Hangzhou

Yesterday I went to Hangzhou with Rocky. It’s a picturesque town outside of Shanghai about an hour and a half by bullet train. Usually people spend a leisurely 2-3 days enjoying the sights, but we were going to squeeze in the best sights in one day. First of all we went to a temple on a small mountain called “Linyin Temple.” I’ll include a small sampling of the 5000 pictures that I took.

The mountain temple was a very earthy place, and I think the most impressive part was the feeling of being there. The atmosphere was not the same as Shanghai at all. Smooth wet stones paved the way and the unevenness in the ground came naturally, rather than from a sewer repair project. Cicadas blasted their music into the hazy summer day with the murmur of Chinese chitchat as the backup vocals. It was hard to distinguish the smoky incense from the haze in the air, and the sweet smell of incense mixed with a just-rained smell.

We walked over a meandering path built into West Lake that took us around to see the beautiful lotus gardens. They were full of healthy giant floating leaves and giant bright pink flowers. No wonder the Buddha is always sitting on a lotus—I’d never realized how big and comfortable looking they were before.

After this, we stopped at a restaurant to eat some famous food of the area and to power up. I think I had an out of body experience while I was eating the “not very fishy-tasting-fish soup.” It was a dark brown color and had slightly thick consistency due to the cornstarch. Julienned bamboo shoots, mushrooms and ginger pieces were suspended in the soup. As I was eating it, I felt my solar plexus getting hotter and hotter as if a fire were building behind my heart. It was quite an amazing and powerful sensation and it really seemed as if I were observing my body from a distance. Then I realized it was just the ginger. Whew!

On the menu, we had Xi Hu Cu Yu, or West Lake with Acid Sauce Fish-- which I think “acid” really means vinaigrette. We split a piece of Dong Po pork, which was named after a famous poet. The pork piece included layers of skin, fat, and meat. I don’t know what cut of pork it came from, but it was probably slow cooked for a long time, which made it really rich and tender. It had to be cut with rice.

Our next stop was Hu Pao Quan, or Dreaming of Tigers Spring. You should have heard me mangle the names of these places when I tried to explain to my classmates where I went. This is where the water from the mountain spring constantly refreshed the air as we followed its small stream up to a teahouse. We drank some famous Long Jing Tea with the Hu Pao spring water.

What makes Hu Pao water so special, you may ask? Well, the density of the water apparently is greater than that of regular water, so it forms a higher than usual meniscus. We tested this theory on our tea several times. We filled our glasses to the top and then drop-by-drop saw how high we could get it before it ran over. We made some pretty impressive menisci and before I left the springs, I never knew I could pee for soooooo long.

Our final stop was the East Shore of West Lake (Xi Hu). Since it was “smoky” outside the sunset was cancelled for the evening, but we took many many pictures anyway. On the banks were weeping willows that said, “Hold hands with your love and stroll slowly. Come on, share an ice cream in this heat!” Weeping willows have a lot to say, it seems. Anyway, we stopped at Mickey D’s for some sodium and my favorite: mango pie. We power walked to the station, and hopped on the train!

The sights were beautiful and I think Rocky did a good job of orchestrating a plan. Everything went off without a hitch and before I knew it, the day was over. I can see why you’d want to spend a few days in Hongzhou. It’s a beautiful place and it begs for you to slow down and wander.

Linyin temple

Me n Rocky
Carving in the wall of the mountain
The fish soup
Entryway to Lotus garden
View from the garden
At the tea house
View of the East Shore

Encounter with the Cricket Vendor

July 22

I was walking back from the corner store eating my salty lemony popsicle when I decided to stop and take a look. A guy had strings of tiny woven baskets containing really big crickets hanging up in a big arch from the back of his bike. The baskets had a soybean pod sticking in, or out, for the crickets to snack on while they were singing. What a powerful noise that comes from such a relatively small bug. I watched as a mother and daughter bought one. The vendor took a scissors and cut one of the baskets free from the cricket basket arch. The mom held it up to her ear to see if she got a lively one. She nodded, paid the 5 yuan (7 yuan is about a dollar) and they were off.

The vendor turned to me and said something, and took my hand so he could “help” me touch the bug. Okay—how much skin to bug contact can be made through the basket? I went along with his little charade.

