By the way...Nanjing is not typically on the tourist map, but we really enjoyed our time there and considered it worthy of a few days visit.

very interesting visit

October 27 (Saturday) Day 19:

Our early morning train departed from the south station train station of Nanjing and we were unable to have breakfast in the hotel before checking out. The train station was quite modern and clean and there were several fast food restaurants on the premises. As we had a short time prior to our departure still, we decided to try a bowl of soup, which happened to be a delicious breakfast. Our train was another G train that traveled at a high speed and the ride was quite comfortable. These trains are smoke free and brand new with modern toilet facilities. We arrived at the Hangzhou train station at approximately 11:00. Upon exiting the station, we searched for the ticket purchase window in order to buy tickets for our next destination (Shanghai). We had read that there is a special window for foreigners, located near the self purchase area, and we easily found this window which made purchasing tickets for the trip to Shanghai very easy. Having tickets in hand, we searched for a taxi to take us to our hotel and found one that agreed to use the meter after several others refused to do so.

We arrived at our hotel, the Ramada Plaza which was well located near West Lake, purportedly the “Most beautiful lake in all of China”. After freshening up, we purchased tickets for the next evening to see the famous “ Impressions Performance on West Lake”. This later turned out to be one of the major highlights of the trip.

We had read about taking a canal cruise and so, we hired a taxi to take us to the location of the cruise boats, however, after driving around for approximately 45 minutes, we were taken to the wrong location. Needless to say, we were a bit tired and frustrated. The traffic was horrendous and the taxi driver had no idea where we wanted to go. Once again, we were surprised to find out what a large city Hangzhou was, as we had been surprised in both Xi’an and Pingyao.

Again, we found a taxi and asked the driver to take us to the Wushan Square area. We wandered down Hefang Street and the surrounding streets, enjoying this lovely area set next to a canal, with shops, restaurants, gourmet food stalls, statutes (Buddha), and lanterns. While very touristy, it was teeming with locals and visitors spending their time shopping, eating, strolling and dancing. There were many restaurants, but the allure seemed to be the food stalls which had crabs on a stick and other delicious food items that the people seemed to be enjoying.

October 27 – Sunday – Day 20:

After breakfast Sunday morning, we set out to meander around West Lake, beginning at “English corner”, only a few short blocks from our hotel. Here we met a group of Chinese men practicing their English skill and were told that these men meet every Sunday to study English. The men were delighted to talk to us and we enjoyed engaging in conversation with them for a short time. The walk around the lake is 15 km and we meandered around it the entire day, enjoying the views of the lake, but more than that, we enjoyed watching the activities and families strolling around the lake, playing musical instruments, singing, dancing and generally enjoying themselves. The lake is surrounded by pagodas, rock gardens, wispy willow trees and made for a lovely day’s stroll. But the highlight of the lake is the magical Impressions Performance on West Lake, which makes a trip to Hangzhou worthwhile in itself. The costumes, the theatrics, the lighting and musical are simply amazing and can easily be compared to the phenomenal job that the Chinese people did in their Olympic showcase. After the performance it is impossible to find a taxi, so we walked back to our hotel approximately 45 minutes away as the performance was on the opposite side of the lake. Exhausted from walking approximately 11 miles during the day, we called it a night, looking forward to our trip to Shanghai the next day and our GTG with other Fodorites the next evening.

Still following along and enjoying. Applauding your effort.....your almost there ;)

Aloha!

Aloha Hawaiiantraveler - thanks for following along. This really has been an effort. Along with this we are working on our photo book which is coming along quite nicely. Looking back at pictures always brings back fond memories. In addition, we just learned that we have a wedding in Israel to attend in April so we must work on those plans. We hope to add on a trip to Petra if it is still safe to go there. More to come on china shortly.

Great info. We were amazed at the traffic in Hangzhou and disappointed that West Lake was in the center of a city with views of skyscrapers. Waiting for Shanghai.

dgunbug - just wanted to let you know I'm still checking in here, although I'm really saving a proper read for when I have more time.

I was in Hangzhou for National Day in 2004, so it was packed! Back then there was no issue with taxi drivers using the meter, though.

Thursdaysd - the issue was more that few taxis stopped, although the few that did stop wanted ridiculous prices.
Marija - we were a bit disappointed in the lake itself and with the fact that hangzhou was not the small pretty city we had imagined. However, we did enjoy our time there,, the people watching and interaction with the men at the english corner. We loved the show which we thought was good enough to go out of the way to see. We also enjoyed seeing people sing and dance together. We encountered a group singing and playing guitar and I especially enjoyed when my husband participated by playing the guitar while others sang with him.

No-where in China is small anymore, a hamlet has become a village, village to small town, town to city, city to mega city, it is mind-boggling and still growing.

