Holiday trip to Hangzhou with the masses

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The holidays are nearly over sadly but we have packed loads in and I think we would all agree that we feel like we have had a proper break (and that it was very much needed!). On Tuesday evening, I went to get my hair cut at a local Toni & Guy salon, newly opened and got a very relaxing haircut and manicure at the same time (like that is ever stressful). What a luxury, I hear you cry, but far from it considering that altogether it cost less than £25! I had a lovely long hair wash and head massage, then had my nails painted as I was coiffed! One thing I have noticed in Chinese hiardressers (where they cut hair) is that they are all men who cut hair and wash hair, all the women are allowed to do is welcome clients and take the money, or do the beauty treatments(?). Anyway, I was (and still am!) very happy with my value-for-money haircut (William and Sophies cost 15 times less so its all relative) and manicure and will definitely go back, even though I would never go to Toni & Guy in the UK!

Then, off to our holiday......we were up early at 6am on Wednesday and were soon off to Shanghai South Railway Station to catch our 0820 train to Hangzhou. Ian had had "fun" buying our train tickets last week and, in hindsight, we had a lucky escape that he was only able to buy a single as our experience on the outward bound train was one we didn't really want to repeat! Although our tickets said we had seats booked, as we boarded a very rusty old train with no seats on and only beds! We soon realised we weren't the only ones to be confusede and it was a bit of a free-for-all. It appears an extra train had been laid on for the holiday period, but they only had what is called 'Hard Sleeper cars'. These are compartments with 3 bunks on either side and no doors closing them off. Luckily we were there early and were able to get a bottom bunk for us all to sit on for the 2 hour journey. Many people had to stand but we were quite comfy (-ish!) and caused quite an attraction (one of the few times when not being able to understand the lingo paid off as we sat there in blissful ignorance as everyone else moaned/argued about the seats and budged up loads whilst we sat there unmolested). In fact, we were somewhat of a tourist attraction for the entire duration of our trip. Parents were bringing their children to see ours as if we were a rare species, only seen in a zoo! We could imagine them going home and telling their friends and family how they had seen a REAL Westerner! We were regularly asked if they and/or their kids could have their photo taken with Sophie and William, but in the end the novelty of being a superstar wore off for the kids and even Sophie said no! We can understand how Robbie feels when he is mobbed now (especially after his latest role in Harry Potter)!

We arrived in Hangzhou at about 11am and were immediately met by huge queues , which was to be another pattern throughout the holiday. We had been told that there would be loads of people as it was Holiday week, but nothing could have prepared us for quite the enormity of the queues! Firstyl, Ian stood for about 15 mins to buy a ticket home (more on that later!), then we stood in a queue for about 40 mins to get a taxi to take us the 10 min ride to our hotel. We stayed at the Grand Metro Park which was lovely, but we were immediately disappointed as the pool we had seen on the website was closed as it was 1st October, so it was officially cold!!! Never mind the fact that it was 28 degrees and sweltering outside, no on 1st October it is officially winter!!! We made our disappointment known to the Manager but,as we have found out, the Chinese don't do Customer Service, and all he could do was apologise and offer for us to go to the Hyatt (for a swim) for the same price as 2 nights accomodation for us all! Needless to say we didn't take him up on the offer!

We took a wander into town and I have to say I have never seen a sight like it. Imagine this, we are walking along a busy shopping street and suddenly there is a huge lake and mountains in front of you! If it hadn't been for the masses of people, it could have taken our breath away, but it was definitely beautiful. We took a boat across the lake on to one of the 'Islands for Sightseeing' and we, well, saw some sights, but were mostly swept along with the crowds to another queue for another boat. This one took us to a different 'Island for Sightseeing' which was much better. It was full of typical Chinese bridges and buildings and statues and was even quite peaceful at times! Our superstar status continued and we finally joined a final queue for a final boat back to town. After dinner out, we returned to the hotel where the children loved having a long bath, a novelty now as we don't have one in our apartment (and then were introduced to the highlight of the holiday ... Charlie and the Chocolate Factory .... narrated by baba and acted by mama).

On Thursday, we went back to the lake and strolled along the other side but didn't quite realise the enormity of it. Ian had spied some tomb thing he wanted to visit (what a culture vulture I am) and we were a substantially flagging when we came across a cafe for lunch. As we walked in we were amazed to spot a couple of teachers from our school. We joined them for lunch and compared crowd stories before they went to retrieve their hired bikes and we continued onto the tomb(there is an entire tale of woe and misfortune missed out here in relation to the food order ... as per usual in China the order didn't go smoothly and no ammount of mime or tears was going to set it right so Ian went without lunch - luckily I planned ahead and have been eating a little bit extra for the last 18 months so as to be able to survive). To be fair to Daddy, it wasn't just a tomb, it was the tomb of General Yu Fei and it was actually a collection of several buildings dedicated to this guy. It was really pretty and impressive, but again with masses of people!We decided this would be a good time to buy some tacky souvenirs for the children, which of course they loved! We then continued to wander for another few hours and eventually fell into a Starbucks (quite by chance) where we all sat very exhausted forthe next hour! We then went to watch the Music Fountain which was lovely as dusk fell. After dinner at a Teppanyaki restaurant, we all went back for a long sleep!

Yesterday, we made a plan and booked a taxi this time to take us to the National Silk Museum. My choice this time, and I am pleased we wnet there, although it wasn't the most exciting place in the world (I have a different opinion)! It was interesting to see the history of silk in China and then the taxi driver took us to the Silk Town, which was a collection of long streets where the silk products were being sold for reasonable prices and Ian could practice his bartering skills! We bought a few scarves and headed back to the taxi and to the hotel for a break before wandering around the opposite side of the lake to buy more bubble-making machines and a wooden samurai-type sword (which obviously daddy has had to carry around most of the time ... attracting a double take everytime as the Chinese peole do the 'oooh look westerners manouevre' closely followed by the blinkin heck he's got a sword)! We didn't last very long as the tiredness from all our walking was setting in and Sophie has fallen over, so we headed back for dinner (and a ridiculous 'please bring us two ice waters for the children to drink before they die of dehydration' pantomimes during which daddy needed the sword which had been left in the hotel) and bath before an early-ish night!

This morning we went back to the train station with low hopes, which were so exceeded we cannot explain! As the tickets had cost twice as much as the outbound tickets, we hoped we were on the fast train and we were not disappointed. We boarded the bullet train and sat in very comfy, reclining seats with more leg room than an airplane (surely not I hear you all gasp) and set out much like the one we flew over to China on! It only took 1 and quarter hours to get back and we were all really pleased to arrive back home (where they understand us). The End.

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Comments

[LingYin Si]

I think you missed one of most beautiful temple in China---------------LingYin Si(temple). However, I guess there were a lot of tourists there.

[JoTB]

Ling Si Temple
Yes we missed lots of the sights unfortunately, but there were lots and lots of tourists, including us of course!