Our hotel was located right on the famous West Lake, so we kicked off the weekend with an early morning boat ride to get our bearings. An old, toothless Chinese manned the helm of a rowboat and steered us around for a few hours. We felt really bad for the dude since the weather was absurdly hot, but he wore a constant smile throughout the ride. That’s when we realized he was laughing all the way to the bank- making a killing off of the stupid Americans who didn’t know enough Chinese to bargain prices. Good for him….nice to see capitalism at work in the Communist country. The ride was really peaceful with lots of beautiful pagodas and bridges built into the lush setting. We were lucky to visit during Lotus Blossom season, which was lovely, but the ideal time to go is in the Fall or Spring because the stifling summer heat and humidity made any midday activities impossible.
That night we caught a performance of a Chinese folktale choreographed by the guy who did the Opening Ceremony for the Beijing Olympics. It was kinda like Cirque de Solei meets Miss Saigon- very neat special effects. We had no idea what was going on because they were singing in Chinese, but it was more fun to make up our own storyline.
The next morning Harrison was intent on renting bikes and following a rather grueling bike route through the countryside that one of our guidebooks described- the famous Chinese green tea called Dragon Well is grown in the nearby fields. Our concierge strongly recommended against doing it, claiming that the hills were much too steep and it would be “cruel to make the wife participate”. Well, that just made Harrison even more resolute. I was excited about the prospect of some exercise, which has been fairly nonexistent since we got to China. However, I was really worried about the safety aspect, especially since helmets were not an option. I mean, the driving here is atrocious. There are normal looking lanes and stoplights, but apparently they serve no functional purpose. Being a pedestrian or a biker like playing Russian Roulette. The simple act of crossing the street becomes a survival of the fittest routine. When we walk around Qingdao, Harrison usually takes my hand, looks for an opening, and then yells “sprint”. This doesn’t make for the most romantic strolls. I can’t be certain, but it’s like they view pedestrians as bowling pins- I swear they speed up when they see my speck of blonde hair enter the intersection. Nonetheless, the guidebook made the bike ride sound challenging, but with scenic views that were well worth the effort. We decided to go.
It was honestly one of the neatest experience we have had in awhile (except for the 5 minute pause in the ride when I was convinced I had been bitten by a killer Chinese spider and needed to be taken to the hospital before the poison coursed through my veins- turned out to be a mere mosquito bite...oops) . Biking through the beautiful rolling hills of tea fields into sleepy little tea villages along streams was definitely the highlight of our trip. We highly recommend visiting Hangzhou if you find yourself in China.
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