He thought that was so funny when I ultimately yanked my hand away. I think it was a flesh seeking cricket and it got bigger and feistier when my hand got closer. Just one tiny touch was enough for me, I didn’t need a handshake with the thing. Okay thanks then—wow! Nice bugs! Bu-bye!

I must have made it almost to my hotel when I felt a shoulder tap. The guy followed me down the block to tell me something. He grabbed my hand and put it flat. He stuck the raw, uncaged, wild bug directly in my hand and tried to wrap my stiffened fingers around it and the dang thing bit me—or at least it sure felt like it. My bug-touch-catapult-reflex sent it airborne down the sidewalk where the man caught it and was laughing. Ha ha. One-way laugh.

He seemed enthusiastic and told me important things. When I tilted my head and chuckled, he said it louder, slower, and closer to my face—the international way to make someone understand. He pointed to the cricket, pointed to the cricket cages, and pointed at me while he was saying loud slow things I couldn’t get. I’m pretty sure he wanted me to take the little guy home—after all we had bonded.

At this point, my popsicle was down to the stick. My curiosity was satisfied (sorta) and there was nowhere else for this funny conversation to go. I thought quickly; I pointed to the fake watch on my wrist and pumped my arms like I was in a big hurry. Oh yes, we all understand, yes! I must go now! So sorry! He waved bye and I scurried off. Whew! I almost became an unwilling bug mom.

The Solar Eclipse and Wet Chickens

This day brought a once in a lifetime event here—a solar eclipse that would last 5 minutes and will come back around again in 300 years. The forecast predicted rain and clouds, but that didn’t stop my class and I from getting up early and going to the Century Park in the Pudong section of Shanghai.

The rain was holding out and we were able to catch a glimpse of the sun through the clouds on our way into the park. After we camped out on the lawn near some trees, the clouds kept rolling in. I hoped for “rolling by” but they parked there and just about as the eclipse was full, it started raining, and then pouring. We had to break camp and head for the trees. We stood in the rain and the dark and it was quite an unusual feeling.

When it got light out again, the rain let up a little and we agreed that we should take advantage of being in the park. We agreed to rent a bike cart and we rode around. The bike people warned us that the umbrella built into the bike “not avoid the rain” but we ignored that and the five of us crammed into our 4-person cart.

Down the road a bit, it started pouring and the bike people were right. Water was pooling on the roof and dripping non-stop down our backs, into our laps, and on our heads, etc. We decided that we could use our umbrellas in the cart, so we coordinated and re-directed the rain. Plan C was to park our cart in a dry spot, so we did some off-roading to get to a wedding tent looking thing. We waited out the rain and when it let up, I helped push our cart out of the mud.

Sally, one of my students, told me that we were like wet chickens as we were using Kleenex to move the water around on the cart. Despite the unfortunate rain and clouds during an otherwise hot, clear and sunny week; a good time was had by all. We agreed that if the day had been perfect, the solar eclipse wouldn’t have been so memorable. Besides, now we have an excuse to meet up again in 300 years to see the next one. I’m bringing the drinks.

Our eclipse party


Getting darker!



The full on eclipse under the safety of our umbrellas



Our cart at the rest stop

Random Pics

The first picture is the building we went into.



The second picture is one of the views I caught on film.


3rd is a biking picture. These are fun!!

The famous Yu Garden

I went inside Yu Gardens with a student, Sally on my first weekend here. It was a balmy day and the sky was about ready to burst. We ran through the gardens to try to beat the impending thunder storm. We just made it and hid out in a stall selling fancy tourist goods. After the rain let up, we ate some colorful "sweets." I tried chewy steamed rice balls with surprise centers of sweet red bean paste. They are pretty tasty and there's nothing like popping a big bite into your mouth and chewing away!

Chinese Venice

On our first weekend out, Rocky took me to see some of the buildings in Pudong (a burb of Shanghai). We crossed the river in a ferry and went to a walking tour of the Yu Garden district and to see a temple. FIrst, we ate some famous juicy dumplings (dumplings you bite the corner of and drink the soup out before you eat the rest) and some noodles at the Fuchun restaurant. Here are some sample pictures from our tour!

Market stall


Me n Rocky


Me on the boat


Fang Shen bridge


Street scene


Food Vendor


Street scene


Tea of China


View from the Tea house


Bridge from the Tea house window


Fancy table at the Tea house

Some pics

Turtles at the Market


Barbie's spa on the 2nd floor


Me n Barbies


Me with my pink lipstick blending in with the other Barbies. Can you tell which one is me?

