Sofitel West Lake Hangzhou

... like it is morning all through the day and the camera seems to struggle with the lighting. Its a very nice place and whilst is popular in China, who actually has heard of Hangzhou outside of China? Definitely a place to visit, although I am sure there are many such places in China. We also went on a boat ride over the lake and Monica continued to be my translator, translating the tour information provided by the person taking us on the ride. The ride cost $7AUD which is ...

... very happy to see me. She hasnt seen many foreigners in her lifetime.

The next night we went to a fancy restaurant which is called 'Grandma's'. There is usually a 40 minute wait to get in, but the cousin got there early and her husband picked me up. They order many different foods once again, such as fish, chicken, rice, pork and so on. We also got some potatos shaped as a face, in ...

... on they make for you. There were many different designs, but mine just happened to land on the lantern which is what you can see in the pictures. For dinner, we pretty much share everything, although my already slow eating is exaccerbated by the fact that I can't use chopsticks, particuarly with rice, although I am getting better each day. We ate foods such as beef, rice, octupus, chicken and dumplings. Spot the odd one out and ...

Last night Monica and I went to a local restaurant. She ordered all types of things for us to share such as noodles, beef, chicken, vegetables and other things that I had never seen before. Using chopsticks is difficult especially when everyone in the restaurant will notice if you can't use them. I struggled at first, but got used to them pretty quickly. The dishes seemed to keep coming and we were both very full by the end. Once we left the restaurant the temperature had dropped ...

The Holiday Inn in Beijing had one great amenity: free internet. Other than that, it wasn't anything like our stay at the Crowne Plaza in Beijing. The beds were smaller, the pillows lumpier, and the breakfast was a poor imitation of the varied and delicious spread in Beijing. In short, it was a lot more what we are used to when we travel!

The first stop of the day was at the silk factory to see how silk ...

... area is beautiful but the edges of the lake are probably typical of many city parks in China. While at the park, we did get to have our first taste of Starbucks since leaving Canada. I can honestly tell you that it's just as overpriced and mediocre in the P.R. as it is back home but after a night of drinking some rather potent bai jiu, it was a more than welcome change.

From a scenery standpoint, the lake at Qiandao may ...

... big dinner. I have learned to recognize various Chinese signs for "meat", so we found one that didn't have it and pointed to it, and we ordered a couple draft Budweisers. The waitress just waved her hand at us and pointed to a different choice. A few minutes later she brought us a basket of limp fries and bottles of Budweiser that said "draft" across the label. I have no idea what our original order was, but she made a good call on brining the Americans fries! We eventually left and ...

... days later, but they we still out of tofu... what was Kimchi?!), there were two vegetarian restaurants which was fantastic! I could eat ANYTHING off the menu! I had been dying to be adventurous with my food since we arrived in China, but every time I've tried it it has contained meat so I've had to give it to Dave. These restaurants served 'mock meat' too. I had vegetarian duck, chicken, lamb, and even shrimp! All the local Buddhist monks ate there so we knew it wasn't a con ...

... were not charged for any amenities. We were provided a small meal. And even drinks were free. I guess this is what happens when an authoritarian government floats national companies regardless of economic performance. So much for capitalism and its little bag of salted peanuts. Flying over our destination, we entered a holding pattern. After about 15 minutes, Adam asked me if we were climbing in altitude. Incredulously looking out the window, I scoffed at such a ridiculous idea ...

... oddity of the action. Then it was over. Two things, despite the incredibly cheap price (108 RMB for approx 80 minutes), made this a completely Chinese experience: 1) the fact that after every other sip of water from our tall tea glasses, the male attendant poured more scalding water on the blossoms; and 2) all three women were texting at one time or another. It was so perfect that it was laughable. I can see this becoming something to do more often...