Since we did so well on the bus going back from town to the hotel yesterday and it seemed easy enough to figure our the bus routes (thanks to the tourist map from the hotel), we decided to do a tour by bus rather than splashing out on taxis (not that taxis are that expensive in the first place). A day guaranteed to be full of pests---- before we even reached the bus-stop near the hotel, we got a taxi driver following us to the main road asking where we were going, little ladies asking if we wanted a guided tour etc....
We took bus K7 to our first stop, Linyin Temple and Feilei Feng. Have to buy ticket to get into Linyin Temple---- what a rip-off! Despite being such a famous place, the temple was a bit of a disappointment. However, the stone sculptures at Feilei Feng were quite interesting. They were different from the ones at Dazu but the carvings are still mainly on the hillside. So at least it's not a wasted visit.
Then we took the bus to the Tea Museum which involved a change of bus from
K7 to 27 at Hungchuanqiao. A lady at Linyin was kind enough to explain how
to get there but of course I mistook her as another pest at first!
The tea museum was interesting: different halls explaining the history of
tea, the variety, the science and the different teasets. We then went outside
and enjoyed some lungjiang tea.
We caught a bus Tour 3 to go to Lungjiang Village--- now this really was full of pests, all trying to invite us to have a cup of tea back at their house. One or two of them were so persistent that the only way to get rid of them (short of shouting at them) was to ignore them. Because of this, it really ruined my visit to this village where the lungjiang tea is grown, and I didn't enjoy a single second there.
We then caught another Tour 3 bus to go back down the hill and then a short walk to Tiger Spring. Luckily there was no pest here--- perhaps it's due to a lack of western tourists (but be warned---- there's no short of Chinese tourists!). There was a nice scenic path leading to the spring itself.
Apparently the combination of tea from Lungjiang Village and water from Tiger Spring makes one of the best teas in the world. The spring itself was small. It was funny to see an old man and an old lady fetching water and pouring it into large water bottles---- was that how they produced mineral water here?
Took bus Tour 5 back to hotel and made a visit to Yue Fei Mausoleum. General Yue Fei was a commander in the Song Dynasty in the 12th century. He was executed by Qin Gui (a nasty court official) even though he defended China against invaders from the north with great success. There was a statue of the great general, and one of the walls was four words "Loyal To The Last" which apparently was tattooed on Yue Fei's back by his mother.
After this grand day out in Hangzhou we went for a swim and relaxed at the jacuzzi, before heading back to Louweilou for dinner again! There were so many delicious dishes from this famous restaurant and after such an enjoyable meal two days ago, we decided it's worth to go back there. This time we ordered Hangzhou marinated duck as starter (lots of bone!), West Lake vinegared fish (another classic dish from this city, but unfortunately it's very strong in vinegar taste and not as good as I expected), winter melon with ham (can't really go wrong with this) and wine preserved rice dumpling (it's a dessert?). RMB196 for all these dishes, and it was really good value for money! I think this completed all the dishes I wanted to try in Hangzhou.
After dinner we walked back to the hotel. The Su Causeway was lit up with green lights and the bridges were also lit up--- absolutely magnificent. One of the few images that will remain in my head without any photos taken as a reminder.
Enjoyed a cup of Eight Treasure tea at the hotel coffee lounge while listening to live piano music. Quite fun but at the same time I was having a depression attack while writing my travel diary---- no idea why but it might have something to do with British Airways messing up the start of the holiday---- Huh, they have a lot to answer to when I get back to England!
Not happy either with the people smoking in the non-smoking area, and the waiter made no attempt in stopping them. Instead we had to move table to stay away from the poisonous fume!
Go Back to Day 12 | Go To Day 14
©2001-2007 AlbertChau.com. All rights reserved.
