My adventures in China, part two

Hi everyone, thanks for all the comments and well wishes! I spent the first day in Hangzhou solo while Elaine and Amy were in class. (They practice Chinese medicine in the states and are in China to learn by observation in Chinese hospitals.) I walked to West Lake, what Hangzhou is most famous for, and explored part of it all day yesterday. West Lake is a national park and is a huge tourist attraction. The walkways were full of people, but even more so on Saturday. One of the first things I found Friday, as I walked across a causeway that bisects the lake, was a bunch of people flying kites. The day was overcast, but mild, with just enough wind to keep a couple dozen kites aloft. It was great and had me humming Mary Poppins under my breath.

I walked all over, stopping to rest in scenic spots, scribbling in my journal. It's funny to compare this trip with my trip to Doha, especially because in Doha I was completely ignored but here I get lots of curious stares, often accompanied with a, "Hello!" It makes me feel like a mild celebrity and fairly uncomfortable. People are friendly, just nosy. One point an older woman, who had been watching me for a while, came over and stood over my shoulder to see what I was writing. Not that it was very illuminating for her. My polaroid also brings lots of attention. It's noisy and makes whoever is standing near want to wait and watch the photo emerge. I've been trying to be more covert about it.

Yesterday we traveled along the lake in the opposite direction by bike. Elaine and Amy have an extra bike that Elaine's husband George bought while he was here. I can't tell you the elation I felt to be riding a bike in Hangzhou! Lots of people travel by bike and there are special lanes and traffic lights dedicated to the bicyclists. When we first started out I felt like I was twelve again and loved seeing the city from this vantage. I was lucky to be with people who knew the traffic rules and where they were going. Though my elation wore off as the day went on, more because my butt started to hurt and I was still a little jet lagged and tired. It was fun though.

As for food, we've been eating lots of noodley soups, once at Rosy Cheeks and another at another street vendor they like where you pick what you want in your soup from an arrangement of ingredients. Friday we breakfasted on baotse (sp?), little floury dumplings sold down the street from the hostel. We ate ones filled with pork and vegetables. They were good. My first day on the lake I lunched on corn on a stick (not sweet corn, though, which was a little disappointing) and bubble tea. Yesterday we had lunch at an Indian restaurant (the ladies are getting a little sick of Chinese food) and we took our chances at this restaurant in the university area. We walked in and someone ushered us to the register, behind which was a menu in Chinese. Damn, we said. We had hoped on a paper menu we could study. We quickly drew a crowd as Elaine tried to get some understanding about ordering. Amy is vegan, too. They found her asking for vegetarian food funny, probably because they expect Westerners to eat alot of meat. The crowd got larger and then a little 9 year old girl, her English name was Bonnie, became our saviour. She helped us order some food and then we made friends with her and her mother.

Another thing I absolutely love is how everyone dresses. The women where crazy color combinations with layering and mixing of textures. Their boots and shoes are fabulous and I love their bags. It's great and will only improve in Shanghai. I keep trying to take covert photos of people, but think I'm going to just start asking. Elaine and Amy have taught me "cute" and "beautiful" in Chinese, and I'm thinking of saying that and miming with my camera. We'll see. The kids are dressed great, too, and are all around adorable. We made friends with several little kids yesterday.

So things are going well, sorry for my disjointed rush of information. My brain is still a little overwhelmed and I'm having a hard time putting my thoughts together coherently. Tomorrow I leave my dear friends and head to Shanghai. I hope all is well for all of you! Cheers!

Comments

[grasshopper]

Claire, Your descriptions are clear and interesting, not disjointed. Keep having fun and taking pictures. Miming when language fails can work really well. It's certainly better than letting different words and ways of speaking isolate you from one of China's (or any other country's) most fascinating wonders, its people.

[Sharon]

Claire, sounds like you're havinga grand time! I love this report! Can't wait to see you and hear more and to see all the great pics!