It was 5am. I awoke at 4.45am and was surprised to see that dawn had broken.
The hotel staff at the cab line well-meaningly advised me to hire a cab to and fro Hangzhou, which was about RMB 1200 for a whole day's drive. He said that it was common to wait for an hour or two for the train after an on-the-spot purchase. I decided not to though. One of the plans was to take the high speed train from Shanghai to Hangzhou.
The helpful cabbie gave us a few suggestions (建议）ie. let him ferry us to Hangzhou for a day and Zhou Zhuang, a water town, for another, all the while maintaining that the final decision (主意）lay with us, but I turned him down repeatedly.
He drove us to Shanghai Hongqiao Train Station （上海虹桥火车站）for the G train, also a high speed train, supposedly a bullet train. The trip was RMB 75.
I was skeptical about going to the Hongqiao Station as I had done my research and it said that I could take the G train from Shanghai Train Station, but the cab driver claimed that that the trains had been relocated to Hongqiao Train Station.
A check with a hotel bellboy later revealed that the trains available at Shanghai Train Station were not highspeed trains although they also go to Hangzhou. Phew! The cynic me!
There were self-servicing ticketing machines and lots of locals were buying them. I was about to try buying the tickets when I read a sign asking tourists to purchase tickets at Counter 9. So I went to the counter above to get my tickets.
Children below 1.5m could buy tickets at half price, but the guy didn't tell me. I overheard a lady asking for children's ticket, but the guy told me that I could not return him the adult ticket meant for Coco. Hmpff! I bought return tickets from Hangzhou at the same counter. I did a quick calculation: the difference I had overpaid was S$8. Well, a lesson learnt: always ask if there are children's tickets and tell them the height is below 1.5m.
We reached the station at about 9am. I managed to get the 9.35am tickets. We were prepared to purchase the following day's tickets if the departure time was too late ie. 1pm onwards.
We waited at this gate.
The 2nd class seats were perfect. Leg room was more than enough. In fact, no one took up the 1st class
seats.
A peek into the first class seats
The speed
At first, I turned them down. One of them followed me wherever I went and kept persuading me. I listened to her sales pitch, and said no again. She continued to persuade me, saying that a mini van for the whole day would be convenient and comfortable for us, especially when I had my parents and child with me, and we would not know the significance of the place or artefacts if no one explained to us. My father favoured the idea, but my mother was worried that there might be more costs involved if we agreed to the deal. The travel agent assured me that they would not collect a single cent more after we boarded the van.
I said no still, with my eyes roving the station. I remembered someone saying that the cabs were in the station, not outside it. The travel agent saw that I did not want her service. She said,"It's alright if you don't want our service. Don't exit the station if you want the cab. Go down to the cab line from that exit."
I was surprised. I turned round to look at her in the eyes and agreed to take up her deal: RMB 100 per pax for a day trip to West Lake.
The van that seated 8 to 10 of us
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Our guide, barely 21 years old
Our guide, barely 21 years old
The love story of Liang & Zhu (梁祝）
The modern Lei Feng Pagoda (雷峰塔）
According to the tour guide, the original Pagoda collapsed in 1924 after the locals repeatedly dug for bricks that were prayed over (经砖）. In the past, the locals bred silkworms to produce silk, but there was a year that green snakes appeared to devour the baby silkworms. The locals believed that the bricks of the Pagoda was prayed over (by the monk Fa Hai 法海）to have the White Snake (白素贞）kept under the structure. They dug at the ones at the foot of the Pagoda and eventually the Pagoda collapsed.
The present-day Lei Feng Pagoda was re-built in 2002 and according to the tour guide, it "only consists of an elevator", so it was not worth going.
Jing Ci Temple 净慈寺
According to the tour guide, this is the second temple the legendary infamous monk, Ji Gong (济公）, went to. He stayed at this temple for the longest time.
Nan Ping Wan Zhong (南屏晚钟）
It is said that for every time you hit the bell, one of your troubles melts away. The temple charges RMB 10 for every time the bell is sounded.
