Day 9 in China: Trip to the West Lake!

I really didn't think I would have this much to post every day, more life changing experiences to share with you all than I thought!

Today I will be meeting with some British graduates for a fun day out! I travelled to the office with Karl, where we met with the students, and sat in a conference room with Karl while he delivered a short talk and Q/A session with the students. There were about 6 of them, 3 leaders, then me! That's 10 of us, a good crowd for a day out.

After the talk I had the opportunity to talk to a few of the students. They are all polite, very friendly and outgoing, I felt really comfortable with them. We went downstairs to take a minibus to the lake where we would rent bikes. On the way we all just chatted away about what we were studying/had studied at uni. Also what we thought of China (they had only been here for a couple of weeks) and they shared some of their experiences! Lot's of fun.

We arrived and waited on a man Mark had planned to meet, who would sort our bikes for us. The bikes were a little rugged and worn, but this is what we were expecting, I didn't exactly get first pick, so I got stuck with a bright pink bike covered with stickers of butterflies and stuff, and a big sticker slapped on the front that said 'THE BEST'. So I was relatively pleased with that, hopped on, and proudly rode off with the rest of the guys and girls. Cycling in China is very dangerous, but SO MUCH FUN! The traffic here is f'ing ridiculous, there's no need for traffic lights on the road as no one cares. We were cycling on the road next to cars, and they didn't seem to particularly care, some of the students I was with were crashing into car mirrors and stuff because they were so close. I physically had to lift my foot off the pedal twice to kick myself of the side of a car, and then a bus, so that I didn't end up crashing. Very exhilarating, thoroughly enjoyed it. We cycled around the the opposite side of the lake, passing some amazing scenery on the way, very Chinese buildings, temples, statues of dragons and lions, very inspiring to see.

We stopped once we got half way around to get some lunch at the Green Tea Restaurant. We chained our bikes to trees outside (as bike theft rate in China is terrible) and walked inside.

The building was so humbling, and very busy! It was made entirely from logs and wooden boards, and was actually propped up on a small body of water. Inside we were shown to a room that had just enough seats for us, and Mark and the supervisors ordered a LARGE variety of food. We were all starving, the bike ride takes it out of you. We got presented with our plates and bowls, small wooden cups for our green tea, and a glass of the Chinese equivalent to coke. It wasn't fizzy, but was cold, and more like a very strong fruit juice. The food began to arrive soon after, starting with tomato soup. The tastiest soup I have ever had in my life, the last word you could use to describe food in china is rubbish. The pieces of tomato, and some of the herbs used to make the soup were still floating in the broth, still fresh! Everyone enjoyed it, 2 big bowlfuls of it. Then the meat and veg started being brought to us. Fish, Pork, Beef, and a few other things that I couldn't even recognise, along with huge bowls of rice and noodles, egg plant, and a few other things. There was so much food it couldn't all fit on the table! It was delicious, everyone ate their hearty fill, and we then decided to opt for a little desert. We ordered, what literally was, a toasted loaf with a dollop of vanilla ice cream on top, we got 2 servings. there were miniature forks that were on the plates with the food, and you use these forks to break through the crust of the bread, scoop some out, swipe it along the ice cream to pick up some, then just eat it. Jaw droopingly good, the bread was so sweet, the ice cream was delicious, the nicest thing I have eaten since I arrived in China I think!

Afterwards, we split into 2 parties, one left to go watch the rugby in a pub, the rest of us went to visit the famous Green Tea Museum next door. Very nice place, steeped in history about the different dynasties and tea culture, and all of the history surrounding it. We were even invited by staff to sit while they prepared some different kinds of teas for us! We had red tea, black tea, jasmine tea, and a few other kinds, that I cant remember the name of. So delicious, I will definitely be bringing some home, it's all very healthy and good for you too!

We all met at the bar later to catch the end of the game, hard luck Wales! We then cycled back into the Town, it was dark now, and we were all a little worn out. But after returning the bikes, we hung around waiting for Hangzhou's water display on the lake! Water began spraying up everywhere making a mist, then lasers were shot onto the mist and music started playing as images were shown on the spray, then a huge colourful display of water and light was shown. The street was full of spectators, about half of them were holding up a camera or phone to record the event. We went together to grab a coffee at Starbucks and began saying our farewells, as it was soon time to go home. They are all staying in Shanghai, and invited me up sometime for a night out! Looking forward to that, and will let you know how it goes when the time comes. They all left in their mini bus again, and I was left in this brand new area, trying to find myself a taxi home. No bother, got a taxi from outside a hotel, showed him the address I wanted to go to, and was home before I knew it!

I am exhausted, had a very very enjoyable day, tomorrow I will just kick about at home and relax, maybe go for a walk to explore. It's late and time for bed now, so talk to you all later!

Good luck with everything back home!

Michael