More Photos in Hangzhou

Photos of Hangzhou

A weekend in Hangzhou

On the last weekend my family was here we headed out for Hangzhou on Thursday night, little did we know that we would be getting on the slowest train to Hangzhou with no seats because everyone was going back home to Hangzhou from the expo. To describe our trip to Hangzhou to you it felt like a movie. Ok let me explain, so on the train we met these girls who were about my age and I started talking to them in Chinese about different things like studying Chinese and the school I attended in Shanghai. I discovered that one of the girls was also studying at the same University, and so I'm like "oh cool". But then the girls were like oh if we're free tomorrow we'll show you around Hangzhou, but I didn't really think it was necessary. Then they were like well where are you staying, and I told them at this hostel. They of course thought being as though we were Americans we should stay somewhere nicer. But this hostel was a hotel that my friend highly recommended and so i really wanted to check it out. Well we got off the train about 11:00 p.m. and then one of the girls is like there is a hotel right next to the train station, so I'm like well i guess we can go check it out since we are so close by. Then it was really strange, because she kept bargaining with the front desk and as it was the rooms said only three people to a room so I was like ok this is going to be a huge problem. We were all exhausted, but I decided that I wanted to stick with my original plan. So we get in a cab, I call the hostel and ask them to tell the cab driver where to go. The weird thing is the cab driver definitely seems drunk and he won't talk to me and I have no idea at the point where we are going. I get a call back from the hostel, and they tell me that I should get out of the cab and find a different cab driver because he doesn't know where he is going. So then I persist to the cab driver in Chinese, let us out of the cab now. Well he refuses to listen to me and then I start getting in a full blown argument with him to let us out. Well, he finally stops the cab and says that we have arrived. I call the hostel and they tell me they will send someone to walk down and pick us up. I'm so relieved that they are so helpful at this point. I then tell the cab driver to leave and that I'm not paying him because he didn't take us where we wanted to go. Well he left angry, but he was drunk to begin with so I guess what did I expect. We were so happy to arrive at the hostel. The hostel was absolutely wonderful and so quaint. The room was huge and tastefully decorated. After arriving, Claire was still hungry so we walked to this restaurant right near the hostel that was still hopping at 12:30 at night. We ended up having a little snack and then heading back and sleeping like princes and princesses out of pure exhaustion.

Next morning we woke up fairly early wanting to get a head start on our day. We started out by having a lovely breakfast prepared by the hostel. We then set out on the cobblestone streets. Walked into a traditional Chinese medicine shop, got my favorite coffee at Café 85, and then got to see a parade going on in the street with all of these people in wonderful costumes. It was so serendipitous that the festival was going on just as we walked through the streets. After browsing the street vendors and little shops, we set out to test the city’s free bike rentals. Well it took us a while to get the system figured out, but we got on the bikes and went to the famous lake called the West Lake in Hangzhou. It was absolutely beautiful, however by the time we got down there, mom, Jesse, and me had to get going to the train station to purchase tickets back to Shanghai. That was another ordeal because we had to wait in line for over an hour just to get the tickets again. By the time we headed back it was already 3 in the afternoon. We met up with Claire and dad and then we had to head back towards the hotel and turn in our bikes at the original place. Well when we went to go and get bikes for Mom, Jesse, and me that was a bit problematic because the rental place had said that we hadn't returned our bikes from when we had gone to the train station. However, that was not the case and so I had to try to explain to this manager that we had already turned the bikes in at a different location. Well he made some calls and we were finally on our way with bikes and all back to the original bike location where we put our money deposit down. After that stressful fiasco, I decided that I would never go through that type of rental service again. In Xi'an we had no problems, because we just rented it through one place and there weren't several other factors involved. However, I felt this bike service was much more stressful than they say it was in the book, even though it is a "free rental service" I would never recommend doing it again, especially if you are with five other people who don't speak Chinese.