I was fascinated that all instructions were given in Mandarin
We had our lunch (农家菜) at this restaurant
Hangzhou specialty: Big-portion beggar chicken （叫花鸡）wrapped with soil (supposedly)
Salty and hard. Thumbs down.
Sliced beef with green chilli (牛柳)
Beef was tender, but my mother bit into the chilli that resembled green peas.
Hangzhou braised pork (杭州东坡肉)
Tender and salty, better than the braised pork we had for the previous two meals
Big bowl of rice to be distributed among yourselves.
In China, you need to make it known when you are placing order that you want 'plain white rice' (白米饭). If not, the dishes would be served without any form of staple.
西湖有三怪：
1）断桥不断心肠断
2）长桥不长情意长
3）孤山不孤寡人孤
3 strange occurences at West Lake:
1）Broken Bridge is not broken (but the heart is)
2) Long Bridge is not long/lasting (but the love is)
3) Lonely Hill is not lonely (but the emperor is)
Explanation:
1) The Bridge was where White Snake and her mortal husband, Xu Xian, met. White Snake's heart broke when they were forcefully separated by Monk Fa Hai - White Snake being kept under Lei Feng Pagoda and Xu Xian became a monk.
2) The Bridge (not pictured here because I didn't know which bridge the guide was referring to!) was the bridge the two legendary lovers, Liang & Zhu, parted. Liang, being dense, didn't realise that Zhu was a girl in male disguise. Zhu, while sending Liang off, tried to hint at Liang many times. As a result, they went over the bridge 18 times.
3) The Hill was where the emperor resided when he came to West Lake. The Hill was full of activities and people. However, despite enjoying the company of countless concubines, the emperor felt lonely within. He thus exclaimed,"The hill is a lonely hill."
The Lonely Hill (the darker green patches behind the trees)
Self-hired boat along West Lake
Our yatch
Political figures who were at West Lake
We went to the place for viewing fishes.
The words were written by Emperor Qian Long. Can you spot the deliberate mistake?
Graceful willows were aplenty along West Lake
Rock-statue of a fish
Many many fish
Coco enjoying her corn
We had never seen so many peacocks strutting their stuff in our lives!
Have you ever seen a white peacock, apart from Lord Shen in Kungfu Panda II?
We were taken to Long Jing Tea Plantation
We were first introduced to this ancient well which was used by an emperor to wash his hands and face. Visitors are asked to wash their hands to have the prosperity of the emperor rubbed off on them. We did as the Romans do. The water was cool and refreshing.
We were first introduced to this ancient well which was used by an emperor to wash his hands and face. Visitors are asked to wash their hands to have the prosperity of the emperor rubbed off on them. We did as the Romans do. The water was cool and refreshing.
The tea leaves were expensive - at least S$60 per pack. Nobody wanted to buy at first until the lady recommended that those interested could buy the cheaper leaves and in smaller quantity. We didn't buy though.
We were taken to a shop that sold local silk products.
Silk blankets
Soft but strong silk strands
We had a hard time searching for the gateway to our train. It was somewhere near the Burger King outlet on the second floor.
Waiting for the gate to open
Our high speed train
We took the MRT train (Metro) to Lujiazhui Station (路家嘴站）to explore the Pudong area where the Oriental Pearl Tower was.
We got abit hungry and decided to eat anyhow at a fastfood joint there. It turned out to be a good experience! A pity I forgot to take the picture of the shop.
Rice with black pepper beef
Noodles with chicken
Noodles with shrimps
The shrimps were fresh and the soup was tasty.
Milk tea with pearls 祝姐奶茶
Oriental Pearl Tower 东方明珠
It cost RMB 120 per pax just to view from the middle level. We skipped this. I thought we would have the time to revisit it, unfortunately the rainy weather for the next few days ruined it.
There were people in the area offering to take pictures for a price. And there were many youths giving out flyers and pamphlets on day trips to Hangzhou, Suzhou and water towns.
We ought to have come to the Oriental Pearl Tower the very first day. Drat the weather!
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