Hangzhou and Jiaxing

Hi everyone,

We returned to Hangzhou after Huangshan. We stayed in West Lake, which is a tree-filled part of the city. Hangzhou is in one of the richest provinces in China, and it shows. We recovered for a day before we met up with Scott, who is teaching English in Jiaxing. He came to Hangzhou to see us (but realy to see Ilana, as they were friends in Montreal). We went to a famous retaurant called (badly written) Lo-Wai-Lo. This is differet from La-wai, which is what they call white people here (it translates to old whitey). We spent most of our time in relaxing in Hangzhou, though we did see a famous pagoda, and a somewhat obstructed view of the city. We also made the decision to accompany Scott back to his new town. This was one of the best decisions we have made so far on this trip.

We took the train to Jiaxing, which is a tiny (by Chinese standards, it actually has like 3.3 million people) city. We sampled local food, as well as food from the north eastern China. It was unbelievable, and by far the best we have had since we have been here. It helps to have a guide who lives here, and who also has a girlfriend who speaks fluent Chinese. We also got to play with his dog Schiou-Schiou (sp?) and ride his electric scooter. Scooters are everywhere in China. The electric ones are good for the environment too! We went to a local grocery store, in which there were many things that I had never seen before. They seem to employ people simply for the sake of employing them here, they either have no idea what to do in order to help you, or they stand around looking lost, or they speak amongst themselves. It is really quite strange.

Scott lives in a very nice new apartment complex (minus the mosquitos, which were rather killer). They seem to be building faster than they can rent though, as most of the building was empty, and more buildings were under construction. We also visited the school where he is teaching. It was really cool to see what it is like to live in a city such as Jiaxing, and what life is like for La-wai who decide to teach in China.

Notes: people in this country drive rather intesrestingly. They pretty much ignore every sign that they can, and pedestrians are expected to yield to cars on the crosswalks (well, not expected, so much as if you do not yield, you may be hit). Unlike in Japan, there are many local car companies here, and people drive cars that I have never seen. However, they all look like old models of cars that are currently sold in Canada, the US or Europe. The sanitary standards here are still not impressive.
People stare at us pretty much everywhere. It is as if they have never seen white people before. This is understadable in Jiaxing, less so in Hangzhou. People on the metros are not... subtle. They simply stare, many mouths agape, at the appearance of foreigners on the train or bus or street. It is really rather odd.

Ilana- Hangzhou and Jiaxing were a lot of fun, and seeing Scott was the best part. He left for China a year ago and I thought I would not see him again until he came back to Montreal. I never thought I would actually be going to China anytime soon. Spending a few days with him was really great. Having a dog in his apartment was a plus. She was so adorable and climbed into my lap every time I sat down.

It was nice to experience true Chinese living, although I could have done without all of the staring from people on the street. Sometimes I smile, other times I stare right back at them until they realize that I notice that they are looking at me. But, I think at some point I will get used to the staring. Maybe.

We have made our way to Shanghai!

Thanks for reading!