Hangzhou

On Monday, we took a day trip to the town of Hangzhou (Hong-Jo). It was about a 2-2.5 hour car trip. The whole gang ended up going...us, driver and ayi. In Hangzhou, we specifically spent the day at a place called Xihu (She-Hu), or West Lake. I would compare the size and appeal of Hangzhou to Orange County, compared to Shanghai which I would say is more like Los Angeles. I have only a few cities to compare with in which I have actually lived in or near. Both Allen and I like Hangzhou a lot. It feels cleaner, more open but with all the Metropolitan "pluses", and has beautiful scenery. However, Hangzhou is located much further south and we suspect that there isn't a HUGE expat community like we have found here in Shanghai.

Xihu, or West Lake, is a large lake, dotted with several smaller islets. There are only a couple of them that the boats will take you to, however. We arrived in the morning and strolled along the lake at a leisurely pace. There was lots to see! The lake's back drop was a string of small mountains, making it an ideal place to take in all the beauty and recharge your batteries from typical city life. Although, the skyline of Hangzhou was pretty impressive and skirted the lake in several places. The size of the lake could be compared to Lake Tahoe...maybe a smidgin smaller? However, UNLIKE Lake Tahoe, the lake was China's usual brown...where Tahoe, Lake Arrowhead, Big Bear...and almost every other lake I know in the States is BLUE! I have no idea why every river, lake and body of water I see here in China is yellow-brown!? BUT, a lake is a lake and the scenery was MUCH more preferable to Shanghai's continuous metropolitan skyline with it's blinking lights, noise and air pollution...at least, for ME! It was a nice day away.



Since this is 'Golden Week', there were a TON of people in Hangzhou. But, from what we understand, there are a lot of people EVERYWHERE during this week. Knowing this, helped us to adjust to seeing and being around so many other people during our visit. The kids were hoarded by people, wanting to take pictures of them...and even us! Every photo opportunity for us, became a photo op for a ton of other people as well. We had a ring of people around all of the time, especially if we stopped. I know I have already mentioned this unusual behavior by the Chinese people. But, it is still a surreal experience...and we are still never sure how to handle it. The kids, however, took it with grace since this is nothing new to them. Any shyness they felt was quickly overcome by the amount of attention they realized they were getting...and they totally "worked" it. I'm not kidding. Brandon, would pose in several different ways (he felt he is a pro after his "official" photo shoot in Shanghai), giving the crowd want they wanted. The crowd ate it up and laughed and roared at his "antics". Ryan...well, he is just a natural. He caught on to the attention and would smile on cue for the flashing cameras. People wanted to take pictures of the kids...they wanted their own children to take pictures with our kids...they, themselves, wanted to take pictures with our kids...men wanted Allen to take pictures with them...moms wanted me to take pictures with their kids. It must certainly be a cultural thing.


On a trip like this, you can rest assured that you won't have to spend a ton of money. The scenery is free. The souvenier stands are really cheap. You bring your own snacks. The boats were 45 yuan per person...about $6 USD per person. On one of the islands, there was a vendor selling camera accessories, like batteries, etc. He also had chinese costumes for 10 yuan (~$1.25 USD). We asked Brandon if he would like to dress up like an authentic chinese child (back in the day, of course) and he said "yes". So, for 10 yuan, they provided him the costume and we could take our own pictures of him. For more money, they would provide the pictures for you. We opted for taking our own pics. OMG! Brandon drew a crowd! There were tons of people with flashing cameras, all directed at him...people wanting to take pictures with him...standing all around us. I have to admit...he was cute. And, again, Brandon worked the crowd and they loved it! :)


We took one of the many boats to the middle of the lake and visited two different islands. They were very pretty and we had many scenic photo opportunities...despite the immense amount of people. Allen bumped into a couple of his co-workers, also enjoying a couple days in Hangzhou. There were a lot of statues, monuments, sculptures, etc., but we couldn't read any of them to know their significance. The islets, themselves, were very flat and small. However, the bigger of the two that we visited (Three Pools, Mirror Moon...I think it was called) had three pools of water within it. Both of them had several vendors, wanting to sell you cheap stuff...just like home.


After spending the entire day walking and looking around, we came back to Lakeside Park, where we parked the car, and they had a water fountain show off one of the main quads. Brandon liked that! As were just about to leave, I took a picture of the sunset over the mountains and then a rainbow appeared over the town of Hangzhou. Wow! The Chinese people went crazy, taking pictures of the rainbow...all exclaiming and muttering...stuff.

All in all, it was a very nice day. Exhausting...but fun. A day trip like this can be extra tiring for parents of small children due to several factors. One, I had to think of and pack all the snacks and drinks the kids MIGHT want to eat during the day...and then you have to take it with you the whole way. Sure enough, by the time we got home, the entire stash was depleted. You can never be sure what kind of food or even drinks you'll encounter in other towns...and kids are so picky. I thought I had over packed, but I didn't. Two, you have to be prepared for weather changes. It was cooler in Hangzhou than in Shanghai AND it was pretty windy. Sure enough, the kids needed their sweater jackets on the islands. Three, you can't count on sit down toilets...so be prepared for squat toilets wherever you go. That means you need to bring any toilet accoutrements you can think of for both you and the kids, including packets of toilet paper. Four, accessibility to your car is not very easy at times and services (like boat trolleys) are not very sympathetic to your situation. And five, the entire trip around the lake as well as the islands themselves are NOT kid-proof...meaning that they didn't have any ropes, gates, etc to prevent your toddler from falling or getting bumped into the water. This included bridges, boats, lakeside scenery, pagodas, etc. So, running after the kids - all of us - made for an even more exhausting day. Thank goodness we had ayi and our driver to help "man" the stroller or use of an extra pair of eyes. Even then, the kids gave us all a run for our money! Why can't we figure out how to bottle that energy!!?? haha