Hangzhou - Day 6

(Date travelled : 3/11/2012)

This is the last day of our trip. There is only one itinerary, the renowned West Lake which is within walking distance. Our flight is at 1135pm, so there's no need to rush, or so we thought!

We had our luggage stored at the hostel before we check out. Once we walked out of the hostel only we realized that the area is a very interesting place itself. We found ourselves in an old charming world!

We came upon McDonald in an old building and decided to have our breakfast there. Nice!

After that, we walked along the road and found ourselves in Hefeng street which is the shopping street of Hangzhou. Typical Chinese shopping street.

We continued to walk towards the lake. When we were at the junction opposite the bus stop, an old and kind looking woman started to talk to pa. She told Pa that the right way to tour the lake is to start from Jiuxi, then proceed ahead without turning back, tracing the path that was once been walked by the emperor, called the Dragon Path. We thanked her and along the way, there was a younger woman, she too told us that we have to start from Jiuxi.

So we took the bus as what the old woman suggested. About half an hour later, we reached the terminal. There we got down, hailed a taxi (she called it the Bread Car), about 15mins on, we reached Jiuxi.

There was a small pond and waterfall.  Then we noticed the path surrounded by trees and a stream by the side, we remembered what the old woman said, do not turn back, just walked along. Oh my, it was a long walk.....

We walked on and on, finally we reached a small village, and there came another old woman. She kept offering Pa to take a break at her house which is nearby. Pa did not has the heart to turn her down, even with protest from Mum, he accepted and 2 mins later, we were sitting in her house where she eagerly served us tea from her farm.

She also offered us her wash room which was exactly what we needed. She was telling us the tea leave from her farm is of high quality and of course we ended buying 2 packs which cost about RM40/pack from her.

After that, she helped us to get a private car to send us to a silk factory in the tea farm, the lake was nowhere to be seen. Mum was unhappy as she knew by now that something was not right. Pa quickly stopped a taxi by the road. When the lady driver heard our stories, immediately she said she always knew because no tourist would ended in the area. Thank God that we only bought 2 packs and nothing else!! 

Hangzhou is well known for it's fine Long Jin tea.

After about 20mins, the taxi finally arrived at the jetty of the very big West Lake. We took the boat ride to the island in the lake. 



The boats are very unique in beautiful oriental style.

Some of the popular spots, Willow Singing, Lotus Pond, etc

After the boat ride, we had our lunch at a restaurant facing the huge lake. The food served was delicious but the staff were very rude.

Great view of the lake.

Equally well known is the Pork Tong Por which is really tasty with the bun.

We continue to tour the lake after lunch. The weather was hot and the place was full with local tourists and heavy traffic.



Beautiful West Lake.

 

Along the way, we found out that the tomb of famous ancient tiger hero Wu Song is there.

 

And also found out was tomb of ancient war hero Yue Fei.

 

We skipped the Pagoda Leifung in the end because it was getting late. It was difficult to stop a taxi as the traffic was very busy and congested. Finally a small van which was already full stopped in front of us, the driver insisted he could accommodate us. So we were squeezed like sardine in the tiny van. Obviously it was seriously overloaded, but the best part was the driver sped all the way to the city center. Mum said she was so frighten that she squeezed her eyes shut and she hold so tight that her hands hurt. What a terror ride!!

Sunset at West Lake.

 Anyway, we were back to the He Fang shopping street this morning. It was there that we saw loads of tea packs being sold at the price of a mere few rmb, but of course there are different grades of Chinese tea, some even cost thousands!

It was another round of hassle when it was time to go to the airport. My heart was pounding hard when time was tickling away. We tried different spots and directions to get taxi, with mercy of god, I thought, finally a taxi stopped.

Hangzhou International Airport.

We had our dinner at the airport and had a peaceful flight home. This marks the end of our yearly family trip of 2012.

Phew! Finally finished the 2012 trip and that means I can start on 2013 trip to NZ which is much much more interesting!!