When we got back to the neighborhood of our hotel. Everyone wanted to do some last minute shopping but I was quite concerned about time and getting to the train station. We quickly got in our last minute shopping. Then we got our bags and everyone was starving so we decided to go to the same restaurant that we had gone to the night before. It was good because there was like no one in the restaurant at 6. We ordered some dishes and then quickly headed out to the streets to find a taxi. However, little did my family know that finding a taxi at 6 o'clock in a city in Hangzhou is nearly impossible. We were running up and down the streets like madmen, but all of the cabs were taken. Finally we found one cab, but by this time it was already 6:15 our train was leaving by 6:35. We all tried to pile in the cab, but because there were five of us and the cab driver only allows four people by law to be in a cab, one of us had to get out and so I said ok I'll get out and the rest of you stay in, but my mom of course decided to get out too. As they left, I was thinking oh gosh I have no idea how we're going to get to this train station on time. As my mom and me are running up and down the street trying to find a cab, I spot a police car. I run up to the police car, knock on his window and ask if he can help us. He pulls over to the side of the street, and I tell him in Chinese how urgent it is that we get to the train station. He is very helpful and agrees to take me and my mom there. While in the back of the police car me and my mom are so relieved and grateful, just thanking the officer over and over. We arrive at the train station before Jesse, Claire, and dad do. We call them on their cell because the station is huge. They are shocked at how quickly we arrived, oh one more plug in my mom freaked out when we got out of the police car, because she thought she had left her purse in the restaurant. Luckily it was in the cab with the rest of the family. Once we all met up we ran to the train platform and got on the train about two minutes before the train left. Luckily we had seats( well actually they were beds) and after all of the commotion I crashed and fell asleep on the train ride back to Shanghai.

When we arrived back in Shanghai, we were all hungry again. I was craving some American food, Claire wanted to explore a bar... so we went to this classy bar called Cottons. Mom unfortunately didn't join us because she was tiered and we had that problem with the cab situation of fitting us all into one cab. I'm telling you it is not easy if you have a family of five living in China, you can't take a cab all together anywhere. It was fun to go this bar, but I was definitely exhausted by the end of the night. The worse part is that by the time we got back I thought that I could get in the back gate entrance of my school, but I couldn't because they close it at midnight, so I had to walk all the way around to the front gate and then all the way to my dorm, so I got in about a 25 minute walk all the way back. Luckily I got to sleep in the next morning.

Overall our one day in Hangzhou was a lot of fun, however not enough time. It would have been nice to stay longer, but because the hotel we were staying at back in Shanghai was very busy we had to keep our reservations.

The Shanghai Museum and Hot Pot

On Thursday the family all went to the Shanghai Museum, walked around Nanjing East Road, and had Hot Pot for lunch. I joined them later in the day, as we planned to depart for Hangzhou on Thursday. Because October is a very busy season in Shanghai, we didn't realize how difficult it would be to get tickets to Hangzhou.

The French Concession and Celebrating My 21st

Ok I have to admit, I have been terrible at keeping up with blogging, however I'm going to continue with my families trip in China. On Wednesday, my dad, my sister, and I went down to the French Concession which is a really beautiful and historical part of Shanghai. I love all of the great shops and the cobblestone streets. My mom and Jesse ended up staying at the hotel so that J could catch up on some homework. We ended up mainly window shopping and looking in the art galleries. Then we had a delicious lunch at an Indian restaurant. After lunch I returned back to campus for class, while Claire and dad ended up going to visit the Urban planning center and some other historical sites. Jesse and mom ended up heading to Zhongshan park mall where they indulged in Coldstone Ice cream. After class, I went back to the hotel and met up with the family. We then all went to dinner at a great restaurant behind the back gate of my school. We ended the evening by re- celebrating my 21st birthday with cake and gifts. It was really a wonderful day filled with family time and happiness. I'm so happy I got the chance to celebrate my 21st with them in Shanghai.

The Family Returns to Shanghai

Well, I know it has been a week since I posted more on the adventures of my family, but I have been preoccupied with midterm the entire week, so I didn't have any time to update on my family's time here in China.