I do not know what the current security issues are in Jordan, but if you find it is safe to go to Petra, which is fabulous, you might want to consider staying in Jordan a few extra days to see Jerash and some other very interesting places. We went to Jordan in 1996 when the border from Israel to Jordan first opened, and had a very enjoyable visit.

Am I the only one who found the chinese to be the rudest people I have ever come across? It started when we went to the embassy to get our Visa, they kept trying to jump the queue and a guy in front of us who works in Beijing said "wait until you get there this is nothing" and we found he was right. A queue is for everyone else not for them, even trying to take photos was a problem as they have no issues about cutting in or pushing you out the way to take a photo themselves. We had been to Hong Kong 25 years ago and found the people very courteous and welcoming, when we returned 2 years ago we found a completely different place and talking to the old Hong Kong people they also have an extreme dislike for them but they do bring in a lot of new money so they have to tollerate them.
Anyway dgunbug sorry about my rant I'm really enjoying your trip report it's full of detail and extremely informative and well written, thanks.

Clark55 - while its true that we encountered such behavior as you describe, we did not find it as offensive as you. I believe that the lack of "lining up patiently and taking turns" is either the result of their cultural upbringing or the fact that there are so many Chinese people and therefore, they have found it necessary to be pushy in order to get where they need to be. We did note a bit if discourtesy on trains and I was surprised that the young people did not offer their seats to the elderly, the infirmed, or pregnant woman and mothers with small children. When I offered my own seat to a mother with a young child, she couldn't be more greatful. But, despite these behaviors, we also encountered incidences where people went greatly out of their way for us, walking blocks in the opposite direction of their own destination to show us the way. on another note, I also noticed that the spitting which we had heard about, was only minimal. To me, rather than being offended by behavior different than that which we are accustomed to, I enjoy observing the differences amongst people and wondering about what causes those differences. It's those differences that makes traveling so much fun!

Clark - wanted to also say thanks for reading along and for sharing your comments.

Clark - China is hardly the only country in which the concept of an orderly queue is not part of the cultural DNA. I found individual Chinese people very eager to help, and the few who spoke English would go out of their way to do so.

October 28 – Monday – Day 21:

After breakfast this morning we took an easy 1 hour train ride into Shanghai on the fast “G” train. Our hotel, the Grand Mercure Zho, while not on the Bund, could not have been more conveniently located. As we departed the train, we found the hotel located just minutes walking distance from the station. (Had we come out the correct exit, we would have exited just steps away from our hotel. The metro system in Shanghai is excellent and we primarily used it to get around this very large city. After dropping off our luggage and settling into our room, we headed out to get an orientation of Shanghai.

We took the metro to the People’s Square exit which is at the tip of Nanjing Road. As it was already mid afternoon, our goal was to walk East up toward the Bund where we were to meet up for a GTG with several Fodorites for dinner at Lost Heaven on the Bund. Strolling along Nanjing Road we walked past modern shopping malls, specialty stores, theatres, and international hotels that have mushroomed on both sides of the street. Along with countless famous brands and fashionable shopping, there were KFC, McDonald's, Pizza Hut, and other world-famous food vendors lining both sides of the street. Open-air bars, abstract sculptures, and lingering sounds from street musicians enhanced our stroll. A trackless sightseeing train provides a comfortable tour for those who do not want to walk the pedestrian street, although we enjoyed ambling along the lane.

The walk along the Bund is spectacular and the site of the modern buildings on the Pudong side, which only 20-30 years ago had been farmland, is an amazing site to behold and a tribute to the Chinese, showing all that its people are capable of accomplishing and that which they have already accomplished. During our stay in Shanghai, we were to gravitate to this area on several occasions.

As we had dinner reservations with other Fodorites, our walk on the Bund was limited to a quick stroll along the waterfront. We headed over to the Lost Heaven restaurant which was only a few blocks from the Bund and we met with Peter & Linda (Hawaiiantravelers), Bob & Karen (rhkkmk), their friend Pat, and the Cokesmiths (Coke, Som, & their adorable son, Cokie). As we had previously met Bob & Karen in Florida, it was great catching up with them again. Meeting the other Fodorites was a wonderful experience and the food at Lost Heaven was outstanding. Our GTG almost did not happen as there was confusion when we were seated. We ended up finding the Cokesmiths immediately, but the rest of the party was nowhere to be seen for approximately 30 minutes. After trying and failing to contact Bob, my only contact, I went back to the reception desk and asked again if the rest of the party had arrived. It was at that point that I learned that half our group was seated at another table tucked away at the far end of the restaurant. We combined groups and had a delightful meal and conversation, which ended all too soon. Meeting up with this group was one of the highlights of our trip. Leaving the restaurant, we discovered it was raining and we waited for quite some time before cabs could be found for all. (We actually left the group after waiting awhile and headed back up the street to the Bund where we had to wait another 15 minutes to hail a cab). Being late and nasty out, we headed back to our hotel.

