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Published: November 9th 2006
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First of all, I must apologize about the lateness of these next few entries. Our hostel in Guilin does not have internet (as promised), so I have been unable to post our experiences. Fortunately we found an internet cafe this evening, so you can all be caught up to what we're doing on the other side of the world.
The last few days of our adventure have been spent in beautiful Hangzhou, a short 2 hour train ride from Shanghai. Hangzhou is home to the renowned West Lake. In the 13th century Marco Polo passed through the city and described it as one of the most splendid in the world. There are 36 West Lakes in China, but this is the one from which all others take their name. The lake is about 3km long and a bit under 3km wide.
Our hostel was situated directly on the Lake, on a pretty street lined with willow trees and small restaurants. Across from our hostel was even a Porsche, Ferrari and Maserati dealership! From our location we were able to walk to the paths surrounding the lake, which made for some beautiful strolls.
Seeing as we only had one
Pagoda
Not sure what Pagoda, but a Pagoda none the less. full day in Hangzhou the Lake was the only site we managed to see, although there doesn’t seem to be much else in the city. It was a laid back place, and we enjoyed the vibe.
To avoid the hefty commission charged by the hostel for booking sleeper train tickets we hoofed it ourselves by catching a local bus to the train station. Learning from past experiences, we had an employee of the hostel write in Chinese characters what tickets we required. 518RMB later we secured our spots on the sleeper train to Hangzhou. The hostel informed us the ride was 26 hours, the longest journey by train we’ve had yet. We came armed with snacks aplenty, as well as soups, soda, and water.
The train was near empty when we boarded, as it originated in Hangzhou and had many stops before we reached our destination. We each had a bottom bunk as well, which made the ride much more comfortable. Around 5pm (the train left at noon) a young couple boarded and was bunked in the same “cubicle” as us. Despite the language barrier we became friends, and they seemed to think our snacks were not enough.
Sunset
The sun setting on the beautiful West Lake. They handed us big sticks of sugar cane to munch, as well as gave us each a can of “Longan Mixed Congee” and some ears of corn. The mixed congee was a new experience, it contains beans, glutinous rice, and berries in a syrupy sweet sauce. It was actually pretty delicious! The sugar cane I can definitely live without. It’s like poor kid’s candy. A long piece of bark like cane, which you bite off and chew on to release sugary juice. We couldn’t be rude and not eat it, so we grinned and chewed through the stick as quickly as we could.
The train was actually 30 hours, so the last 5 hours were spent in frustrated expectance, eager to get off. It felt like we were never going to reach our stop! When you board a sleeper train a lady comes around and collects your tickets and gives you a card. When your stop is next they come back to give you your ticket back. Each time the lady would walk by our bunks we held our breath, hoping she would give us our ticket and we could relax knowing it was our turn to disembark. Finally
Pagoda from the other side
Here is the other side of the Pagoda, with some better detail. we spotted the looming karsts - limestone upthrusts - out the train window which meant we must be nearing Guilin. The lady appeared and traded our cards for our tickets and we quickly strapped on our packs. Our new friends came to the door to wave goodbye while we stepped onto the platform. I love making new friends!
Our hostel in Guilin is in a prime transportation spot, directly across from the train station. Heading off the platform we realized my beloved black hoodie was missing so Devlin ran back to quickly check our bunks on the train. Naturally, it was nowhere to be found. *sigh* We must have dropped it before even getting on the train in Hangzhou, I sure hope some Chinese person is wearing it with a smile…I will miss my black hoodie. Thankfully the further south we head the warmer the weather is, and we will be in Thailand before long, so it shouldn’t be too sorely missed.
We opted for staying in a dorm room again in Guilin, to save as many RMBs as we can. This means 4-8 bunks in a room and shared bathroom facilities. The first dorm we stayed in
Sunset
Another sunset picture from West Lake. was Hangzhou and it was actually quite comfortable, and for the price in Guilin it couldn’t be beat. For two beds we are shelling out a mere 60RMB a night, all of our private accommodations have cost us at least 160RMB. Our pocketbooks are thanking us. There doesn’t seem to be too many guests at the Guilin hostel either, so we have the entire dorm to ourselves! There is only 2 other beds in the room, but it’s nice having all that space to ourselves knowing how much money we are saving.
I will write more about Guilin once we see some sights. After arriving last night food was on our top priority list and after we filled our bellies we wandered down the main street in search of cheap beer and dessert, before showering and retiring early.
We met an interesting character last night, a New Zealander who is here with his band traveling China. They were asked to play a music festival in Nanning!! Apparently at some small show in New Zealand, someone from the Chinese Embassy was there and liked their music, so they were asked to come here and play at the Folk Festival!
Hostel Doggie!
I'm a sucker for animals, so I have to take pictures of all the hostel pets. There were two of these dogs, and most of the Chinese guests were terrified of them... He gave us a CD, and their music is actually pretty good!
I realized I had not yet posted photos of a sleeper train, so here are some to give you a better idea of what we spent 30 hours riding. The toilets are especially charming.
Until next time…
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