Day 5 and 6 - Hangzhou to Shanghai

Selfie at West Lake

This morning as we drove into West Lake, Hangzhou amidst tree-lined streets and billowing willow trees I felt the charm of this quaint , romantic city.  West Lake is featured in many tales and romances of Chinese folklore, both tragic and poignant.  The Lake was shrouded in mist which added to the ethereal, mythical feel of the Lake and its attached Gardens.

A traditional calligrapher getting a lesson from our comedian AC

Waiting in line to embark a boat for our Lake cruise

After the relaxing cruise we were allowed free time to walk in the West Lake gardens and Park where we came across a group of local students doing a project and urging us to pose with them for a photograph.   Also many locals were enamored with Kevin's Tudor cap (with pigtail attached) which is frowned upon by the communist regime.  They were so entertained by his hat that many stopped to take photographs of him or just gawk and smile.

A group of students urged us to pose with them

The walk along a tree lined path was relaxing and quite dreamy as we strolled along the edge of the Lake and viewed its eerie imagery through the mist.

Eating steamed corn from a street vendor

A cute kitten resting in the park side

After our scenic visit to West Lake, our Tour Guide knew well that he would have to direct us all to Toilet Facilities which he had learned to call "Sou-Sou place" for this native group.  The morning had us ready for a hot Chinese lunch (included) which we quickly devoured and were re-fueled for the afternoon trip back to Shanghai.  The traveling time was about 2 hours.

Upon arrival in Shanghai we were dropped off at Nanjing Road to experience the bustling pedestrian street.  Once again high-end stores graced the streets and new architectural buildings were in view all around.  The busy, noisy vibe of the city was once again present as we strolled in the light drizzle that added to the ambiance of the evening.

 

Enjoying the night lights of Shanghai was only just beginning as we were picked up from our leisurely stroll.  We were allowed to pick our own eatery for dinner since we were paying for it.  Most of the group went out to investigate eateries, but we settled for a Malaysian restaurant which soon had others in our group turning up to enjoy the splendid cuisine.

After all the excitement of the day, we chose to attend an optional acrobatic show at our own expense.  Most of our group opted to go for the show " ERA: The intersection of time".  Although some of the group dozed off at times after the long day, we managed to be awed at the skill and artistry of the Chinese acrobatic team.  A show well worth the money. A very tired group was driven back to the Shanghai Hotel to spend 2 nights
Only my husband took a picture of his favorite part of the show- the bikers!

A very tired group returned to drop into bed that night! Although sleep would still be elusive for the jet-lagged team!  Note: Hit the "read more" button to see Day 6

Note: Hit the "read more" button to see Day 6

 Day 6

The next day after breakfast the group had some free time for the morning.  We all agreed that we would pay our guide to take us shopping at the "knock-off " shopping area.  This turned out to be a huge underground area with hundreds of shops enticing us with every turn.   We could even order a tailor-made suit and have it ready and delivered to our hotel by evening.

While the group was shopping, Kevin, Tim and Emerald opted to visit the Science and Technology Museum which was situated above the shopping area.  We were to meet up again around 4:30 pm. When we left it was already getting dark outside.


We then drove to the Bund to board a boat and travel along a one mile stretch of the Huangpu River enjoying the optional excursion - "Huangpu River Night Cruise" .  We were overwhelmed by the night lights that illuminated the magnificent buildings along the Bund and it was difficult to restrict the amount of photographs we were all taking as one scene more beautiful than the last began to stimulate our visual senses.

 

This young-at-heart group was not yet done for the day as we made our way out of the boat with throngs of other people pushing their way out.  Far away we see Sky's flag blowing in the wind, and heeding his sheep back to the flock.  As we gather together and a head count is taken we board the bus to go to Bar Street, a quaint street frequented by ex-pats and foreigners.  It reminded us of the Toronto Yorkville scene with cobble stone lane ways, pricey restaurants, sprawling seating outside and a noise from the traffic beyond, conversations from the many eateries and music.  Our group all broke up and went separately to find an eating area since no dinner was included for the night.
As our small group of four checked out the restaurants, the prices were a little high  for our younger 2 participants so we decided to treat them to their choice of Italian food.  We considered it an early celebration of Tim's birthday (my daughter's boyfriend) which was in a couple of days time.

Happy Birthday Tim

 The lights and romance of Bar Street were the perfect place to celebrate Tim's birthday.  We had enough time to enjoy the meal and also stroll back to our meeting point where the rest of the group was told to meet.