July 25, delaying to Xitang

I woke up a bit late (9:00) and decided to visit Su Causeway. This was a walkway across Xihu ordered built by Su Dongpo, the great poet of the Song dynasty, when he was governor of Hangzhou. My plans for a quiet trek to view the lake in tranquility were thwarted by what seemed like every tour group ever visiting along with me. So, I gave up the chance for poetic reflection and returned my bicycle for the 300 yuan deposit. Then I shopped for a bit, ate lunch/breakfast, received directions to Xitang, and left for the East Bus station.

Once there, I misunderstood my instructions and bought a train (not bus) ticket, scheduled to leave at 6:50. Thus, I returned to the Hostel to kill a couple hours (I was tired and a bit upset from this schedule failure), learned that I could have taken a bus without a wait, and became mildly depressed. I finished Ender’s Shadow, returned to the station, and waited an extra 45 minutes for the train.

Onboard, I learned that the ticket lady’s claim that there were no seats onboard the train was nonsense. As in the train I was on was overfilled as well and I didn’t have a seat the entire ride. So, I stood in the aisle for the two hour journey, pseudo-composed my Colbert aria, wrote a cute poem about the people near me on the train (less truth and more of an exercise in rhyming, although the passengers did help me find the correct exit).

I arrived in Jiashan and was promptly “accosted” by a driver who would take me to Xitang. Although he overcharged, he got me to Xitang when I had been sure I would have to wait until morning for that very mission. He took me to an inn on the river, and was shown around town by the owner. My Mandarin was extremely weak, but I can tenuously hold simple conversations now. If I keep expectations low, I can get across half of what I try to say (as in, if I stick to what I’ve already learned, which isn’t much). The town is gorgeous and peaceful at night, and I am feeling much better about the world. Well, peaceful except for the Rap bar, where I was offered a drink, and refused due to my dislike of alcohol. I said something about needing to be 21 in the US, and could understand the innkeeper joking about it with her husband. On the other hand, I got a chance to pet the dog kept on a pitifully short leash. Poor thing is attention starved, I think. It leapt all over me and whined when I left. So different from the spoiled puppy at the hostel.

Goodnight, I’m waking up to see Xitang at dawn, then returning to bed. 6:00 is too early for anything other than sightseeing…

Oyasumi…

Tonight’s music: mu min xin ge (Shepherd’s Song, heard in Xitang)

Word of the day: zhaoxiang ji (camera) because I kept forgetting it…

Paizhao (to photograph)