A Dive Into Hangzhou

Hangzhou of the West Lake fame, we were finally here. This is also the part of the journey that we especially look forward to because of the nice Friendship Hotel with good online reviews. It took some effort dragging ourselves from our hotel room once we checked in, but out we go...

We were two hungry and cold people trawling the streets around our hotel for dinner. We saw some interesting things, like this typical small stall selling hot fried snacks (see pic), which the locals were buying. Interesting because it was Taiwan snacks sold in Hangzhou. Too tired to be adventurous, we settled for MacDonalds and were pleasantly surprised that the fish and beef in Hangzhou taste better than that back home.

A must-do, budget permitting, for visitors to Hangzhou is to catch the Impression: West Lake show which literally takes place over the West Lake. This we faithfully did on our first night, braving the cold. How thoughtful, the show organisers even rented out down jackets for RMB10 each. And even allocate the red ones for ladies and black ones for gentlemen. Coming from Zhang Yimou the critically acclaimed Chinese director (who did the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics 2008), the show is, unsurprisingly, spectacular. It's an understatement, I know. But you just have to be there to see it. The online clips can't give the whole experience of sitting open air at the edge of the West Lake, feeling the breeze, watching the light, sound and water play together on a natural stage as the actors do their thing.

What marred the show, through no fault of the show people, was a significant number of tourists who, seized with an inexplicable fear of being left behind by their tour group, started standing up and walking out in the last 5 minutes of the show. This, of course, blocked the view of the remaining weirdos who actually wanted to finish the show. This fear of being left behind mentality is quite chronic. We saw it in commuters at subway stations too. You know, those who somehow manage to barricade the entire exit for the alighting passengers and believe in different physical laws that if you block people from getting off a crowded train, you can still squeeze yourself into the train?

But back to the main story, we had an enjoyable, albeit freezing, evening at the lake and were very happy to find a cab in those rather remote parts. Looking forward to tomorrow!