Hangzhou contd..

After lunch, we had time for some sightseeing before nightfall. Took a cab to Leifeng Pagoda



Leifeng Pagoda is a modern steel building built on top of the old one which collapsed in 1924. It towers above the rest of West Lake and the roof glitters like gold (it's actually copper) in the evening sun.

Some of the old foundations are still preserved for viewing in the basement and for some reason, people throw coins in. I should set up an ancient looking thing and maybe people would throw coins in as well! LOL...

The story in the Chinese opera about the White Snake Princess is somehow intertwined with this pagoda.

Thank god for modern technology! My dad appreciated the escalators and lifts that took us all the way to the top!



The views are spectacular! I'm beginning to suspect that it's hazy all the time on Xihu (West Lake) but the sunset added a mystical aura to the beautiful lake.




We gawked at the richly guilded gold coloured copper interior as we toured the pagoda.

By the time we were done, it was dark again but it was only 6pm!!

Time for dinner!

Everyone must have the same idea because it took us a very long time before we finally flagged an empty cab.



Like many other restaurants over here, the lowest floor is the cheapest but it's self-service, noisy and crowded. The 2nd level is slightly more civilised and the 3rd level is full-service and the most civilised. However, civilised or not, smoking is allowed EVERYWHERE! pffftttt!!



My colleague recommended this soup called 莼菜汤. It's a 'cheng-cheng' and simple looking soup with leaves that look like tea leaves. The weird part was, the leaves had a clear slimey coating (like mucus) on the surface! Takes a bit of getting used to but it wasn't too unpleasant though. My dad didn't take a fancy to it - why am I not surprised. ;-)

This dish is called 松鼠鱼, literally translated as "Squirrel Fish" named as such because of the way the fish is prepared. It looks pretty, doesn't it? Not too healthy because it's deep-fried but what the heck, we're on holiday!!



:-)

Hangzhou

Isn't this cute????? First thing I saw at the Hangzhou train station while waiting for a cab.

Nov 09, 2006 After a 2 hour train ride, we arrived in Hangzhou at 11:30am. Another 1½ hrs later, we checked into our beautiful hotel by the West Lake - 金溪山庄 Jinxi Hotel. What's great about travelling with dad and his "personal travel guide" (my cousin) is that I get to eat well, there's no rushing about and I don't have to decide where to go! We had a nice leisurely lunch at the hotel restaurant which served pretty decent food.



I had made out a list of special dishes of the Hangzhou/Wuxi area that I wanted to try and my cousin was kind enough to make sure that I checked off each item. These were some of them:

The superbly sinful but delicious Dong Bo Rou which is actually just a cube of perfectly stewed 3-layer pork! The taste was not like your ordinary everyday "dao yew bak" though.


Hangzhou Vinegar Fish and the amazing translucent crystal prawns that were so crunchy and bouncy, almost crispy! Yummy!!


Drooling yet? LOL... Mop it up!

More drool-worthy is Hangzhou's West Lake and its lovely view all around. It was only 4:30pm but it was sunset already! Aaaah... see how romantic it looks?

Rise and Shine!

Nov 09, 2006 *** Yawn & streeeetch !!! *** I can't complain about the bed. Yup, rise and shine to a lovely oily Chinese breakfast! :P Not really my kind of thing but I had to make do. Luckily they had toast, (bad) coffee and some boiled tea-eggs. Dad usually ate the porriadge with Chinese tea.


On the road again... this time we were whisked to the train station to catch the 9:30am train bound for Hangzhou. We weaved in and out, got on and off the highway (which they call Elevated Roads), saw a huge Ferris Wheel the Shanghai Star, which is supposed to be larger than the London Eye and only ready in 2008 - in preparation for Beijing 2008 Olympics I suppose.

Notice how they cross the road? (see arrow)


Inner Elevated Ring Road (内环高架路):


The Shanghai Star rising above the city.


The 'soft seat' class had a nicer waiting room but then there was still some pushing and shoving and frowns when it came the time for boarding.

All aboard....!! Huge double-decker trains. Next stop, Hangzhou.

One Night in Shanghai

Nov 08, 2006 (cont..)It was a relief to finally arrive at the Air China Shanghai Hotel in one piece! I don't think I could drive here in China - too stressful!

Our relatives got us a really good deal for the hotel room. They said that all the air-stewardesses stayed here, so it can't be too bad. Check out the see-through glass wall of the toilet!


After washing up (sort of) and a short sit (hardly a rest), we were off again (into the horrendous traffic). I said I wanted to go geocaching at "Hong Qiao Park", so we alighted nearby. BUT FIRST, we had to fill our empty growling stomachs with real food! Stopped by Lisboa Restaurant for (big fat prawn filled) wantan noodles (for dad) and Portuguese egg tart (for me).


At 5pm, I left my dad and cousin at the restaurant and went alone for a little geocaching. Drats! It was supposed to be NEW Hong Qiao Park and that was a little walk away! Made my way there along the dusty and crowded roads and I noticed with dismay that the sky started to get dark!!


When I got to the park, it was quite dark already. By the time I found the final location at 5:45pm, it was pitch black! Gave up and half-ran back to the restaurant.

Apparently, they have been waiting anxiously for me because the car could not stop anywhere safely! oops..

Dinnertime!! We drove out to Nan Xiang town itself to have some xlb (xiao long bao). It was a quaint little street but I wasn't impressed with the xlb - the skin was too tough, especially the little twisted knob on the top.


Tang Hoon soup with tao-pok.


Check out the prices. Divide by 5 to convert to SGD.


Although our eyes could hardly stay open, our relatives insisted that we should take a drive out to see the night lights along the Bund. More jams and bumper to bumper shifts later, we finally came to the famous highway built between high-rise buildings. The view at the final curve was indeed impressive but it was difficult to get a sharp photograph in a moving car. These two were the only 'clear' ones.



Tired out, we stumbled back to our hotel room and wished that we could just fall asleep without bathing, but alas, having travelled 3798km, we had no choice.

8 Days in China

你好!!! (must write in Mandarin since I just came back from China!) So sorry guys for being absent for so long!! Been away with my dad and when we came back, I was so caught up with other things that I didn't have time to edit my photos.

This trip was conceived last year when my cousin was here in Singapore. He raved about the food, especially the hairy crabs, and said he would take us on a gastronomical tour of Shanghai and nearby Hangzhou and Wuxi! He said the right time to go would be Oct/Nov. My dad was really keen to visit his 'old home' (he used to stay in Shanghai in his teens) and with this invitation, we jumped at the chance!

Nov 08, 2006 We saw this very apt advertisement while cruising along the travellator in Shanghai Pudong Int'l Airport :


Outside, we were enthusiastically met by my cousin, his daughter and her husband. They piled us into their Citroën Xsara Picasso and off we go.

First impressions :


In the car, they whipped out mineral water and food. I was grateful for the water but the KFC salmon wraps had me blinking for a bit!! LMAO... Ok ok... that was just to tide us over until we could get better food elsewhere. The drive to our hotel was long and tedious and we get our first taste of Shanghainese driving - cutting into other people's lanes when it seems impossible and tooting at other cars every chance you get, especially when they cut into your lane.

Oh yeah! We were expecting 12°C - 17°C but we were surprised to find that it was much much warmer (23°C). Was kind of regretting lugging our heavy coats along and kept consoling myself that it was better to be overly prepared than to freeze in the cold.

This travel log (in Chinese) was sent to me by my cousin after our return to Singapore. Really appreciate what he has done :