The impromptu holiday: Days 5 & 6

Friday 7th - Day 5

So my trip to Hangzhou started with a fast train ride from Suzhou. I did have to stand the whole way because there were no seated tickets left (that's what happens when you buy last minute tickets here) but it was only for an hour and a half, so it wasn't too bad.

One thing I never expected to see on a train in China is the Trolley Dollys walking around selling Haagen Dazs ice cream! Every train seems to do it. There also seems to be lots of Haagen Dazs ice cream shops in this country. Maybe its a favourite here...

I arrived in a rather overcast Hangzhou and spent a while trying to find my hostel. It's in an traditional, pedestrianised part of the city which is full of shops selling Chinese trinkets. If I had more room in my bag I would have packed it with things by now. I've still got another day here so so plenty time left to backtrack and buy myself a Chinese Saxophone (it looks more like a wooden pipe instrument - I want to know what it sounds like though!).

I was originally aiming for the West Lake (the massive expanse of water that Hangzhou is known for) when I went for my afternoon outing but I instead ended up Wu hill looking across to Westlake. Sadly the slightly smoggy air ruined the view slightly, but at least I know what direction to walk in tomorrow.

I'm sitting writing this in the hostel, whilst plucking up courage to go out in the cold for and evening exploring session of my surroundings and the very kind Chinese man who sat down next to me has just given me a lolly. I'm not going to lie, it tastes awful. The outside is tastes like treacle and goodness only knows what the ball in the middle is supposed to be. I think it tastes salty but I can't decide. I'm very jealous of the tea he's just made himself though! He did have to use his own mug though - I don't think we are quite that friendly yet!

Saturday 8th - Day 6

The only word to describe the weather on my second in Hangzhou was dreich! It rained all day long - it was like being back at home (just not quite as cold). Despite my desire to just hide indoors all day I walked all the way West Lake - it took 5 hours! The West Lake is a very famous lake in China due to it's beauty - it's even on the 1 Yuan notes (I learnt this from my train buddy on the way back to Shanghai). Sadly I don't know how beautiful the lake and surrounding area was because I couldn't actually see it (as can be seen in the photographs). I have just googled it though and the place looks breathtaking on a clear day!

https://www.google.com/search?q=hangzhou+west+lake&rlz=1C1_____enGB496GB496&biw=1366&bih=638&noj=1&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=KGFjVMj2FejdsAS9moLwBQ&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ

The pictures kind of make me want to go back on a nice day but since the city is over 1200km away that's not going to happen.

The next street food I tried on my walk around the lake was corn-on-the-cob - it had been boiled for a bit too long. I'll have too try the bbq/roasted one next time. I feel i'm getting the hang of this China living - brollie in one hand, corn-on-the-cob in the other and camera around my neck (if I wasn't for so obviously foreign I could be a local). 

On my walk I took a detour in past the National Chinese Tea Museum. Amazingly I didn't get lost; Hangzhou seemed to really mess up my sense of direction - it took me forever to find the lake first thing! A museum on tea held so much potential and promise for a tea lover - which it didn't fulfil! There could have been tea tastings galore, and demonstrations on tea making but sadly no such luck. I do now know what a traditional tea cake looks like (it's the same shape as a Tunnock's one as well!)

Some pictures from my walk around West Lake...

Continuing the taste adventure for the day I tried some hot milk tea after my walk. I would have loved a cup of Yorkshire tea with milk but that was never going to happen. Milk tea is very popular, i'm not sure what kind of tea they use, possibly Chinese black tea, but the taste was a weird hybrid between tea and Horlicks - once I got used to it it was ok but the first mouthful was a bit strange.

After a speedy train ride back to Shanghai in the evening (1 hour) I managed a very brief but lovely catch-up with some friends from Beijing who had been in Shanghai whilst I was in Hangzhou (they were off to Hangzhou on Sunday morning - I didn't recommend the tea museum).

I stayed in a different hostel on Saturday night to the one I had stayed in before. I should start a hostel review blog - I slept in 4 different beds and one airport bench in the space of a week.

Sunday 9th - Day 7

The last day of my holiday was pretty low key. I had the start of a cold (which has consequently kept me off work for two days - an oral English teacher who can't talk isn't much use) so I wasn't in a very touristy mood. Saying that I had another quick flick through the guide book and with the recommendation of my friends from the night before I went to a tourist street called Tianzifang. This is a quirky little warren of streets packed full of interesting little shops and chock-a-block with tourists! They even have a toilet restaurant. Toilets are the seats and all the crockery is toilet shaped. The picture of a swirl of chocolate ice cream in a toilet was just too much me!

After getting annoyed at people thinking they were slyly taking pictures of me (I really wasn't in the mood - clearly my grumpy face didn't cross the culture barrier) I decided to go the airport slightly early.  The weirdest thing happened on the metro; Some girl in a 'naughty schoolgirl' type outfit got on the metro and started posing for the photographer that she was with which the rest of us normal passengers looked on trying to work out what the hell was going on. I was trying to work out who the pictures for for - Shanghai metro marketing campaign, school transport department, metro enthusiasts club...I turned round so that my foreign face isn't forever associated with whatever was going on!

After my busy week I was pretty pleased to get home. I even managed to pinch another Air China blanket (you can never have enough blankets), I did get a funny look off the hostess this time though!

G x