Flower, Bird, Fish, and Insect Market

Today Emily and I took a taxi to Xizang Nan Lu (a road) and met Renee at the Flower, Bird, Fish and Insect market. This was another bustling place to be on a late Saturday morning. This semi-open air market was noisy and fragrant all at once. The sounds of crickets and giant chirping bugs greeted us when we entered the market that was filled with tightly packed rows of vendors--selling just as promised and more. Would you like some chipmunks, bigger Chinese black chipmunks, flying squirrels, colorful birds, singing birds, turtles, frogs, big chirping bugs, Chinese kittens, puppies, chinchillas, hamsters, gerbils, bugs to feed your new friend, or some plants? This is just a sampler of what you could find there. Oh, and fish...yes, you can get fish. The market, despite it's crowdedness, was remarkably non-smelly. Yay!

Next we went to the cloth market where there are 3 floors of fabric heaven. I never knew how many different kinds of linens, silks, cashmeres and blends of these fibers there were. A tactile and visual paradise. The best shop was the one where I touched some angora mohair and fell into insta-love. I wanted a good price so, I haggled. She was going to loose her business with my price and I KNEW that she couldn't do anything with that last remnant of fabric. We were in gridlock for a while, but we finally came to an agreement. After that, I had to get out of there. My students/friends were instructed to not let me touch anything and lead me the shortest possible route to the exit.

Then to the Pika Pika place for some photo booth goodness--straight from Japan! You could "decorate" your pictures as much as you wanted before they were printed. We added sparkles, some butterflies, flowers, cake, bubbles, our names, tiaras, watermelon, fish, octopus, and the list goes on. This was the fun part and they became sooooo pretty. I can't wait until they come to the US. Why aren't they already there???

Lastly we went to the Barbie shop. 5 floors of pink, happy upbeat lounge music, and Barbie galore. I tried on some Barbie pink lipstick and posed with the life size Barbies. The lipstick made me feel so pretty as I posed with the fake barbies. Then I looked in the mirror--eeek! who really looks good in bubblegum pink?! I guess sometimes it's how you feel that really matters.

McDonalds

Today's school lunch was a trip to Micky D's. Just what is a Chinese McDonalds like? Pretty much the same as in the U.S., only with more tasty side options. For lunch I had a cheeseburger with cucumber slices and special spicy sauce. Instead of a pop and fries, I had a Mango pie and a blueberry fizzy soda ice cream float to drink. Mmmm! Before we went back to school, I ordered another Mango pie and a sweet Taro pie to go. Taro is somewhat potato-y only it has a soft purple color. I ate it at school while the students were writing. Delish! I still have my Mango pie in the bag waiting for me. Today, Mango pies are my new favorite food, followed by Taro pies!

Hot Pot Dinner

After School, a few of my students took me out to a restaurant called "Dolar Shop." It's a place where everyone gets their own hot pot of broth with a flame underneath and you have communal veggies and meats that you put in it to customize your dinner. We waited for a while outside the restaurant because it's quite a bustling place. After we got in, I tried some new foods such as cow esophagus cut into diamond shapes (this was white and rubbery kind of like squid) and some cow stomach which looked like something you might find living in a coral reef. It was white and had a lot of tentacle-like things which I think were the stomach folds. Brrrk...I don't want to think about this too deeply. I think it's good to see how far your comfort bubble can go.

While we ate and talked, and ate and talked, my thoughts focused on the simple things such as the taste and textures of the food because I wasn't always able to follow the conversation. My favorite pot add-ins were the lotus plant, which is a lot like a water chestnut in it's crunchy-ness, but has a firmer more substantial texture, the tall stringy mushrooms that come in a bundle and have the best feeling when you bite into a clump of them, and the fish balls. They had small chunks of chewy fish in a melt in your mouth sausage-y texture. Mmmm!

We also had some small rolls of mutton, shaved beef, frozen and thawed tofu (very spongy), mini-dumplings, noodles, clear seaweed noodles, bamboo shoots, and a bowl full of different greens. I'm sure I'm leaving some tasty things out, but this was the most of it. When we finished, we were served some sweet warm red rice pudding followed by some slices of watermelon and cherry tomatoes in a bowl with plastic double pronged toothpicks. It was such a good feeling to be out in the world on a balmy Shanghai night spending time in good company. What a deeply satisfying evening of simply eating out.