Well, on October 11th, I returned to Shanghai for classes. My family ended up staying in Changzhou for the day which was best since I had class all day from 10 to 6 p.m. We ended up meeting near my school on Monday, and we all went to eat at my favorite Muslim restaurant near the back gate of my school. We had a feast at the restaurant which was a lot of fun since my roommate joined us. My family found a perfect hotel five minutes walking distance from my school which worked out perfectly. I loved being able to just be able to walk back and forth from my room to their hotel. After dinner, we went back to their hotel and met up with my " host family" , also our family friend Peter. He brought some very strong alcohol to the hotel which we all shared. We also had coffee, which is always special for me since it is rare for me now to have coffee. It was a lot of fun just sitting around and enjoying each other's company at this hotel. I definitely couldn't believe how much I missed my family, and how special it was for them to be here in China with me.

The next day, since it was a Tuesday, ( I had a Chinese test), so I met up with my family in the morning, had breakfast with them, and then they went off to explore the expo. I think they ended up having fun going to the different pavilions, though there were still a lot of people and long lines! I had already gone to the expo, so I didn't really have much of a desire to see it again. I just thought there were so many long lines and too many people.

Later in the evening, we all met in the Pudong area and went to the top of the Pudong financial center. It was definitely a beautiful view of all of Shanghai. Though, the only thing was that it was a little overcast and rainy that evening. After getting out of the Shanghai financial center, we were all over hungry. It was not a very good sight from there, because everyone didn't know what they wanted, and my family all just started to fall apart. I'm embarrassed to say in the end, half of us went ot Mc. Donald's, while my mom and Claire went to an Asian Chain restaurant. It was definitely one of those well learned lessons that when everyone is too hungry you can't wait too long. We were all ready to go back to the hotel by the time we finished our not so wonderful dinner. Overall it was really fun to get to see the Pudong Oriental pearl tv tower and the financial center.

Tea Ceremony and a Puppet Show in Xi'an

I was looking through my photos and forgot to mention that my family went to a wonderful tea tasting ceremony and a traditional puppet show while in Xia'n.

We had our own private puppet show, which was interesting. The music was very soothing,which almost made me fall asleep. After the puppet show, we were able to watch another show on some traditional dances in China by this dance troupe. It was definitely an afternoon of cultural entertainment.

It was a lot of fun for us to try all of the assortments of tea's ranging from Jasmine to Black Cherry Concubine tea. We were given an explanation on all of the different benefits to your health for drinking tea. I really enjoyed drinking the Black Cherry Concubine tea, because it was so naturally sweet. The tea master really wanted us to buy some of the teas, but they were definitely overpriced for the amount that you actually got. Overall though, it was fun to all sit around at a table and enjoy the different teas. Whenever I think of tea, I always think of China, since it really is the birthplace of all these amazing different types of teas. I thought it was definitely necessary that my family got to partake in a traditional tea ceremony.

A Day in Changzhou

On Sunday morning we were in Changzhou, which is the hometown of another student who goes to my old high school. Her father is the one who helped my family arrange a lot of thing on their trip. We traveled about two hours by car to his hometown, which I'm forgetting the name of at the moment. It is famous for this huge lake and Jony, the father of the student claims that its famous for its delicious foods, though I would beg to differ on that one. When we arrived we took a boat ride to get to other parts of the little island/ lake area. It was a beautiful day, so it was fun to get to ride on a boat. Little did I know, that I would also be getting a lot of exercise exploring the park. There was plenty of things to do and see there, but it ended up taking a long time for us to get back to the original site where we started from. By the time we got back, it was about 3 p.m. in the afternoon and everyone was starving. We were originally going to go to this hotel and have lunch but it had already closed, so Jony called a friend of his who apparently owned a restaurant in the town. Boy, did we have some very different cuisine. Our meal consisted of pigs feet, snake, pigs stomach, and a lot of other things that I can't recall. It was one of the most lets just phrase it "interesting" meals I've had since my time here. I definitely enjoyed it, but it wouldn't be a meal that I could get used to having on a daily basis.

We ended up arriving back in Changzhou on Sunday night. I was so unclear as to whether I'd be taking the train back to Shanghai at night or in the morning. I didn't really feel like getting on another train, but I also felt like I didn't have much of a choice in the matter. Luckily I was able to take an early train the next morning .

