A Photo Canvas

Day 8 of our trip. We woke up early in the morning yet again and proceeded on to Hangzhou. I was feeling excited but then again lousy because of the hotel which we were going to stay in. Yes. It was the hotel that was stinky and provided the lousiest breakfast when we first touched down in China. Even the girl agrees with me. Guess I'm not the only one who's fussy here. Hai...

This is our hotel in Hangzhou. But don't be fooled by the image as the condition was really bad...



Our first stop was the tea plantation, Mei Jia Wu Longjing Tea Culture Village. It is actually a tea plantation located in Hangzhou, of which produces the finest quality of green tea in China. One can actually not buy the tea leaves and just find out more about the benefits of drinking green tea. But as you know, Singaporeans are so easily psy-coed, how can one not buy anything especially when they are in a foreign country!? The presentation was so goodl that everyone was amazed by the wonders of drinking tea! In the end, people started buying any product that has got to do with green tea! And that includes me and the girl... We got ourselves 10 packets of green tea sweets and 500 grams of tea leaves! (With a bonus of a complimentary can of tea leaves. Haha)

We had our lunch at a nearby restaurant and that was when I finally got to taste my highly anticipated dishes, Dongpo pork and Beggar chicken. I would say these two dishes are pretty nice. My girl and I each had two plates of the Dongpo pork! Yummy...

From there on, we proceeded on to visit the Red Carp Pond. One would really be surprised to see the countless number of big, fat carps there as the pond was almost covered in red!


After snapping some nice couple pics with the scenic background, we headed on down to the renowned West Lake in Hangzhou. It was really a lovely place for couples to hang out and just enjoy the sunset scenery. A lovely place with a lovely cruise accompanied by a lovely girl... Cherishing every single minute and moment with her, what more can I ask for...

We rounded up the trip with an exciting performance called, "The Night of Xihu." And then it was off to the airport early next morning to catch our flight back to the sunny island.

I would say that I truly enjoyed myself with the girl. (Minus off the time where I felt sick). I can't wait to go on a trip again! Haha. Every trip marks a new exploration, every journey marks a new bond with you...

Early in the morning, we checked out our hotel and were brought to the largest wholesale shopping mall in Yiwu. According to our China tour guide, most of the items which our country imported came from Yiwu. the size of the malls there were really huge, with the interior which look like a maze. It reminded us of Platinum Mall in Bangkok!

Next, we were off to Dongyang Museum, where there were lots and lots of master pieces of woodcraft items on display. Although I do not really know how to appreciate the master pieces, one can really see that every piece was wonderfully crafted in fine detail.


And so, we continued our journey to Hengdian where we had our lunch at the hotel and to check in our luggage. The hotel was pretty nice and spacious. I guess it should one of the nicest in the city. After lunch, we made our way to Qin Palace, the film site for numerous TV and Movie Epics such as the famous film, Hero. And here we are, busily snapping away.....

I would feel that this day wasn't very well planned in our itinerary. We were given only an hour to roam around in the palace, after which we were transported back to the hotel and it was free time all the way till dinner. Worse of all, there wasn't much shopping which could be done in this small city as compared to others like Suzhou or Shanghai. Poor us... We were stuck in a miserable place with no shopping... All we could do is to hug each other and cry.... =(

After dinner, a night performance was arranged for us. To our surprise, it was merely a 10 min performance! Omg! We were stuck with no shopping yet again! Not even a nearby convenience store to ease our hunger... Oh well, so we turned in for another early night before we head on to Hangzhou the next morning. Zzzz....

Our nice hotel room! We got the highest storey too! Time to piggy in... Zzzz...

Rise and shine to a brand new day! Here we are at the Shanghai World Expo 2010! The girl was really excited on paying a visit to the World Expo. And even though she knew that there would be millions of people (not forgetting the weather of course) , there seem to be no stopping her. Moreover, she accompanied me back to China this time round just because of the World Expo! Indeed, we were greeted by throngs of people upon reaching, and were only given 4.5 hours to explore the entire area, which is of course impossible... Therefore, after clearing security, we displayed our "Singaporean Kiasuism"... We actually starting running! Haa...

Our first stop; Thailand pavilion! From that moment, we were just busily snapping from pavilions to pavilions and running from area to area...

Due to the girl's forgetfulness (didn't bring IC), and that our passports are with our tour guide, we could not join the priority queue given to Singaporeans to visit the Singapore Pavilion. However, we did manage to visit one, at least, and that's the New Zealand Pavilion. Is that a sign to my next destination I wonder... Haa...



By the end of the Expo tour, everyone looked breathless and tired. Nonetheless, it was pretty rewarding with both of us busily snapping away and us getting a free tan. The girl had something extra, a pair of white toes... =P

To end off the Expo tour, I present to you the 3 most popular booths. Each pavilion required the people to queue for more than 6 hours to get in! Make a guess on these 3 pavilions?



A pretty nice and cosy hotel for us to recharge for our next exciting day!

The next day, we were brought to Suzhou Museum, where it showcased a collection of ancient Chinese art, Chinese paintings, calligraphies and handmade crafts.

I love its architecture. Apparently is was designed by Leoh Ming Pei, a well-known architect.



Surrounding the museum was a lovely pond and patio. But because there were so many people, it was hard to capture my final two shots as seen above.


When it was time to leave, we bypassed a few nice areas, of which we quickly took a snapshot at it or with it.


Our final destination of the day was the Suzhou Silk Factory. While we were there, we did not get to see the process of their manufacturing. Instead, the local tour guide brought us immediately to the sales area, and starting asking every one if they wanted to buy the silk quilts. While I understand that she meant well by ensuring we got the best goods available, I felt that she could be slightly more professional in ensuring that we saw what we needed to rather than 'hard-sell' us. Not to mention that the day before, she was going on and on about the silk products...

Anyway, after deciding to buy the silk quilts for the Boy's parents, we were 'treated' to a very short fashion show, and was given more free time to walk around their store to see if we would like to buy any more silk products...


Well, we didn't exactly shop, because the things there were too expensive. Plus, it was extremely crowded that it was pretty hard to navigate ourselves about the place...

And then, it was on to ChengHuangMiao.


We had to settle our own dinner there, and we were initially hoping to try Nanxiang XiaoLongBao. But... The queue was just too long! It was either the queue on the first level, or head up to the second level for a 30 dollar bao... We decided to forgo both in the end, and try our luck at another nearby cafe...


This was our dinner. Xiaolongbao (of another kind), siew mai, har gao, crystal dumpling, and pumpkin lookalike dessert. Only the pumpkin was nice!! The rest were mediocre, and their skin was just way to thick...

Our last itinerary for the day was the night cruise along the Huangpu River. Both of us were so excited to grab lovely pictures of the night river scene that we went crazy snapping and snapping and snapping...


We only stopped when the boat made a u-turn and was about 1/4 of the way back to the harbour. It was then that we decided to rest and just indulge in the night scene together. Thinking back, it was really nice leaning on my Boy and enjoying the night scene with the wind blowing against our faces.


This was one of my most memorable experience with him... Totally romantic... =)

Our stay for the night was at Shanghai South Hotel. It's not that great, but not too bad either. We would have loved to check out Xujiahui shopping district as it was near our accomodation, but having had a long and late day, it was time to just turn in and catch some zzz... Expo here we come!!