Hangzhou

Hangzhou is 2 hours south of Shanghai and according to the guide book had a lovely lake and stuff to see.  After the massive city and bedlam of Shanghai we wanted something quieter, so Hangzhou it was.  I then read in the book that the population is 4 million - Doh!!

We arrived to another huge (running out of adjectives to describe big) city with the centre indeed containing a large and very beautiful lake. We had planned to be here for 1 day before moving to the mountains (Haung Shan - a popular holiday destination) but after reading some more in the book and remembering it was bank holiday we decided to change our plans.  So we booked another night in the hotel and planned to get the 6 hour bus to Nanjing the next day.  With an extra day in hand we decided to do the lake again this time by boat. Cris crossing the lake was a fleet of boats taking you to all sights and shores and with an open ticket off we went.

We noticed when we bought the tickets that the boats stopped running at 4:30pm so after a full day of sight seeing we selected our final ride to take us back to the shore we had started from, but of course, it did not go back to the side we wanted as we stepped of the boat they shut up shop stranding us on the wrong side of the lake - darn it.

So our options were bus (all full with very long queues), taxi (every one we tried to flag was occupied) or tuktuk!  With book in hand and lots of pointing we finally found a driver who understood where wanted to go (our hotel was near the train station) and we jumped in.  Yes it cost us £10 (the taxi would have been £1.50) and the little motor was screaming like a good 'un with 2 Europeans on board but it saved us a 3 hour walk back. I think I only prayed once or twice and Emma did not open her eyes for the whole of the 20 minute journey, however I did think it a little uncharitable when she kissed the ground when we finally stopped. I am starting to feel a little like Charlie Boorman using different kinds of transport to get across Asia, just less annoying (it's not the same without Ewan in tow).

 

While queuing for the tickets for the bus we saw one of the most heart rendering sights I think I have ever seen on my travels.

 

A woman was begging for money.  Although this is not a uncommon sight in most countries, she was small (around 4ft) and I would guess around 60 years old.  On her back she was carrying a severely disabled boy/man around 20 years old. His body was very twisted and would have been bed ridden if not for

his mother carrying him.  I don't give money to beggars but thought this a special case, a truly saddening sight.  Since then we have seen a lot of beggars in China and many have been quite severely disabled in some way.  I can only assume from this that there is not a system here to help these people.

 

Hangzhou was nice but we again were glad to move on.  The traffic, the huge numbers of people, the size of these places can be quite draining.  Our next stop, Nanjing the original capital of China should be a bit quieter....yeah, right :)

 

Emma & Bill