July 21, Hangzhou

This entry was written the day of the Eclipse, hence my not-so-subtle commentary.

I sit here at Hangzhou high school, crossing my fingers and hoping that the sun ceases to obstinately hide behind the clouds by 9:38 when the eclipse becomes total. When the clouds thin enough, I can see the sun has become an incomplete disk, an honest to goodness crescent, although I cannot yet catch a non-blurred photo of it. I will keep trying through my inexpertly produced pinhole, which is more of a pencil-hole in a piece of paper. After totality, I will hurry to Qiantang River to watch the famed Tidal Bore.

Yesterday was certainly an adventure. I got to Hangzhou without a hitch (thanks to Sun’s assistance, and a terrible baozi breakfast). After arriving in Hangzhou, it took me quite a while to find my way to Xihu (West Lake) from the station, but I eventually managed it. I wandered for a while with all my luggage, looking for a hotel that wasn’t 1500 Yuan a night, and eventually found the Simago Business Hotel. I room I rented was 550 Yuan, but discounted to 270 Yuan, and was extremely spacious and comfortable, far more than I expected and more than I’d have settled for paying only $40. Pictures of the room exist. I was most impressed by the telephone right by the toilet, however, for those who need to multitask.

I dropped the major mass of my luggage and proceeded to wander Hangzhou, looking primarily for a stand where I could not only rent bicycles (those were everywhere) but where I could find the rental card as well. I found one MILES away from the hotel, and by the time I reached it, I was dehydrated with a rather extensive headache. I think by the end of the afternoon I was near to suffering heat stroke, despite drinking lots of water.

I visited the beautiful Leifang Pagoda by bicycle, destroyed in the Japanese invasion. In the rebuilding process, some modern accessories were included in the design: not much original is left, except the foundations. Indeed, the pagoda now has a central glass elevator. At least I believe it is modern, unless the 10^th century Buddhists were a lot more talented than we give them credit. I did get to see “Evening Glow over Leifang Pagoda,” one of the 10 Sights of Hangzhou.

The sun is currently a thin crescent in the sky, so I’ll describe the remainder of my day later…

By the time I left Leifang, I had a dreadful headache, one of the worst dehydration headaches psible, and I knew I had to rest. So at an amusing show of fountains timed to Chinese music, I drank over a liter of water and waited a half hour. I returned to the Shimago hotel, although not before being yelled at for walking my bike in a “walking zone” (apparently the no bike rule is rigid), took a short shower and a two hour nap.

Upon awaking, I was too drained for a further excursion and so ate downstairs at the hotel restaurant. This turned out to be a wise decision. Not only was dinner exquisite, but my waitress was extremely cute, although I’m ashamed I wasn’t able to work up the courage and tell her so (in Chinese, of course). The meal was also conducted entirely in a form of pidgin Chinese. I got better as the trip wore on.