Heaven On Earth pt. 1

Streets of Hangzhou
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One of our last weekends in June was spent in the city of Hangzhou. Hangzhou is a famous site in China, and particuarly special to the Chinese. There is a common ancient saying that "Sky has Heaven, Earth has Hangzhou"

As usual we took the train, but luckily everything went smoothly. Dr. Chandler told us which train station we would be meeting at, so after class it was up to everyone to either walk there to take a taxi. (I convinced Eric and Kelsi that a taxi was the safest bet -the extreme heat helped my case)

Sky has Heaven, Earth has Hangzhou

A pagoda at the top of a hill -not sure if it's a temple or a restaurant.
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The adventure did not begin until we arrived in Hangzhou. We trekked to a bus stop and Dr. Chandler told us which bus should take us to the hostel we would be staying at. As we waited (and waited, and waited) for the right bus to show up, Dr. Chandler suddenly realized he had left a very important notebook at the train station. A few of us wrote down the name of the hostel and the road it was on, and then he said he'd meet us there later.

There was still no sign of the bus. About half of the group decided to just hail taxis and give them directions to the hostel, while the other half wanted to keep waiting for the bus. Being an impatient person, I decided to go with the taxi idea. This worked out fine until the taxi driver didn't recoznize the name of the hostel or the road it was supposed to be on. Well, taxi drivers want their pay, so he was determined to find the place we were looking for...

A street lined with vendors, just before the entrance of the shopping area where we got dinner (and my skirt)
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Eventually we got there, although the hostel owner was a little confused as to why Dr. Chandler wasn't with us. We had to keep convincing him that our teacher would be there soon. As more of our group trickled in, we relaxed in the common room. There were comfortable couches and tables and chairs and an air conditioner! A shelf with lots of different books (usually ones left by other travelers) entertained us for awhile. Finally Dr. Chandler arrived and checked us in. There was some confusion about passports (to check into a hostel you usually have your passport with you, especially since we had all just received our extended visas)

The entrance to the old-style architecture
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Dr. Chandler assured us it was going to get worked out. As luck would have it, me and Kelsi did not sleep in the 8 person room because there wasn't enough room. We got a two person room all to ourselves! The two person rooms are in general, much nicer than the 8 person, though the 8 person ones are perfectly adequate.

Anyway, by the time we were all settled in, everyone was ready to find food. We acquired maps of the city and Dr. Chandler led us a part of Hangzhou filled with shops and restaurants, all with old style architecture. It was really beautiful, especially as the sun was setting and lights were turning on everywhere. Typically, Dr. Chandler wandered off on his own, leaving everyone to find food in groups. Me, Kelsi, and Eric wandered around, trying to find an inexpensive Chinese restaurant (a large group of our classmates took advantage of the nearby McDonalds)

An example of one of the buildings.
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The restaurant we finally chose was a very nice one, with a variety of dishes to choose from. The staff was friendly as well; our waitress didn't speak much English but a man -perhaps a manager?- came over to help us with our choices and questions about the menu.

Sadly my food wasn't quite as good as I'd thought it would be. In Shanghai, there was an AMAZING restaurant that is all vegetarian, but it has "meat" dishes made from glutin or something. It might sound weird, but trust me, it's delicious!! I still miss that place... anyway, this restaurant tried to have a similar "fake meat" but it tasted like chewy tofu... not my thing. But it was fun.

A statue of Buddha in the street.
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After dinner we went to the shopping area, where I wanted to find a skirt at this one store. The styles weren't paticularly "Chinese" looking, I think they were perhaps from Africa? But they looked really neat, and comfortable in this very hot climate. Eric went to find a gift for his dad, and Kelsi.... not sure where she went, but we agreed on a time and place to meet back up. The skirt store was very busy, and when I wanted to try one on, I was taken upstairs to a dark bathroom because the little fitting room downstairs had a long line. It was a bit odd, but I managed ok. And today I have a pretty blue skirt, with a purple and light blue scarf that I have yet to wear, heh.

The restaurant where we ate dinner.
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What makes Hangzhou famous for its beauty is the West Lake that encompasses it. It was a center for trade and once was the capital of China. Eric suggested we go see some of the lake because there was a little park close to the bus station nearby. It was beautiful, but warm even though it was night, and filled with mosquitos. As we walked along the path filled with Chinese, probably lots of tourists, we could see the "new" part of Hangzhou across the lake -a skyline of tall buildings and brightly lit attractions. In the other direction lay dark mountains and the outline of a pagoda or two. It was a strange contrast but both were lovely in their own way.

More of the restaurant (and a waitress in the background)
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Eric decided he wanted to touch the water, so he and Kelsi walked over the ankle-high ropes and reached down to the water. Meanwhile I stood back nervously, since we were pretty sure you weren't supposed to be doing this. Although the coast was clear before they went to the edge, as SOON as they touched the water, a policeman came out of nowhere and shooed them away. Very strange.

Eventually we took the bus back to the hostel, feeling quite tired but eager to find out what we would be doing the next day. There is a very famous show in Hangzhou, called Impressions of West Lake. I'll describe it in the next entry, but basically it sounded really awesome (and was)

A not-so-great picture of the lake while we were at the park.
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Dr. Chandler briefly went over plans for the next day -basically we were on our own until the show, when we would meet back at the hostel to get dinner together and then head to the show.

But. Instead of settling in for a nice night of sleep, we were informed that because Eric and Brent had forgotten to bring their passports, they couldn't stay at the hostel. Most hostels would have been pretty lenient about this, since the rest of us checked out ok. But in Hangzhou, apparently they are extremely strict about such policies. Well needless to say this gave Dr. Chandler a headache as he tried to negotiate with the guy in charge, and of course poor Brent and poor Eric did not like the option given to them -to spend the night in the police department. Me and Kelsi hid Eric up in our room and we played cards, Egyptian Ratscrew, our favorite, as we waited for their fate to be decided. Eric decided that if he had to spend the night in the police station he would just head back to Shanghai the next day. As the uncertainty dragged on, another issue came up. Eric, an extremely light sleeper, was stuck in a room with five other guys, who apparently snored. This was a very unappealing prospect to him, so me and Kelsi, being the amazing friends we are, decided to let him sleep in our room.

Another bad picture -of the "new" Hangzhou on the other side of the shore.
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Dr. Chandler apparently talked the manager into letting them stay for the night, because no police came for Eric or Brent (though every polie car that went by made us paranoid)

The next day we got up relatively early, deciding to visit a zoo that was just down the road from the hostel...