Spatrachina Volume Seven

After just 5 hours of sleep, I woke up with a flaming sore throat and a persistantly blocked nose with thick silky phelgm. Okok, shall spare you with more of the grouse details. Basically, I was so ill I could barely talk. That was serious as I don't have that many 'sore throat till i cant talk' moments. Luckily my fren was with me for this 2nd leg of the trip. We rushed for Shanghai South Railway station for our train ride to Hangzhou. The station was brand new and spacious. Too spacious for our comfort as we were running late. We ran and ran till my nose was clear. Imagine that! The train was spacious as well. I took a short nap and in 1hr's time, we reached Hangzhou.

Ticket to Hangzhou

Upon reaching Hangzhou, we were wondering around the station looking for signs. 2 locals came up to us and gave us valuable information on how to get to West Lake. My friend and I were shocked to have receive such hospitality. A few days back, I received great local hospitality at Tiger Hill from my new Nanjing frens. Now in Hangzhou, 2 strangers jus came to us, and sensing we were lost, gave us directions and advise. The China I last visited more than 10 years back and the China now I'm witnessing are 2 very different pictures! Even though I was sick, I still felt that tinkle of warmth of being welcomed throughout the whole trip.


Finally arrived at our hotel where we will be staying for a night. And a pity it was to stay just a night. Holiday Inn Hangzhou was a great hotel, though the exterior building may be deceivingly old and worn. Our room consist of 2 double beds with the softest pillows. The view of the city was great, and the service was impeccable.

Holiday Inn Hangzhou

Upon checkin into our rooms, we rushed out for our breakfast. We walked along the very long streets and was surprised to find no shopping centre in the vicinity. We had to settle with a local eatry where we sampled some not too tantalising dishes. I had the noodles while Jeremy had this rice in soup dish, which was seriously not appetising at all. Well, these 2 dishes got our tummy filled, and we embarked on our tour of Hangzhou's famous West Lake.

Noodles for breakfast

Rice in Vege Soup

We walked about 1 hour from our hotel to the lake. It was a greyish weather where the clouds hung heavy. The good thing was, it did not rain the whole day. As such, the grey skies cast a moody feel over the city, kinda brought us back to the warring days of the past. Rather romantic setting actually:P

Cloudy West Lake

We rented a bike each for 10RMB . It was definitely a steal for us Singaporeans to have rented at such a rate for 4 hours. It took me about 10 seconds to steady myself to the bike. Didnt cycle for years liao. :P

Me on a Bike

Our 1st stop (basically our only stop) along the necklace of attractions round West Lake was YueFei Temple. The mausoleum was built to honor General Yuefei of the Song Dynasty. Stepping in, we were greeted by a wave of calmness. The spacious courtyard and balmy trees brought about a sense of peace. In the centre was the Shrine of Remembrance where a sculpture of Yuefei now stood. A tablet with Yuefei's original handwritting was placed above his statue, with golden characters screaming 'Return My Land'.

Entrance to YueFei Temple


Me at the Entrace

The peaceful courtyard

The Main Hall

Statue of YueFei, with the words "Return My Homeland"

Dragon Motiffs

We wondered into the tomb of YueFei, which was jus beside the Main Hall. There knelt 4 copper statues. Of these 4, the 2 infamous ones were Qin Kuai and his wife who plotted an evil scheme which resulted in the death of YueFei. Traditionally, visitors to the temple would spit on these statues. However, it was now advised that visitors should refrain from spitting. We saw a couple using their hands to hit the statues. Immediately, I told my fren that I will never be caught doing that. Who knows how dirty the statues are? And then just 5 minutes later, a man came forward and spat on the statues. Yucks!

Qin Kuai and his Wife kneeling at YueFei's Tomb

YueFei's Tomb

Me at YueFei's Tomb

After the visit of YueFei Temple, we proceed with our biking session round West Lake. The grey skies seemed to entice people to stroll and sit by the calm waters. It was altogether a calm feeling as we breezed through the bike way. I must admit that I was kinda nervous, since that was my 1st time riding a bike on the road with the cars. But it turned out to be not too bad afterall.

Sitting by the lake

Sitting by the lake

Fishing by the Lake

View of West Lake

Me with the Willow Trees

Our bike 'expedition' ended around 3 and half hours later. Not too bad at all, considering I was sick. We headed to find a bath house in Hangzhou to clean ourselves. Unfortunately, we found a lousy neighbourhood bath house that charged us 20RMB per person with no facilities working. Well, we managed to clean ourselves for dinner with Linan. And how excited I was to finally meet Linan! It has been almost 5 years since she graduated from UQ, and I've not seen her since. We went to this rather up-market looking restaurant for some authentic Hangzhou dishes. A pity I didnt take any pics there on the food. But we had this claypot braised fish, beancurd skin, and the very very famous DongBo Meat, which essentially was a piece of very fatty pork with the skin intact. The way they cooked it was just superb. The 2 inch thick fat simply melted in the mouth with no hint of fattiness. The skin was still spongy and the little meat gave the whole dish the needed texture to complete the whole experience.

It was back to West Lake again for after dinner coffee session. We had Starbucks by the lake and we chatted like 2 hours. Time really flew so fast when you are enjoying the moment. Linan proceeded to walk us around parts of West Lake at night, allowing us to be immersed in the beauty of the night scene before we head back to our hotel room. What a wonderful way to end my trip in Hangzhou. 1 day was definitely not enuff!! Hopefully, I will return to Hangzhou again for another 2-3 days.

Jeremy, Linan and Me

West Lake at Night