1 Year Chinaversary : )

It was 1 year ago today that I boarded a plane in Los Angeles and took off for China. At the time I had no idea what to expect and was excited/terrified at the prospect of arriving in a country where I didn't speak the language or know a single person. Now as I sit here in my apartment 1 year later,only a few months away from leaving on a plane back to LA,  I am starting to become excited/terrified at the prospect of returning to the familiar. This year has definitely been an adventure and I am so happy that I was brave enough to come in the first place and stubborn enough to stick it out.

Happy New Year 2014.The year of the Horse

There are a lot of things I am going to miss about China...and a few things, like the squatting toilets and spitting on the ground, that I will be happy to leave behind. We just celebrated the Chinese New Year which was fun.  James and I went to Shanghai and spent a few days looking at the decorations and doing some movie shopping.

They put up these displays everywhere that usually tell some sort of story as you walk past them. Then at night everything lights up and is really beautiful.

The horse looks like he might be possessed, not sure what that means for the new year : ) We also filled our stomachs with all sorts of delicious food that we cant find in Hangzhou. We even found Cali Burger which is a total rip off of In n Out. They even had animal style fries except they changed the name to "wild fries". I'm not sure how they don't get sued but apparently they have locations in New York,Japan, and the Phillipines as well. 

We also found this awesome Mexican food place which was really exciting after having not had Mexican food for almost 7 months. They even had black beans and real sour cream mmmmmm. Can you tell what I am going to be eating as soon as I get back in April? 

We also found the government run tea house again. It's really hard to find on your own but they have these volunteers that walk around and listen for people who are speaking English in a certain area of the Yu Yuan gardens. If one of the volunteers happen to hear you they will ask if you want to come with them and experience a chinese tea ceremony.It sounds sketchy but is actually a really good deal. The tea house is on the second floor of this old building and for 30 yuan ($5) they make 10 different pots of tea for you and explain what the health benefits of each tea are. 

Once we got back to Hangzhou we decided to bike along the Qiantang river which was a lot of fun. We took the metro to a stop close to the river and from there we were able to rent bikes. We biked for about 6 miles before stopping at a pagoda that we had heard of.

After paying the entrance fee we found out that the pagoda was actually closed for refurbishment and thats why the tickets had been reduced. It was still pretty to see and you were able to climb quite a bit o see other things that were built around the pagoda. In fact there was a plethora of miniature models of pagodas from all over China that you could climb on.

There was also a cute cat that enjoyed being scratched and having his photo taken : )

This is the pagoda from the other side, where you cant tell that it is closed. Anyway after sort of seeing the pagoda we decided to hop back on our bikes and go another 3 miles to the West Lake to check out another pagoda that we had been hearing about. The hike up to it was really gorgeous and they had all sorts of old trees. Its built on a hill that used to be the center of religious and social life in Hangzhou. Even now there were tons of people up there playing cards and drinking green tea. I wanted to take a picture but I didn't think they would be happy about it.

The view from the top was beautiful and since we were there on a clear day we could see pretty far. That was it for the nice weather though. After that it started raining and has pretty much either rained, snowed or threatened to rain/snow for almost 3 weeks now. The snow was really pretty so I didn't mind that but I'm hoping that the weather gets nicer soon so that we can get out more. According to the count down on our wall we only have 38 days left of normal China life. Then my Dad will arrive and we will travel around China for two weeks.After that James and I will go to Thailand for two weeks before heading back to California. I'm sure it's going to go by fast just like this past year and before I know it we will have to say goodbye to China. Zaijian for now.

Huangshan (Yellow Mountain)

Last week we discovered that Yellow Mountain is only a 3 hour bus ride from Hangzhou so we decided to go there for the weekend. It was our first bus ride in China and we were pleasantly surprised by how smooth it was. As soon as we were out of the city the roads were mostly open and we got to see the surrounding countryside which was beautiful. 

This was one of several little villages we passed

The bus itself was actually really nice and clean.The only downside was that the whole way there they were playing really bad American action movies.The movies were in English but I guess violence is something that translates in to every language. When we go to dinner at our favorite restaurant in Hangzhou they always play Mr.Bean while you wait so humor is understood too and it would have been nicer than listening to the constant fire of machine guns as we were driving past green tea fields and quaint villages. 

Anyway we eventually arrived...sort of. Turns out the bus doesn't actually take you to the bus station where you need to get another bus to take you in to the mountain. Instead the bus took us to a restaurant in the middle of the nearest town. Since we were the only ones who didn't speak Chinese we tried asking the driver how we were supposed to get to the bus station but since he didn't speak English he pulled out his cell phone and called Mr.Hu(pronounced "who"). Luckily we had heard of Mr.Hu while researching Huangshan, otherwise we would have never agreed to get in to his car when he pulled up 10 minutes later and told us that he would take us to the mountain.He speaks more English than anyone else for miles and owns a restaurant in the area that needs business.So we agreed to eat lunch at his restaurant, where his wife is the chef, and then he took us to the bus station and pointed us in the right direction.

