it ----Pizza Hut! It was the first western meal that we had eaten, so we enjoyed immensely. Our hotel was only a short walk to the lake, so after supper we strolled home and made plans for the next day.


The next day, Thursday, we headed down to the lake with our map to see how far we could get on foot. It was still overcast, but you could tell how gorgeous the area was- misty lake, pagodas on the shores and hill sides, boats with oarsmen, paddling leisurely. It was surprisingly not too crowded, so we had a leisurely 8 hour walk around the lake on the winding paths, over bridges, through gardens, past pagodas and tea houses, lotus gardens and thoroughly enjoyed the day .

We were weary and ready to rest our feet back at the hotel before heading our for a more adventurous dinner than the night before. Guide book in hand, we decided on one that was recommended as an older, more traditional restaurant.

The place was a large open room, with many tables and a grand piano in the middle of the room. We got the feeling that serving westerners was not a priority, though, because the service was very poor, but eventually got menus and food service. The dishes were quite tasty, but very small servings. The 'Beggar's Chicken" which is supposed to be a whole chicken stuffed with good things, wrapped lotus leaves and baked in clay, was very tasty, but likely a quail not a full sized chicken! We also paid 60 kaui ($10) for a 'crab with orange' dish. It turned out to be one orange, wrapped beautifully in cellophane, and scooped out with a very small amount of crab inside. Very disappointing and quite expensive. So much for that adventure and we were all still hungry! (Starbucks for coffee and dessert)

Later that night, Barb and I decided to head to the night market while Rick relaxed. Even though it wasn't too far, we wanted a taxi because our map didn't describe clearly where it was and it was dark. After waiting on the street for several minutes, and having many empty taxis pass us by, we decided to take up the offer of a tuk- tuk driver. Having established the price (I thought 2 kaui which seemed reasonable- at home a motorcycle taxi is 1 kuai), we set off. It turned out to be only a few blocks away, and when we stopped I handed him 2 kuai. He was not happy and kept indicating more. I thought maybe 2 kaui each, so gave him two more. When he pulled out a 20 to show me, I almost had a fit - a taxi would only have cost us 8 kuai!. So after a lot of yelling and me telling in my bad Chinese what I thought of that, I shoved a 10 in his hand and we took off. Boy was he mad - pounding on the cab, yelling at us, whew, we left quickly! I hate being ripped off, but hate mad men yelling at me too!

The market was only marginal, a bit of a disappointment also, and when we walked back we were a bit concerned that he wasn't still there waiting for his money! Since we now knew the way, we walked back this time.


The next day was the beginning of 'National Holiday' and now we had to spend it with 3 million of our best friends! What an experience - we had never seen crowds like that! The first thing on our agenda was to find a store for Barb to buy some gifts, so th concierge found a silk store through a friend. He also found us a driver who took us there quickly, but getting back was another experience.

After we bought some gifts, the first taxi told us that it was close and we could walk back to the lake. Being no other taxis around, we set off and found a couple of interesting streets on the way to visit. After and hour or so, though we were getting hungry, so again looked for cabs. Besides fighting throngs of people, the empty taxis passed right by, even if you stood in the middle of the street to flag them down. Realizing this wasn't going to work we decided to take a bus.

Hmmm - which bus? Phone the hotel and they told us 2 choices. Hmmm - find the bus stops.......much more walking. Find the bus stops and wait with 300 people .....too crowded. Now we are really hungry - find a restaurant. SHould we walk back? Don't know how far....THe only way to get on a bus in to go the opposite way and hope that it makes a circle and take us back to the hotel. Find a bus stop going the other way. Finally get on a bus!

Great ride around the lake - yeah we are off our feet finally! The bus ride took us places that were new and interesting. At the end of the route, we had to pay again, but that's okay, now we are heading towards our hotel. Hmm, now the crowds that we were fighting before are swarming on the bus, but at least we have a seat. Two hours on the bus before we are back in familiar territory. There is our street - why isn't he stopping?? Hmm guess that the announcement in Chinese has something to do with not stopping. Finally get off the bus and in unfamiliar territory again. How to get back - no taxis!!! Ask a few people in my poor chinese and get set the right direction... arrive back at hotel over 7 hours later!!! We need a beer and a glass of wine. (Send Rick out to find a bottle of wine)

The last day, Saturday, we again tried the lake, early to avoid some of the crowds, took the boat to an island in the middle of the lake, which was okay, but there were thousands of people on this small island, so it lost it's effect - we were so glad that we had the wonderful leisurely walk the first day. For the rest of the day we realized that public transportation would not work, so we rented bicycles. Of course, by noon, most of the bikes were rented, so we had to take what we could find. Rick looked so cute on his!

