Hangzhou and The Other Donkey...Jaer.

Well this weekend I decided to head back to Hangzhou...such a lovely city!

So I got up early Saturday morning, packed a few things then grabbed a taxi to the bus station.
After getting my ticket I went to the waiting area and and had a seat.

Soon it was time to board the bus and I noticed a young Chinese girl looking at me so I said "Hello".
I could tell she spoke English...I'm getting a feeling for such things.
She asked me if I was the guy who played Donkey in the talent show...I said "yes".
She said that she was before me. I took that as she was on stage before me.
She asked me if I recognized her and I said that I wasn't sure...I meet a lot of people here.

So we loaded the bus and I took my usual seat in the back of the bus...the seats are a little higher there and the view is better...for me.
Jaer sat up front...later she explained that the seats were assigned.

After the hour and a half ride we got off in Hangzhou and I ran into her again at the bus station.
She asked me where I was going and I told her that I was staying at the youth hostel on the East side of the lake .
She told me she was going to her college and that we would be on the same bus so we hung out and talked while on the bus.



At this point the conversation got back around to Donkey...it seems that she was supposed to be Donkey...before me...She had come down with the same cold that I had and had to back out.
Small world!

Since I hadn't seen much of the city...Just the area around the lake she invited me to come to her school...Can't say no.
She lives in Changxing and goes to University in Hangzhou.

Jaer...Kind of pronounced like jar...Kinda'.



In her dorm room.




She showed me around campus a bit and then we went to a small Chinese restaurant and had some noodles

Then we took a bus back to the lake to check me into the hostel.
This was the same place Nina and I stayed last weekend.
I like staying there...Lots of people from all over the world!

After checking in we took a walk around the lake and took some pictures and talked.



I swear I'm gonna take a ride on one of theses boats some day...You'll see!






This girl just wanted her picture taken with a foreigner.







The place was very crowded...



Then I realized what everybody was looking at...
The sun was setting...
This picture doesn't do it justice!!



Then the fountain show started.




By 6 o'clock Jaer needed to catch the bus back to her university so we said our goodbyes.



I was getting hungry so I decided to have some pizza...Again...Gotta' get it while I can!
Last week I had noticed a Papa-John's pizza place.
Just like the Pizza Hut it was a restaurant...You don't see that back home.

The table next to me was a family from Louisville Kentucky and some Germans who worked at Bosch...Big surprise!

The pizza was great...Just like the Papa John's pizza back home..Garlic butter and all.

Afterwards I hung out at Starbucks, had a coffee and read a local magazine called "More".
It's a local entertainment guide for Hangzhou. It's geared toward foreigners in Hangzhou.
In English!

9 o'clock rolled around and I was getting tired so I decided to make my way around the lake to the hostel...It's right by the lake.

There were lost of German guys sitting at this one table and I asked if they minded if I joined them. They were taking Chinese classes in Shanghai and were here for the weekend.
The were getting ready to hit the clubs in a few hours so they were just sitting around primed (with beer).
Budweiser!!



So I grabbed a brew and we talked about our experiences here in China. One guy had been here for a year so his Chinese was pretty good.

After a few hours I decided to call it a night.
when I got to my room I met one of my roommates.

His name is Martin and he is from the Czech republic.



He is in China for a couple of months traveling around. He had already been to Shanghai, Xi'an, Tibet and every city in between. I told him they were all on my list of places to visit and that I had already booked my train to Xi'an in October.

I told him that I was interested in going to Prague to teach but you need to be a EU citizen to do that. Prague joined the EU about three years ago so the only way to do that would be as a private tutor or for a company.

The next morning I got up about 7 0'clock and headed for Starbucks....
They don't open till 9 o'clock so I headed over to McDonald's.

Now I DON"T eat at McDonald's in America but I figured that an egg Mc'muffin wouldn't kill me...I really just needed some coffee.

While in Micky D's I ran into a fellow from LA. He was working for a company making rubber moulding. We chatted for a few and he had to run to meet a friend to go cycling. He gave me his number and told me to call him next time I go into town.

Well I spent the next five hours walking around the lake taking pictures...



This is a shot from inside the dancing pagoda.






There is a story for each of the statues...maybe Jaer will tell me next time I'm in town.



Broken Bridge...that's it's name. (It works fine)






If I had had more time I would have hung out here all day!



There was a lot of weddings going on this weekend.



I mean weddings everywhere!!



Ohhh...I'm so beautiful!!



Cute couple.



I'm not sure who this guy was...but he didn't have much to say!






Great Pagoda!



Lot's of kite flying going on...



By the time I got back towards town people were everywhere...
Playing cards.
(Sorry mom...I don't think they were playing Texas Hold'em)



And playing music.


Chinese jam session.


Some groups were more popular than others.

These guys were great.



She wasn't drawing much of a crowd...Not to be rude but she was screeching like a cat in heat.
Hurt my ears!



This guy was trying to fly...I think?



Well I was beat and it was getting late so I had to say "Goodbye" to Hangzhou again.



The bus ride home.



Needless to say I had nice nap on the way home.

But I did snap a couple of pictures before dozing off.






Anyway...That's another weekend in Hangzhou.

Jim