After a short bus ride that goes to the base of the mountain you are given the option to either take a cable car or hike the rest of the way up. Since it was already nearing the afternoon we opted for the cable car and were glad we did when we found out that the hike would have taken 6 hours. Not to mention all of the hiking there is to be done once you reach the top.The weather was also much colder than we had expected it to be.We thought because we were only 3 hours away from Hangzhou that the weather would be similar but once we reached the top of the mountain it was freezing and we had to put on everything we brought. 

The views were gorgeous though and all of the different rocks and trees had amazing names like "Monkey gazing at a sea of clouds" or the "Starting to believe peak". There were also these hilarious signs everywhere reminding you to enjoy your surroundings.

The sign below was the first thing we saw when we arrived and it drove me crazy the whole time we were there. I kept looking for monkeys everywhere we went but never saw a single one.

I started to think that maybe they just put the sign there so that people have something to distract them from all of the stairs that you have to climb in order to get anywhere. Don't think about the stairs,look for the monkey! At least it wasn't a sign saying "Don't feed or tease the tigers". 

Anyway, did I mention there were a lot of stairs? A lot. Our legs were so tired by the end of the first day and we hadn't even hiked up the mountain. It was definitely beautiful though.

This is "Monkey gazing at a sea of clouds"

This is "Lauren gazing at a sea of clouds" ; )

We were planning on waking up at 5am the next day to see the sunrise so we decided to go to sleep right after dinner. At most hostels the rooms are co-ed but the hostel on top of the mountain was segregated to James got to spend the night with 5 Chinese men and I got to spend the night with 5 Chinese women. Some lady stole the bed that I had saved earlier in the day so I got stuck with a top bunk next to a window.It was sooooo cold even with all my jackets still on and the lady below me kept moving around so I got no sleep. At 5 we met in the lobby and headed out to watch the sunrise.Unfortunately it was cloudy that morning so the most we saw was a little orange sliver that disappeared behind the clouds. Because we were up so early though we got a head start on everyone else for all the sights which turned out to be great because it got really crowded later on.

 Above was one of several Chinese people who asked to take pictures with us. We were the only Westerners on the mountain that day I guess. Our main goal was to get to the Fairy bridge. After hiking up and down and across stairs for a few hours we finally made it.

The bridge was amazing and since it was still so early in the morning, we had the bridge to ourselves for a good hour and were able to take lots of pictures. We also got to sit down and enjoy the view while eating a lovely breakfast of muffins and oranges. Eventually though it was time to head back up the stairs.

But of course we had to stop to breath a few times along the way. Despite how exhausting it was though I cannot imagine what these poor guys go through everyday.

Can you imagine having to walk up thousands of stairs carrying all that on your shoulders? They were all in really good shape but looked like they had permanent bruises on their shoulders. The cable car goes to the top of the mountain but it's these guys that have to go the rest of the way with all the food,luggage,laundry,etc for the hotels that are spread out on the mountain. 

And if you decide that you don't want to walk anymore you can pay them to carry you around for the whole day. We actually saw several people being carried. A few of them were really old but there were also a few girls who looked really spoiled and had realized it hadn't been a good idea to try and climb a mountain in high heels. 

Once we got back from the fairy bridge we decided it would be a good time to head back to Hangzhou since I had work the next day. It was a great trip though and I am excited to go back in April when my Dad visits.Hopefully then it wont be as cold and maybe we can actually see the sunrise : )

National Holiday in Hong Kong

This past week was the Chinese National holiday and I got a whopping 5 days off from work. It coincided perfectly with James needing to leave the country in order to renew his visa so we headed to one of our favorite places, Hong Kong.

We love getting to go on the tarmac : )

Since flying directly in to Hong Kong can be so expensive, especially during holidays, we fly in to Shenzhen instead. Shenzhen is on the China/Hong Kong border and when you arrive its easy to take a bus or the metro in to Hong Kong.

The toilet above was at the airport in Shenzhen.Apparently sitting down while you go to the bathroom is only for the weak.The strong can squat like all good Chinese people do.There was actually a line for the bathroom but none of them wanted to use this stall so I went ahead and did. Seven months in China and I'm still weak.

After we arrived in Hong Kong and checked in to our hostel, we headed to the "Goldfish Market". It was really cool getting to see walls of fish. They had all kinds of different tropical fish, turtles, crabs, shrimp, jelly fish, etc. Surprisingly there were also a lot of people there buying the fish, not just tourists like us who were just there to look.

After walking around for awhile we had to stop and get a snack. These buns are a Hong Kong specialty and they are amazing. We actually have a place in Hangzhou that makes them too but the one pictured above was the best I've had. They are basically a warm,soft,sweet roll that is cut in half and stuffed with cold butter that melts as you eat it.So good!

