Hangzhou

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Hangzhou is a modern, wealthy city and compared to Suzhou and Beijing its pretty calm and orderly (only a medium level of motorcycle madness!).

The West Lake is beautiful and its well worth taking a cruise to the central islands.There are also dozens of temples dotted throughout the lake area and on the surrounding hills.

One side story: we had a hell of a time getting to Hangzhou from Suzhou. We decided that it was time I challenged myself in China without the help of Jessica (who can speak Mandarin), so I organised the train tickets without her. Using a combination of English, Mandarin, head nodding and hand signals I did manage to get some tickets through to Suzhou. In fact I was well pleased with my efforts. Unfortunately, I only allowed 1 hour between stops in Shanghai and it turns out that the stops are in fact on opposite sides of the city. Good one Andrew. The resulting trip across Shanghai was like our own version of "The Amazing Race". Many innocent bystanders were bowled over as we ran down train platforms up and down escalators and off the subway. The shocked faces of our victims will haunt me forever...