I wanted to dine at another well-known noodle house upon returning to the city. However, lunchtime hours were over and it had closed for the afternoon break. A negligence on my part to assume that it would be open throughout the entire afternoon - even some restaurants in Singapore close for the same reason. As Hangzhou was the next destination on the itinerary, I decided to eat at Suzhou Railway Station. After returning to the hotel to collect my baggage, I was onward to the train station, and settled for McDonald's. I was surprised to find out that McSpicy is not exclusive to Singapore. My life had been a lie. Have long forgotten where I first heard about the myth, but the impression has been so entrenched in my mind. Myth busted that fateful day.
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| Suzhou Railway Station |
The train journey took 1hr 40mins, as the train passed by Shanghai Hongqiao to reach Hangzhou East, where I stopped. The first thing I did upon arrival was not to check in to the hotel, but to have my dinner, since it was a hassle to come out again. The dinner place was Grandma's House, a famous restaurant chain in Hangzhou. Queued for 1 hour and 7 minutes before I had a table, so I was excited to know what the hype was about. I found their Chicken with Tea Fragrance (loosely translated by me) pretty dry, although it was not sinewy. And the crux was the absence of the purported tea fragrance. A simply disappointing dish. Their signature braised pork was pretty ok - easy to chew and had sufficiently absorbed the flavour of the gravy that it was doused in. The plate of cauliflowers was crunchy and I liked the sauce that accompanied it, except that it was a little too oily. I guess the strengths of Grandma's house are the comprehensive menu and the affordable prices.
The next morning I had brunch at Xinbailu restaurant, and it was one of the best meals for the whole trip. It was a wise idea to reach within 30 minutes of its opening as people streamed in pretty fast and a queue had formed an hour after. The Chicken Wings coated with Salted Egg Yolk, Dongpo Meat, and Sweet and Sour Pork Ribs, were on point. West Lake is just a stone's throw away from the Xinbailu branch (Longyou Road) I ate at. The weather was splendid that day. Temperature was comfortable; it was sunny but not the scorching humid tropical kind of weather. Magnolia clouds dotted the azure sky and a breeze blows every now and then. I thought it was a perfect day to explore West Lake, the pride of Hangzhou and probably the pinnacle of all attractions in the city.
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| West Lake |
An adult ticket for the boat ride cost 55RMB. It takes you to Three Pools Mirroring the Moon, one of the finest sights of West Lake. From there, you can choose to take another boat to another dock of your choice. I picked the one closest to Leifeng Pagoda.
"Three Pools" is an islet within West Lake. As its name suggests, water from the main body of West Lake enters through openings and fill pools in the islet. As a result, you see water bodies within a larger water body. West Lake might be a man-made lake but it sure is gorgeous and offers an avenue for a relief of tension and stress. Standing below the willow trees gazing out at the gentle flow of water and the distant hills and Leifeng Pagoda...isn't it much poetic? The pagoda is on a hill, partially hidden by verdant trees, but it was beckoning me to get near. And so, it was my next objective.
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| At Three Pools Mirroring the Moon. Leifeng Pagoda in the distance. |
Another destination, another entrance fee. I paid a lot for the entrance fees in China, and prices have increased over the years. But at least they've done a decent job maintaining those attractions in top conditions. The original Leifeng Pagoda had collapsed and the current one standing is a rebuilt one. It becomes apparent when you step in. The pillars and everything of the structure do not look like they've withstood the test of time. However, views from the pagoda were breathtaking. If you are there, do climb up to the highest level, walk 360 degrees around the perimeter, and take in the beauty of the entire West Lake. I must once again stress that the day was so perfect and clear of fog that I could see the horizon. Justice was served - debunking claims that West Lake is just a mediocre lake. Not only is West Lake beautiful, it is symbolic of the Chinese culture as the structures within the lake are telling of Chinese workmanship, not to mention the histories behind this famous lake.
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| Leifeng Pagoda |
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| View atop Leifeng Pagoda. Three Pools Mirroring the Moon seen within the lake |
I made a brief visit to the Yue Fei Mausoleum, which honours the respectable, gallant general who is the epitome of loyalty. After which, I headed to Feilai Peak. Buddha figures are carved in the stone face of the peak, and steps lead up to the summit. I personally felt that this is nothing spectacular. There is a cave but not as cavernous as the one I went to at Halong Bay, so I was not a bit impressed. Lingyin Temple is within the compound and I thought the entrance ticket could grant me access to the temple. But no, I had to purchase another ticket to enter the temple. I almost puked blood. Since I was already there, I went with it nevertheless. Although it is called Lingyin Temple, there are actually several different halls for the Shakyamuni Buddha and other deities. I saw people trying to toss a coin to the top of a furnace outside the Ji Gong temple. It was probably said that good luck will befall them should the coin land on the roof of the furnace. It was the same logic at fountains, just that throwing a coin into a fountain is much easier. I watched with amusement as I thought that the possibility of good luck is more solid if they had went in to pray instead, with no bonus if you succeed in the coin trick after praying.
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| Stone carvings on the face of Feilai Peak |
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| The Grand Hall, Lingyin Temple |
I left Lingyin Temple and was intending to head to Green Tea Restaurant (GT) for dinner, another popular restaurant chain established in Hangzhou. It was 5pm, pretty early for dinner, but the restaurant had opened at 4.30pm. I was lazy to take a bus and wanted to hail a cab. A guy approached to offer a ride to the restaurant for 10RMB. He wasn't a cabby, just someone trying to pick customers up to earn extra cash. He said it was still early, and GT hasn't opened for dinner, so he suggested that he bring me to this place that sells Longjing Tea leaves saying that I could taste the freshly brewed tea there and if I decided not to buy, I could just leave. The word "scam" immediately echoed in my mind. I've read of how tourists are brought to a place to "taste" the tea, and when they're about to leave empty handed, they'll be extorted to pay for the "premium" tea they had sampled. Since the store was very near GT, I decided that I would walk to GT myself. Moreover, 10RMB was really a steal. So, I boarded.
On the way, he started talking about the health benefits of tea and general knowledge of Longjing. He even had two bottles of Longjing in his car, so that he could drink on the go. The tea leaves were circling in the non-cloudy yellow green liquid - looked promising. By the end of the journey, I had given in. If he had intended to scam me, he could have saved himself the hassle of a round of brainwashing since the person at the store will do the same anyway, and truth was if I had entered, there was definitely no way of leaving without paying. Seeing other locals patronizing the Longjing store gave me extra confidence. I thought that even if he were out to scam me I'll be happy to be scammed.
A lady was there to explain the different grades of tea they had to offer. One major difference from the common scam was that there was no tea brewing demonstration - purely explanations and letting me sample a middle class. The lady was professional and calm, not like she was desperate to hard-sell the tea leaves. I relented and bought the second most expensive one. A quick Baidu search revealed that the store (I have the address) is indeed renowned. The guy added me on wechat. He was no scammer, but a friend, a true ardent tea lover. Might not cross paths again, but it was a pleasure to have met. He drove me to a local's house for dinner as he said that will make me feel more at home and I could savour the real Hangzhou taste. Indeed, the dinner was sumptuous. A fish, a plate of veggies, and stir fried pork with green chili for less than 120RMB.
I had wanted to visit Meijiawu to check out the tea bushes and perhaps buy my Longjing there the next day. I had also intended to put Lingyin Temple a day later. I didn't rush the itinerary on purpose but have met my objectives. Hence, the last day in Hangzhou was spent in a more spontaneous manner. Then, I was on my way to the last leg of the trip.
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