Radisson Plaza Hotel Hangzhou

... see here, but my first inkling that it would be more than a trout sewn onto a fishing shirt was when Joe told us that no photography was allowed because they were concerned with the Japanese stealing the secrets of their craft. The unfortunate part is that we don&#8217;t have anything to show you how amazing it was. <br><br>The art is all done with silk thread. A single silk thread can be further divided into 48 ...

... Chinese are coming to terms with the fact that I probably won't be singing for them any time soon. The only problem was that they just would not. stop. singing. Five hours of insanely sappy pop tunes and videos coupled with unrelenting enthusiasm and god awful 2% beer was not what I had in mind after the previous night's bai jiu-fueled antics. I'm sorry but if we're going to Karaoke for five straight hours, 2% just isn't gonna cut ...

... Off <br>went to Hangzhou for a visit "happy, relaxed"<br><br>Tuesday: working<br>recieved email - that physical must be done by a deadline "worried and stressed"<br><br>Wednesday: working<br>recieved email - spoke to family and arranged for them to find/ copy and send off requested materials. started contacting courier companies for quotes "determined, sure"<br><br>Thursday: working <br>organised to go to Shaoxing in the morning to have my physical ...

... other places we had been. It was considerably quieter also. Not quite 'Heaven on Earth', but we could see why the Chinese would think so. Wandering away from the road and along the lakeside was like a different world. Green and serene. With signs to places such as 'A bamboo lined path leading to serenity', which was on an island called 'Three pools mirroring the moon'. A couple we met in our hostel refused to go down the path because they didn't want to be disappointed at ...

... with tea stores. We stopped in about half of them and tried dozens of kinds of teas. I had a blast. Some shops specialized in green tea, while others specialized in Puer or red tea, and some sold all of the accoutrements needed for a full Chinese tea ceremony. We visited shops until they started to close. By that time we were both getting hungry, so we stopped at a local restaurant and had won tons. They were wonderful. I then ...

... including the Bai and Su Causeways.<br><br>Our next stop was the Six Harmonies Pagoda, first built in 970 AD to placate the tidal bore, a massive wall of water that rushes upstream during high tide. Over 60 metres high, it served as a lighthouse up until the Ming Dynasty.<br><br>Our Guide next takes us to a freshwater pearl shop before dropping us back at the Hotel.

... we walked to an amazing pagoda, maybe 20 stories tall, built in 920AD. We could see our destination in the distance all day and we finally reached it ready to explore. It was restored about 8 years ago and is beautiful. We climbed to the top of it and once on top the view of the surrounding area and lake is spectacular. It was a popular place, but not so over-run that we couldn't enjoy the views from the top. I counted the steps up, for ...

... Me *nd Tim s*t on some steps drinking the *wful liquor *nd t*lked *bout r*ndom Am**ic*n stuff. I w*s prop**ly drunk by the time we finished the second bottle *nd we both he*ded b*ck to the club, still shirtless. We got b*ck in no problem, but I sooned re*lized I h*d dr*nk f*r too much. I introduced myself to the toilet *nd we embr*ced for *bout *n hour. Aft** puking out *s much *s possible I he*ded b*ck the hostel *nd p*ssed out. I w*s woken up by our room's oth ...

... boat took us all of three hours... The ride was smooth and relaxing... Except that the chinese have a great love of hucking and spitting on the floor and the two older men behind me have that down to an art!! it sounds so bad and i dont like the sound... Arriving in Yichang we have the stars ahead of us. They are a long way up!! but this time there is a tram like thing that you have to ...