Hangzhou Hijinks

A few weeks ago us UVic kids headed out to Hangzhou (pronounced HongJo), home of the West Lake (Xi Hu). Apparently, people have been living in that area for 4700 years, and first officially became a county 2200 years ago! Now you know more.

The city was waaay bigger and more modern than I thought it would be, but once you get to the lake itself you feel transported back in time. At least I did. Maybe it's just because I smashed my head against a piece of wood twice that morning, but that's another story.



The train ride over was uneventful aside from this weird rice ball with pork center wrapped in bamboo leaves that I ate. Not bad. We arrived at night, saw the super romantic lake and ate tons of local food for about a dollar each. We crashed at a really nice hostel next to some famous restaurant where we eventually had breakfast.

The next morning we met up with Kelly from UVic and Debi, a UVic alum. Shameless plug: If you haven't noticed yet, links to their blogs are included on the right hand side of my page. We wandered all day, explored the Lei Feng Pagoda and saw the Mausoleum of General Yue Fei. Alright, I'm going to let the pictures to the rest of the talking. It should be noted that Rian's girlfriend Linda organized everything and to her we remain eternally grateful. It was only $30 for the entire trip.




The group outside the Lei Feng Pagoda.



From left to right: Courtenay, Morgan Freeman, Rian, Linda, Kelly, and Debi.







The Three Amigos (West Lake in background, no Three Stooges comments please)








Lion-riding, a traditional Hangzhouvian pastime, outside General Yue Fei's mausoleum. You may be asking yourself, could he possibly pull his socks up any higher? The answer is, of course, no.

Camera Quandary

I love my camera, it has seen me through the best of times and the worst of times. It survived the trip to Europe and the trenches of Montreal. Unfortunately, the memory card, along with all 40 of my China pictures, finally breathed its last breath. While I experienced a wide range of emotions when this occurred - primarily anger - I have come to terms with it. Good night sweet prince.

(It's actually not that bad, I just have to get another card, plus my buddies over here took a bunch of pics that I can get from them)

The Creature

So, at hot pot the other day we thought it would be a brilliant idea to try out some of China's strangest foods. This resulted in the monstrosity which you see above, which is presently nameless. I was thinking about calling it a clurd for no particular reason, it just sounds right. Any suggestions are certainly welcome.

The creature in question is made up of:

1) A sheep's brain

2) Chicken wings

and 3) A chicken foot at the top of the head. I'm not sure what this is for, but it is likely the creature's only form of self-defence.

In case you were wondering, brains kind of melt in your mouth like a stick of butter would. Not that I've ever tried anything disgusting like that...

Things to Avoid in Shanghai

Since lists are so much fun I am also going to make one about things to avoid in Shanghai. In no particular order, here are the winners:

• Sheep's Brains - Melts in your mouth, not in your hands.
  
• Tap Water - Tastes like metal mixed with bacteria. I shouldn't know that.
  
• Unwashed Street Peaches - Do not eat unless you enjoy spending most of your day in the bathroom.
  
• Massage Parlors with a Red Light in the Window - Depending on who you are, this could actually be on your "Things to Do in Shanghai" list.
  
• Chicken Feet - Ok, you should probably try them once, but never again. Try not to get the nails stuck in between your teeth.
  
• Fishbone snacks - Ground up bone in a bag. Not tasty. Need I say more?
  
• Public toilets - For the love of all that is good and holy DO NOT even consider entering one of these fine establishments.

There are a ton more things to add, and of course I will continue to do so!

Movie Time

Ok, I have tons of other stuff to talk about but it will take me forever to actually type it all up. So instead I am going to post a list of movies that I've bought since I got here. Keep in mind that movies here cost a little less than a buck, so I'm hoping to create the strangest movie collection of all time. So far, this is what I have:

• Frankenfish - 8/10 - Perhaps the greatest movie ever made about a genetically modified fish that goes around biting people's heads off
  
• Drive Snakes People - 5/10 - Probably the worst movie I have ever seen, although it recovers a few points from the immortal line "You are not authorized to woo me!"
  
• Hellbound - ?/10 - Starring Chuck Norris. It has to be good.
  
• Bleeders - ?/10 - In-bred cave dwellers? I think so!

And there you have it. Make sure you check this list out frequently, as I plan on adding one new movie per week!

Shanghai Adventure

After a hasty night of packing, dad took me out to the airport on August 31st with plenty of time to catch my flight. I hopped on and spent the next 12 hours alternating between listening to my iPod, talking to a Chinese Australian and watching one of the 5 movies they played (Ice Age II, Take the Lead, Failure to Launch... why for the love of God can they not play anything good?)

So I finally arrived in Shanghai at about 3:00 PM on September 1st, I lost a whole day. The Chinese Australian named Richard helped me through all the customs and stuff and by 4:00 I was wandering past hundreds of waiting, expectant faces when I spotted my name on one of the signs people were holding. Dad had put me in touch with a local Shanghainese named Minnie and it was a major relief to see her standing there with my fate in her hands. There's no way I would have made it through the day without her help. This is what transpired from the airport, and I still can't believe this worked out:

I called my roommate Rian from Minnie's cell phone, and it turns out that this was his last day of work so he was being taken out by the people at work. In order for me to access our apartment, Minnie and I were required to 1) Take Bus No. 3 into the city where we 2) Hopped on the subway after waiting in line to buy a card. Then, 3) we tried to catch a taxi during busy hour which is impossible so we ended up catching a makeshift one driven by some kid that wasn't officially marked as a taxi. So we ended up near where Rian works where 4) we had to meet up with his coworkers who had the only key to our place. We ended up waiting for them at a corner store, and they ended up waiting for us at a corner store of the same name about 2 blocks away. ANYWAY, we finally met up with them and then again had to 5) try and get a taxi which by some ridiculous stroke of luck, we were able to do. Then Minnie had to explain to the driver where I lived using a makeshift map and the chinese characters of our address which we had also received from Rian's coworkers. I live on a side street named "Lane 457", and believe me, most taxi drivers have no idea where that is. Finally we arrived at the place and she 6) had to convince the doorman to unlock the gate and let us in to the apartment building since I didn't have a swipe card yet. We finally arrived and collapsed into some chairs. Keep in mind that during this entire time I had my backpack and two bags with me. My traps took days to recover.

Now, this may not sound like quite the ordeal but when everything's in Chinese, you've just spent 12 hours on a plane, and you have absolutely no idea what's going on it gets to be a little strange. Now imagine me trying to do that without the help of a local. eep.

I will be uploading pictures soon and don't hesitate to leave comments by clicking on the link!