A Nice Little Excursion To Putuoshan

1st February - Set sail for Putuoshan

After arriving in Shanghai yesterday we arranged to leave for the idyllic island of Putuoshan. The island is held in high regard among Buddhists and many monks live and worship here.

We woke early (AGAIN!) to catch the subway to the dock. When arriving on the island we checked into our hotel (the facilties were brilliant considering how little we were actually paying). The weather wasn't brilliant and it was evident we had come in the wrong season as a lot of maintenace work was being carried out in the hotel and we seemed to be the only guests!
We headed straight out to walk around the island and take in the scenery. The deserted island resembled that from the TV series 'Lost' and we had lots of fun running through the trees and on the beaches pretending that 'the others' were coming! (I guess you just had to be there )
After a good few hours walking, and taking in the peaceful atmosphere, we arrived at a little village area where we negotiated a price for a crate of beer (worked out about 15p a pint!) In the evening we wandered back to the hotel and as there was very little in the way of nightlife, chilled out at the hotel wih some beers and noodles.

2nd February - Putuoshan, Day 2

Today we were due to be leaving the island back to Shanghai but due to high winds the boat was not running! Another hiccup with our travel arrangements!

We decided to relax in our hotel until the afternoon when we went in search of food. After 10 minutes walk we stumbled upon a 5 star hotel/ health spa! Decided to check it out and after a few funny looks at reception we were shown to a private restaurant/function room. We ate a delicious meal for about 3 pounds each! We then decided to investigate the rest of the hotel and found a private karaoke booth. Several waiters waited on us while we sang along (badly!) to some old classics! We were then told the booth cost 1000 Yuan (70 pounds) and made a quick exit!

It was then back to our hotel and we went to sleep hoping for better weather tomorrow!

3rd February - Putuoshan, Day 3

Woke up to sunlight!!! However, the boat was still not running due to high winds After running through our options we decided to go by boat (a shorter distance) to a near-by island Shenjiamen. We then caught a luxury coach all the way back to Shanghai, arriving back in the city at 7.30PM. Arriving back at the Captain hostel, it felt like we had arrived home. As we were planning to stay in Shanghai for the next 6 nights we could now relax.

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