This guy was not amused that I was trying to take his picture.He actually picked up the meat cleaver when I pointed the camera at him. That night we stayed at a hostel that we have stayed at every time we have come to Hong Kong. Since the prices had been raised though we decided to stay in the cheapest room which has 21 beds. It actually wasn't as bad as we thought it would be since they were bunk beds stacked 3 high. We were also both so tired after getting up at 5am and traveling that we fell right to sleep. The next morning we naturally headed to the Happiest Place in Hong Kong : )

Mickey Mouse made out of Pumpkins

They had done some decorating for Halloween which was nice to see since they don't really do anything for Halloween in China. It was definitely a little eerie to see this guy looming in front of the castle though. They had also put up tombstones and a few of them had pictures of kids on them which is something I don't think they would approve in Anaheim. 

Another thing you would never see in Anaheim is the preferred snack of Hong Kong Disney that is pictured above.Instead of churros they sell squid jerky,mmmmmm. You can actually watch them take pieces of fresh squid and send them through this machine that cooks and flattens them.I always feel bad for the cast members that get stuck with this job because it smells like you would expect squid to smell as its being cooked in to something that resembles a car tire.

This time we also got the chance to see the Lion King show which was really great. Before we had always just passed by it because we didn't think it would be that good but I was very pleasantly surprised. It was basically a shortened version of the story but included all the music as well fire dancing and an acrobatics piece that was beautiful.The show was in English but they had these guys dressed as monkey's who would translate key plot points in to Cantonese which was pretty funny.

We still haven't seen the parade either but this was pretty adorable.They went through the crowd to find little girls who were dressed as princesses and then let them sit in a special area with princess umbrellas. I haven't seen this in Anaheim before but maybe they should try it. Fortunately it wasn't crowded at all so we got to do everything we wanted to do by mid afternoon and decided to try and take a ferry to one of Hong Kong's surrounding islands.

The island that we went to was called Lamma Island and it only took about half an hour to get there on a ferry from the central pier. 

We had a lot of fun exploring and checking out the main street.They had lots of really cute shops and restaurants. It also seemed like there were quite a few Westerners that lived there,probably because its a lot cheaper than the main island. Since we got there late in the day we didn't have time to go to the beach and so decided we would come back on our last day.

The next day we went to see the Big Buddah (actually what they call it in English). The package they sell includes a cable car ride to the Buddah which is gorgeous since you go past lush green hills and the ocean. They also have a cable car that has a glass bottom but we are waiting to try that one when my Dad comes. 

 The weather was perfect which was awesome since last time we were here it was ridiculously hot.The sign below was outside of a monastery near the Buddah. We wondered what they would do if you walked in with a beer and a burger.Throw you off the Big Buddah?

The climb up to the Buddah was so much nicer this time without the extreme heat and I even made friends with this little guy. Every time I tried to touch him he would start batting at me with his little arms and take a defensive pose which was pretty cute. He was in the middle of the steps to the top but with a little nudging I got him to safety.

After the Buddah we took the bus to Tai O which is a nearby fishing village. On the way we came across several cows who were crossing the street. The road was really curvy and the bus driver was going really fast. He had to make some pretty sudden stops for the cows which made me wonder how often they don't stop in time. Once we got to the fishing village we got to take a boat tour which was fun.

 We were on the lookout for pink dolphins but didn't spot any this time. There were a lot of boats out on the water because of the holiday so the dolphins were probably hiding further out.

Tai O is famous for their dried fish so the whole town smells like it. You eventually get used to it though and its pretty interesting to see all of the different kinds hanging in all the stores.

We explored the village a lot more extensively than we did last time which was great because there was a lot to see and smell. We went on a really pretty hike along the coast of the island and found where they make another famously smelly product: Shrimp paste. That's right, shrimp ground up in to a bright pink paste. I could handle the smell of the dried out fish but the shrimp paste was in a whole different league of stench. 

I have video of them actually grinding it up which I will have to post on youtube. I thought the Disney cast members who make the squid jerky had a smelly job until I saw this poor lady. Can you imagine spreading shrimp paste on to bamboo disks all day so that it can bask in the sun and become even smellier than it already is?

 After a lovely but smelly time spent exploring Tai O I couldn't resist stopping by Disneyland one last time. The day before we had left early and I really wanted to see the lights at night.

Lucky for us there was nobody there. We stayed until nine when they closed and for the whole last hour we didn't have to wait for any of the rides.

This is us on one of the rides we like in Toy Story land. We were the only ones there so we had them take a picture for us. We also had a nice dinner at the Tahitian Terrace in Adventureland which has a great tropical atmosphere thanks to Hong Kong's natural landscape. We even got to see the fireworks which was really nice. And this guy looked extra creepy lit up at night : )

 The next day we had a late night flight so we had time to go back to Lamma island for the beach. I have really been missing the beach here and we got lucky again with perfect weather. I had looked up the weather a few days before we left and it said that it would be raining with thunderstorms the whole time but instead it was sunny and clear the whole time which was great.

The beach was really nice and not crowded at all. We brought our bathing suites and thought it was hillarious that most of the Chinese people were swimming in their clothes or just dipping their feet in. I felt like I was stepping on to a beach in the early 1900's wearing a bikini.

I didn't care though because the water was so warm and perfect. They also had a barrier in the water so that fish couldn't get in which made us feel safer knowing that Jaws wouldn't be bothering us. We were sad to leave but had a great time and cant wait to go back in February : )