Song and her family were in China for a visit and we were able to meet up one weekend to hangout. Rather than stay in Shanghai, we all made the train trip out to Hangzhou. We left Shanghai on Saturday morning and came back early Sunday afternoon. A quick trip out to West Lake.
First off, it was so hot Saturday. Like majorly hot. Like unbelievable-my face is melting off-hot. We arrived at about 9am and we were already sweating like crazy. And the plan was to visit West Lake and be outdoors all day long. After dropping off our luggage at the hotel we made our way to Lingyin Temple. There we visited one of the large temples as well as make a climb up to Fei Lai Feng 飞来峰. Because it was just a stone stairs path up the side of a hill, we would ask people how much further up was the location. People just told us that “it is a few more minutes up” and thus we kept climbing. Little did we know that a lot of “few more minutes” add up to a longer than anticipated hike up. Add hot and humidity to this and you can imagine how wet we were by the time we got to the top.
Our reward? There was a rock with the words “Fei Lai Feng” (in Chinese) painted on it. And a guy selling cold drinks. There wasn’t even an impressive view since trees blocked any view that might have been achieved. So we started the climb back down the hill. Every once in awhile I would stumble and slip a little. I apparently have lost all sense of balance since arriving in China.
At the base we found a cave that felt like it had A/C blasting through it, but it was all natural. We also saw some of the buddhas carved into the side of the hill. Then the freak storm arrived and we all ran for cover. But it cooled down the rest of the day so that we were able to continue our trip without dying of heat. Relief!
We took a boat ride into the middle of the lake to view some of the little islands and walk around. More walking ensued and then we decided that it was the right time to grab dinner. We ate a place and ordered all the Hangzhou “delicacies”. SO GOOD!! Everything was delicious! Yum! After dinner we took a stroll down a pedestrian street to take a look at more little items to buy. Exhausted, we headed back to our hotel to shower and fall asleep quickly.
On Sunday, we made another trip out to West Lake to walk around another section. We stopped for a rest at the water show area and ate ice cream as we took in the show. Walked some more until it was about time to head back to the train station. Grabbed a quick lunch, got on the train and all fell asleep until we arrived in Shanghai. Home sweet home.
We rested in the afternoon, grabbed an early dinner and then Song and I went to get a Chinese haircut. Afterwards she came to spend the night at my apartment (which was super close to their hotel. They were staying right next to the Xujiahui Cathedral which is like a short 15 minutes walk from my apartment). We just spend the rest of the night chatting and reminiscing. She wanted to try to play AOE but I knew that the attempt would be an epic_fail. It was so good to see Song again. The last time was when we were all busy moving out of Apt 304 after UCLA graduation. It was all just a quick goodbye and then that was it. To be able to hang out with her again felt like only a short vacation had passed between the time. Of course things had changed but some of the same behaviors, habits and other little things that come from knowing and living with each other for 4 years returned as if second nature. When you see someone everyday of your life for years you really get used to and learn a lot about that person. You all know what I mean.
Song, thanks for making time out of your trip to visit me! It was definitely great to see you again. Our friendship has made it from the hills of Westwood to the hills of China.
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