It was great way to see the city and we became very good at winding in and out of traffic - you went much faster than all of the cars, busses or people. Later in the afternoon, we decided to see a temple about a 45 minute bike ride away. No problem getting there, but once we got there , we realized that it was far too busy and we would never get in, see the temple and ride back before dark.. so had a rest and then headed back, a bit weary, but happy with our day.

It was great week despite crowds and angry tuk tuk drivers- we loved having Barb with us and know that she loved her trip to China as well. On Sunday, we headed back to Shanghai by train. Now we are back at work, report cards, exams, planning for new term, but know that another holiday is on the horizon! Bye for now - more later.

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Photos

Train to Hangzhou
The trains are a great way to travel, as long as you can figure out how to get tickets. The train stations are usuallyl quite crowded and not a lot of English spoken, although there is often someone in line that can help you out. I can always tell them what we want, but as soon as they answer me, I'm lost!

West Lake Walkway
I'm not sure how far it is around the lake, but walked, checked out a pagoda, and stopped for lunch, which took us about 8 hours. And we didn't see the whole lake. So lucky that we did it the day before National Holiday! This is what walkway looked like on Thursday - check out other pictures for Friday!

West Lake walk
This beautiful small pagoda was tucked in a garden along the walkway around the lake.

West Lake
This was originally a large lagoon in the 8th century and over the years was developed by various dynasties. The current park is all restored and redeveloped, but still fairly true to the original structures.

Boating
These 6 person boats, rowed by boatmen, are seen meandering the lake all day. We didn't take any of these boats, but they looked really appealing.

Leifeng Pagoda
This pagoda was originally built in 977 AD, and stood until 1927, when it collapsed. This restoration includes a viewing area of the original tower with some of the artifacts (and a lot of replicas) of treasures that were found.

Nice escalator!
Our weary feet appreciated the escalator going up to the pagoda, but we did walk down.

Tourists
There were certainly not a lot of western tourists here, and of course, lots of people want to take your picture. The girls who took this picture at the pagoda were in several other shots with us too.

Photo 8
I wish that I could remember the story behind these statues, but alas, cannot. It was a beautiful pond in the Leifeng area. There was a restaurant overlooking the pond that we considered for lunch until we took a close look at the men. Ox head, intestines and eels were not what we were looking at, so we moved on.

Ferry Boat
This regal looking vessel is another boat that tours people around the lake - a great way so to see the view, but not so good for stopping to see the sights.

Can you find the westerners?
This was on the day that we spent 7 hours getting home from the store. Again, don't know the significance, but enjoyed posing - had to sneak in quickly because so many others were doing the same thing.

Bunnies
We are hoping that these cute bunnies were being taken to market to be sold for pets!

Split pants
Most chinese children wear these split pants until they are toilet trained - which is incredibly young - only a few months for day training. Longer for nights, as will be attested by some very tired ESL teacher moms who get up twice a night to sit their kids on the toilet! It sure beats the number of disposable diapers that we go through.

Bikes for rent
These red bikes were available all over Hangzhou. For a fee, you obtained a card which enabled you to pick up and drop off bikes at any bike stand.

Our Boat
We got up fairly early on Friday morning to try and beat the crowds and catch a boat to one of the islands, not too bad a crowd going over until you saw that number of boats moored at the docks circling the island.

Tai bung le
Too cute - this little fellow was on our boat, oblivious to the fashion statement that his mom dressed him in.

Crowds
Now we are into the holiday crowds. Remember the peaceful walking path in the earlier picture? This is what the path looked like the next day!!! Can you find Barb?

Easy Riders
Now that we have our own transportation, we are ready to roll! Despite the size, these bikes were really easy to ride and comfortable. No missing Rick in the lead on that fancy pink job!

Guarding the pagoda
On our bike tour day, we took a side trip to the Baochu Pagoda, a last buddist pagoda in the hills above West Lake. The guards were temporarily off duty, so we took the opportunity to rest a bit after a lot of stairs.

More crowds
We headed to the Linyin Temple on our bikes, but arrived a bit late in the afternoon. Unsure of whether we should pay and go into the temple grounds, we headed over to the gate; this is the view inside the gate. Needless to say, we decided that our time could be better spent elsewhere and headed back to the hotel for a glass of wine and dinner.

The Phoebe Bar
We really should have gone into this bar, but since it was only about 6:30 in the evening, we didn't have energy to head back later. What a good time this would be!

Heading Home
Last day, we took the train back to Shanghai - us back to Jinshitan and Barb back to Canada. What a fun holiday, and so glad to have family to share it with. These cool sculptures at the Shanghai airport were exactly how I felt.

Comments

[Dana]

Greetings from PR
Hi guys. It all looks and sounds so wonderful. What an adventure! Are you home for Christmas? We're in Calgary. Jacson and Michelle are expecting a baby boy on Dec. 24th...going to be grandparents - YEH!