June 27; were singing/dancing/walking/riding in the rain with tea.

Day 143

The great downpour didn't stop us from all the outdoor activities this morning.

umbrella-ella parade

We started off our day with a boat ride on the West River. The rain wasn't too much of a vibe kill -- the fog was actually pretty enchanting. The only vibe kill was the bloody tour guide who kept on pestering us about watching the damn special Chinese acrobatic show (with an extra fee for 200 RMB, about $25). I've watched quite a few of these shows already back at home and personally, they're cool and all but it's not my thing. I understand that these performers pour their heart and soul into these performances and practices. I applaud their work however, it is not something that I can truly enjoy and appreciate.  Kinda like how people appreciate and acknowledge the hard work of teachers, but are not interested in going into the profession themselves. Anyways, the view from the boat:

Temple of Yuefei
(pretty close to my naaame!)

We went for cover in the tea house museum where we sampled tea and listened to all the health benefits.

They put iodine in the water to represent the toxins in our body. After they added the tea leaves, the colour changed, which represents the tea's ability to eliminate toxins. Magic.

got bored and crushed the tea leaves into little pieces....

 

After lunch we headed back to Shanghai (yay) but once we reached, the tour took us to ANOTHER jade store where we were served tea (boooo). I would have rather sat on the bus and sang songs with the dad sitting in front of us for 2 hours. It wasn't completely a waste of time though. I ended up researching things to do in Shanghai and Hong Kong as the man was going on and on about jade. I will never return to another jade store again. 

We were on our own for dinner and the rest of the evening. The tour guide gave us 30 RMB back for dinner. As the rest of the tour group were watching the Chinese circus, we wandered around the shopping area happily. The tour guide clearly did not know what he was talking about when he said there was "nothing to do".

We had Korean foood then DQ for dessert! Yummm.

Nameyeong and ddeokkbokki 

Dairy Queen Blizzards are served upside down or else it's free! I thought that was pretty cool - wish Toronto did something fun like that. I tried the green tea blizzard for its Asian authenticity and it was quite nice. It's something I'm glad I tried, but I won't miss.

On the final trip on the bus, we were given an evaluation form. Oh did we have things to say...

 

Back at the hotel, our tour friend helped us plan our Japan trip and helped me brush up on my Japanese. Which brings me to my final thoughts: I'm soooooooo ready for Japan. And oh no, last night with all the girlies :(

Something I'll miss: the cool Chinese familes we met and the girlies!!!!

Something I won't miss: the tour guide.

June 26; Rained out in Hangzhou

Day 142

We started off the day with another hearty breakfast. Today is the start of the dragon boat festival so there are special treats at breakfast: tsong - sticky rice wrapped in a banana leaf.

Day 4 of the tour begins like the others. We spend the whole morning "shopping" at the Pearl Market. The only exciting thing about this is an actual demonstration of extracting the pearls -- and getting to keep one. We ended up doing magic tricks and playing card games for the rest of the time there.

We are then taken to the pottery place, where we sampled tea and watched salespeople sell their products. I rather go to pottery barn. The lady wouldn't even let me try out the teapot.

We then went back to the Pearl store area to eat lunch - I don't understand the logistics of the trip and going back and forth.

The food is going progressively....downhill.

When we arrive to Hangzhou, the skies are gray and rain starts to fall. We were taken to a really nice park but then it started to pour. Unfortunately our visit was cut short and we went straight to dinner.

We decided not to go to the "special" performance and instead dragged our soaking wet feet to the glorious shopping mall. I realized that I was a bit of an impulsive shopper... but thinking about the shrinking wallet and oversized backpack, I refrained. And treated myself to ice cream:

sundae = 7 RMB

Taste of success. --yummm

June 23; tour begins - Shanghai to Nanjing

Day 139

It's 5:50 am and we receive our first wake up call. Ugh. 10 minutes later, we get our second wake up call. One bad thing about tours - crazy early start times.  One fantastic thing about tours is the continental buffet breakfasts.

danish, hashbrown+ketchup, noodles, cheese+crackers,
sooo yummy!

The tour is in Mandarin but the tour guide speaks a little bit of English. He doesn't translate everything, only the important instructions, like check in instructions and meeting times. We happily board the bus and go along for the ride. No worrying about missed trains and getting lost!

On the first day the tour took us to:

Yuyuan bazaar with stereotypical Chinese architecture.

tour guide in purple giving instructions.

which way...

True Blood reference!

The Shanghai Museum, in which we had one hour to explore whatever we wanted. I ended up covering 2 of the 4 floors.

one exhibit of the many

I love furniture

and weapons

couldn't find my nationality. 

old money

scrolls

Lunch at a Chinese restaurant. Everyone is assigned to a table. We share the table with a nice Chinese (duh) family. The meals are preordered and ready for us so we don't waste time.

After lunch, we are en route to our next city, Nanjing - one of the ancient capitals.

We sit at the back of the bus - which makes sense since we don't understand Mandarin...and we're probably the loudest. Thank goodness there's no washroom at the back of this bus.

much needed washroom break. 

UofT advertisement!

Our first destination in Nanjing is the Zhongshan Mountain Scenic Area. Out of the three scenic areas, we go to the main one, the Mausoleum of Sun-Yat. Sun-Yat Sen is the founder of the Republic of China and their first president.

it would probably take half a day at the least to cover all that. One bad thing about tours: they're rushed,

riding on carts to get around.

We stop here so the guide can lecture. The guide tells us to stick together until he tells us otherwise. So we're stuck listening to the Chinese lecture.

fascinating?

after climbing more than a hundred steps, we get this hazy/pretty view.

i like his suspenders and murse.

I love how there's no third wheeling

waiting for everyone to finish up

ugh, what is that? toxic?

Tourists.

oh! coins!

We have dinner at the largest restaurant in Asia: Sunward Fishery Restaurant. The selection was alright. Just because it's the biggest doesn't mean its the best.

Inside the restaurant is a display of jade. We listen to the guide talk about jade before actually going to the restaurant. 

After dinner, we go to the Confucius Night Market to take a quick stroll. There's the famous Confucius Temple that we did not actually go inside, some brand name stores, stalls, and restaurants. The prettiest thing is definitely the lake that's lit up. 

After a fully loaded day of touristy things, we finally get to the Ding Ding hotel for the night. They originally put three people in a two person room, but the guide called and said that they have another room available for the extra person. I had yet to unpack so I venture off to the lonely one person room in the Ding Ding Hotel. To my surprise, I see the exact same room, just with a king sized bed. My executive room:

 

goooood night