October 29 – Tuesday – Day 22

Today was another rainy day, but we set out anyway dressed in our gortex jackets. We took the subway to People’s Square, walked through the park, which was disappointing due to a lack of activity, but to be expected due to the inclement weather. We were amused that we were stopped to chat by three students, who spoke to us at great length, two of them speaking great English and the third “practicing her English”. They were very smooth and we enjoyed conversing with them, but realized at the end it was the old “tea scam” that we had been warned about.

As the weather was still bad, we headed to the Shanghai Museum, spending many hours their as the displays are quite good and the museum well worth going to. From there, we headed to the Pearl Market located on Nanjing Road and we went directly to the 2nd floor to “Mary’s”. The previous night at dinner I had admired the Fodorite woman’s pearls and they had told me that they got a great price at Mary’s. After haggling for a bit, I purchased a lovely strand of pearls that I am quite happy with. Was the price right or the quality good…who knows? But I am enjoying wearing them. Afterward, I decided that I should buy pearls for my three daughter-in-laws, so we attempted to get the price down even further, but the saleswoman at Mary’s would not budge. We proceeded to look for pearls elsewhere and I found them for an even cheaper price at another booth. It was great fun bargaining and even my husband, who hates to shop, enjoyed himself.

By this time the weather had cleared up and we decided to head west on Nanjing Road past the pedestrian area. We were surprised when we found a beautiful temple lit up against the backdrop of modern buildings. As it was getting late and as my husband was not interested in eating more Chinese food, we stopped at a local Burger King (I know – pathetic!) and got a quick dinner before proceeding back to our hotel.

October 30 – Weds – Day 23

I awakened this day and decided that I’d better make a dental appointment as I had a tooth that had been bothering me. With great trepidation and after finding a “western trained dentist” on line, I made an appointment for the next day. Although the tooth was not hurting greatly, I was afraid to fly at a high altitude with an exposed nerve. Because of this appointment, we did not make arrangements to go to a water town as we had hoped to do the next day.

We began our day by exploring the Yu Yuan Gardens, also called 'Eastern Garden', a typical classical Chinese garden. The finely structured pavilions, winding cloisters, decorated walls and crystal pond together make the garden a charming and tranquil land in the bustling city. We wandered a bit further and explored the less touristy surrounding neighborhood which is not yet built up by modern buildings.

Afterward we returned to the Bund area where we strolled and took pictures of the magnificent buildings. We crossed to the opposite bank to visit the Pudong district, home to the financial district and beautiful modern office buildings, hotels and shopping malls. There is a viewing platform on the Pudong side, where one can stroll around the area, viewing the fantastic TV Pearl Tower and other buildings that can be seen up closer than from the Bund. We considered going up the Pearl Tower, but the entrance fee was $50 per person including a dinner buffet. As we were not sure what was on the buffet and whether it was worth it, we decided against that and instead went up to the Grand Hyatt for a free view of the city from the 86th floor. Unfortunately, it was a very smoggy day and the view was not as good as it would have been on a clearer day. We decided to stay in this area until nightfall so that we could view the buildings with the lights on. We were not disappointed as the view of the lit up buildings was spectacular.

As it was late and we were hungry, we grabbed a quick bite – my husband at McDonald’s, while I chose a delicious bowl of noodle soup with duck from a chain restaurant just above the McDonald’s (the restaurant had a KFC insignia but was not a KFC). The price of my soup was $2.00 and it made for one of the most delicious meals I had in China. The Chinese people eating there seemed to order several dishes for their meal, but I could not see eating more than the soup which was more than filling. The other food sure looked tempting though.

We returned to the Bund side and headed North to explore the section that we had previously missed. Walking toward the red bridge, we got some great pictures and views of both the bridge and the Bund. We walked back up Nanjing Road to People’s Square where we took the subway to our hotel.

dgunbug--This has been a very interesting read. Thanks very much for taking so much time with it. I am thinking of going to China this year, and you've helped me with what to expect, what to see and what to avoid.

Dwdvagamundo - thanks for your words of encouragement. I will try to finish this report soon.

still reading and enjoying

Still here too!

How was that Burger King in Shanghai? What item(s) did they feature that was synonymous with China or Shanghai? We almost stopped by one but passed, lol.

In Japan the KFC's have a Christmas dinner that is reserved by the locals for a month in advance. The special dinner was started in 1974 and is called "Kurisumasu ni wa kentakkii!” (Kentucky for Christmas!)

Aloha!