Even though we were all still very full when we got back to Changzhou, Jony and his family wanted to take us to one more restaurant. He told us "We're going to go have snake" and my family is like "Oh goodness, not more snake, I think we've had our fill for the day". Little did we know that he actually was saying that we were going to have a "snack at a restaurant" but his pronunciation sounded like "snake". We ended up going to a very chic restaurant that had some delicious food, even though we weren't actually very hungry.

After our long day, we ended up going back to Jony's home, I slept there for the night and got up early to face the morning of reality " back to school for me!"

Our Final Day in Xi'an: Terra Cotta Warriors

We woke up on Saturday morning at about 7:30 and had our final wonderful buffet breakfast at the hotel. I discovered that the reason I was so confused about the hotel, was that I stayed at a different Holiday Inn in a completely different city. This Holiday Inn ended up working out quite well though, I'm so glad I finally discovered the reason why I didn't remember this hotel. The breakfast was great though, and it was such a nice way to start off our days with a big breakfast. After checking out of the hotel we were met by our tour guide and had a driver bring us to the Terra Cotta warriors. I forgot how far out of the city the Terra Cotta warriors actually were. It was another hot day in Xia'n. We ended up first going to the tile factory where they make replications of the warriors. I remember the tile factory, because that was where I bought my beautiful tiles the last time I was in Xi'an. I still have yet to do something with them. I would eventually like to put them in a table or something, but I haven't decided. After the factory we went to the terra cotta museum. I think my family really enjoyed seeing it, though it got pretty exhausting for everyone by the time we had reached the third pit with the soldiers. Everything ended up looking the same after a while. I think my dad was very interested in the history though. It was so wonderful that we had a tour guide, because I don't know what we would have done without one being able to tell us the history behind everything. After the museum, we went to have lunch at this big touristy restaurant. It wasn't very good, but it did the trick. We were all still pretty full from our big breakfast. We then went to this place that is known for its hot springs. I can't remember what emperor, but an emperor had built a summer palace for all of his concubines to retreat to. I had been to this place the last time I came to Xi'an so I opted to not go inside, since there was an entrance fee, and it wasn't the most interesting place.

We ended up heading toward the airport after the hot spring summer palace for our flight to Nanjing, where my family has some friends they know through my old high school . Our flight ended up being a bit delayed so we didn't arrive into Nanjing until about 8:30 p.m. at night. From Nanjing we were picked up and drove all the way to Changzhou which took us another hour and a half. It was exhausting but we finally arrived in Changzhou by about 10 p.m.

The Muslim Quarter in Xi'an and the Tang Dynasty Show

After our visit to Starfish Home, we headed to the Muslim quarter of Xia'n, which I also had wonderful memories of on my last visit. There are so many great stalls selling all of these wonderful paintings and different trinkets. After walking around and shopping for a bit, we went to this little hole in the wall restaurant that served noodles and soup. At first J and I weren't sure what to think of it, but once he tried the noodles, he discovered that he really liked them. We could tell this place didn't get any foreigners because everyone was staring at us, and the waitress even seemed shy to be serving us. We spent pretty much the rest of the afternoon walking around the city area of Xia'n.

That evening we went to this show that was suggested by the tour company that we were traveling with. It was supposed to represent the music and dance of the Tang dynasty. I'm not really sure if it was a true representation, because it was pretty much a show put on for foreigners, but it was fun to watch nonetheless. I think my family was still getting over there jet lag though, because my mom and J fell asleep during parts of the show. It actually reminded me of when we went to visit my sister C in Turkey and one of the first nights we were there she took us to the swirling dirvishes performance and we all fell asleep due to being still jet lagged and not on the right time zone. Luckily this performance was short and sweet, and we got home by about 9:30 p.m.

Everyone was of course exhausted again and we all crashed at the hotel very early. The one thing I was not prepared for was that the mosquito's were so terrible and woke me up on one of our first nights in Xia'n. I was prepared though for the next night, my mom bought me bug spray which was well worth it, since those mosquito's seem to love me!

More Photos at Starfish

I know I've put a lot of pictures up of these cute babies, but I can't help it!! They really are just absolutely wonderful children.