Hangzhou

At 8:00 in the morning I flew to Hangzhou. On the bus in from the airport I saw a cluster of skyscrapers on the outskirts of the city; as we drew closer I saw that two-thirds of them were under construction.

As directed by the woman at the hostel, I took the shuttle to the final stop and then got a taxi. The first taxi driver I tried wouldn't take me to the address I showed him, and I couldn't quite understand why. What I caught was "hen duo che"--lots of cars--but "che" is a part of the words for both "taxi" and "bus"--and, for that matter, "bicycle" and "train." I don't know whether he was telling me that lots of buses run up that road, so I shouldn't take a taxi, or that there was too much traffic, or that lots of taxis would take me there, but he wouldn't. Anyway, he wouldn't take me. The next taxi did.

Paying for two nights at the hostel, plus deposit, left me with less than 10 yuan in cash, so I set off to find an ATM. Despite getting breakfast on the plane, I was pretty famished by that time--about 2:00. Three ATMs and a rather long walk later, it seemed that I had "insufficient funds." I went back to the hostel and checked my balance online: plenty of funds. I felt a little panicked. Almost no place in China takes credit cards. Finally I changed $160 of my $200 emergency stash at the Bank of China and decided to call my credit union at midnight (9:00 am California time) to harangue them.

Near Hangzhou's West Lake is a cluster of upscale restaurants, including a Starbucks and a Haagen-Dazs, and that was where I headed next. I stopped in at a Western-style place with a 5-course fixed menu fr lunch, and made short work of the 5 courses. Then I walked along the lake for a bit before catching the last boat of the day for some islands in the lake. The lake and the islands are an interesting example of wholly artificial "natural" beauty: The lake used to be a swamp before it was dredged hundreds of years ago, and some of what was dredged up went toward making the islands. One of the two I visited has been shaped, with bridges and causeways, into a Chinese character. The amazing thing is that the effect is beautiful and serene. Gently rolling hills rise up behind the glassy lake; on the islands, bamboo-lined paths and traditional-style bridges and pagodas complete the picture.

That evening I decided to walk to the supermarket. There was a Carrefour nearby, part of a French chain, and I was curious as to what it would look like in China. Also, I was completely out of contact solution and needed a few other things.

Carrefour was set at the back of a dimly-lit mall in which most of the stores were vacant. There was an HSBC ATM near the entrance, and I tried my ATM card there. Miracle of miracles, it worked. I wouldn't have to call California at midnight after all; perhaps an email would do.

In Carrefour I picked up a yellow corduroy Ralph Lauren Polo-knockoff jacket for about $4, along with a new umbrella, Q-tips, and batteries for my power-slurping camera. I asked about contact solution; there was none. I checked two other pharmacies with no luck.

Feeling brave on the way back, I stopped into one of the basic open-fronted restaurants along the sidewalk for dinner. Its menu consisted of pictures on the wall with prices, which was encouraging, and I got the waiter to tell me which dishes were meat-less. I pointed to one at random and ended up with scrambled eggs and tomatoes over noodles--not bad.

At the end of my meal I was the only customer. I asked for tea, and got a thin disposable plastic cup full of hot water. That made me a little sad. I chatted with the restaurant staff a bit, since they had nothing else to do but watch TV. On hearing that I was American, the waitress who'd delivered my hot water asked to see what American money looked like. Unfortunately, I'd left my remaining stash back at the hostel.