beautiful Hangzhou

i spent 45 minutes earlier this afternoon writing a post, and then somehow lost it. i think i wrote some interesting stuff about Hangzhou, its beauty and its sights - links and all. but alas, all gone!

i'm staying at the lovely West Lake Youth Hostel right on West Lake, the major attraction in this gorgeous city. it's across the boulevard from Leifeng Pagoda, which has a long history - both real and mythological. a famous legend/opera about White Snake Lady takes place in Hangzhou/West Lake/Leifeng Pagoda. Elaine and i saw a scene from this legend at Beijing Opera a couple weeks ago.

this morning, i rented a bicycle from the hostel to explore the scenic area - lake, pagodas, tree-lined boulevards, arched bridges, ponds, temples... (yes, a very romantic city). i had intended to go out for the entire day (weather forecast: sunny and 70 high), but it was foggy and chilly the entire time - visibility close to nothing. then it began to rain around noon.


after trying to ride it out (pun intended) for a couple of hours, i gave up and returned soaking wet to the hostel in the early afternoon. i had intended to leave Hangzhou tomorrow for an mountain island, Putuoshan in the East China Sea (about five hours away by bus & boat), but i've decided to stay here another day instead. the forecast tomorrow is supposed to be warm and partly cloudy. one can only hope that the weather will be better than today.

interesting sight of the day: an italian olive oil specialty store & hair salon. i kid you not.

this hostel is clean, comfortable and has a lot of character. it, however, does not have good food. after a bland and disappointing dinner last night (cheese sandwich with fries) and an equally bland and disappointing breakfast this morning (congee and fried egg), i was in search of FLAVOR. so lunch today was a McDonald's cheeseburger and fries (salty goodness), which almost hit the spot. but i must've not totally sated my desire for flavor because this evening, as i was wandering around, my eyes fell upon an Indian restaurant and i made a beeline for it.

i don't know if it was an appetite borne out of the biking/hiking i did today or if it was just that good, but i ate the entire order of naan and chicken tikka masala. it felt like the most delicious meal i've ever had in my life. i was in gastronomic heaven!

sadly, i've not been totally in love with the Chinese food i've had in China. so far, nothing in my travels has come even close to the delicious, spicy food i had in Thailand - of which i still remember and dream. food in Vietnam and Cambodia was okay; food in China has been okay. tonight's Indian food (in Hangzhou, CN) was fantastic.

there's a VERY cute little resident black puppy in the hostel. cute and little (about 9 inches long) are the operative words. when i was on the internet this morning, he stole one of my slippers.

i'm heading to Shaoxing in a couple of days to visit Joel & Sarah. we actually got a chance to hang out a bit this weekend in Shanghai; as it turned out, we were visiting the city at the same time! we got a chance to ooh-and-aah over the dazzling and strange Shanghai lights at night. somehow beautiful in an eerie way... J & S, after reading about my hot pot woes in Chongqing, have promised me a hot pot night in Shaoxing! i'm very excited... i think some tasty hot pot will make a positive dent in my Chinese gastronomic experience.

i have just nine days left in China. my last significant stop is Hong Kong out of which i'll be flying on November 8. i'm feeling sad about leaving because i've so loved being here and exploring the country, but i'm also excited about starting the next phase of my sojourn in freezing cold Seoul.