We're Back From Vacation :)

We just arrived home not more then 20 minutes ago and already we're blogging, I think this is a sign that we are addicted no? No, we just wanted everyone to know that we are safe and sound and that we will be updating the blog with our adventures over the next couple of weeks, but until then, enjoy the conclusion of the Hang-zoo Hullabaloo travelogue from our trip to Hangzhou a few months ago, it is most defintely worth it and should hopefully satiate your need for Clan Marew's Adventures In China!

HANG-ZOO HULLABALLO (CONT.)

Introduction

Seven centuries ago Marco Polo arrived in Hangzhou and after experiencing its’ pleasures wrote, “Hangzhou the finest, most splendid city in the world, where so many pleasures may be found that one fancies oneself to be in Paradise.” Now days what would Marc say? I think it would go something like this:

Hangzhou, a paradise for those who enjoy free fresh high-quality beer made and managed by true-blooded Germans at 1828, molesting Chinese students in a giant blown-up smiling condom suit in a park off Nanshan Lu, the beauty of Leifeng Pagoda rising above the waters of West Lake (Xī Hú), the hustle-bustle and bargaining of the Night Market, the quiet serenity and comradery of the Mingtown Garden Hostel, and the sizzlin’ Texas Heat and other such delicious pizzas at American-based restaurant chain Papa John’s.

Arrival

We arrived in Hangzhou after a 40 minute train ride (my first ever I might add) where we were packed into the cars like sardines in a can, with each jolt sending you bumping into the person to the left, then right, then behind, and then in front of you. Needless to say, we were a bit grateful to the good Lord Almighty (who I call Steve and will refer to him as such throughout the rest of this travelogue) when we got off and put our feet on the ground. I think we all gave a heavy big-ups to Steve.

If you don’t mind me digressing for a moment, the raison d’etre for this trip was to celebrate BC’s 24th birthday. So in honor of this grand and splendid occasion, we ate at Papa John’s. Cheese bread, Hawaiian, and the Texas Heat; paradise indeedly. Marco Polo was oh so right oh so far.

Mingtown Garden Hostel

So when we got off the train we walked straight to Mingtown Garden Hostel…after two bus rides. This hostel is astonishing, it rests in the back of a long alleyway not more than which is a block or three (many hops and some skips) to West Lake, a Starbucks, on West Lake, the aforementioned Papa John’s, and the 1828 bar.

When we arrived at the hostel we had no trouble booking a room for all of us since Brian C. made reservations ahead of time, that is until we and they realized we didn’t have our passports (Mary and I). Here’s the thing about staying in hostels and hotels abroad, you must give them your passport or your shit out of luck. Luckily, they accepted passport numbers and related information; they were so kind. Here are our made-up passport numbers: 396798098 (my American phone number appended with 98) and 224727712 (Mary’s American phone number appended with 12). Once in it was a traveler’s paradise, a true refuge from the hustle-bustle of China believe me or not. If not, just check out the pictures.

Night Market

So after we went to eat at Papa John’s and before we went to the bars, we all decided to go to the Night Market and check it out. It was a great place to people watch as well as to practice our bargaining skills in Chinese. I almost bought Mao’s little red book and a punky-looking Mao watch for my friend Dave Johnson back home, but decided against it at that time because he requested a statue of Chairman Mao and not a watch, plus I wasn’t sure I wasn’t getting ripped off for the little red book for five kuai (turns out that it was a helluva deal). Brian T. got a belt, John S. got a pack of 555 cigs (considered ritzy), Brian C. got a knock-off designer watch for his dad back in the states, and Natalie had a artist paint her brothers name on a piece of paper.

1828 Bar

This bar was a lot of fun. There was a cheesy Philippian cover band that had one keyboard player and two female singers, but it made it very easy to not take the place or time spent here so seriously. The best part of the night had to be the free beer that was given out for one hour and one hour only. Everyone went up and filled up their liter or half-liter glasses twice without paying a red cent for surprisingly great tasting brew made right there and poured right from the giant tank it was made in. After the free beer was over I decided to call it a night and walked backed to the hostel before passing out.

A Park off Nanshan Lu

I woke up really early because my back was killing me, I was sleeping practically on boards (on the top bunk of a bunk bed) the mattress was so thin. Since I couldn’t sleep I decided to get up early and go for a walk. On the walk I watched ballroom dancers stepping away to their music next to West Lake. I walked over a little bridge and into a park that had a Starbucks and Haugen Daus in it as well as allowing you to walk along West Lake. There I watched Chinese characters painted in water evaporate. Also, I watched Tai Chi practitioners move in slow-motion kung-fu and with the traditional Chinese music playing in the background of the park it was almost surreal.

I kept walking around the park and stopped for a moment to smoke a cigarette. As I did this, I turned to the left and saw a picturesque scene. There was a pavilion in the distance on the waters edge, while behind it, only the top parts of the Leifeng Pagoda was visible through the morning fog. In all directions that I could view I saw the lake, but to the right were little boats being taken out while an island was behind them. What truly branded all of this into my mind, this painting, for the rest of my life, was that this whole scene was framed by the hanging branches of a weeping willow tree in the same shape as the Moon. Truly unforgettable.

I then kept walking and stopped for a while to watch some old Chinese men and women play mahjong before continuing on and taking a break to get a cup of coffee at Starbucks. By this time, Mary had woken up and given me a call so I headed back to the hostel for a great breakfast which ended with the guys (The Brian’s) and all of us singing rock-n-roll versions of children’s songs. One thing I forgot to mention, on my way back to the hostel at the same area where previously the old people had been doing their ballroom dancing, I came across senior (high) school students advocating safe-sex practices by giving out pamphlets and free Murex condoms as well as having one of them walking around in giant blown-up condom suit… :)

So after breakfast we headed back to that same area and I got to dress up in the suit and ran around chasing Chinese people trying to hug them and screaming “Love me, love me!” At this point I started thinking that life couldn’t get any better than this, living in China, traveling to one of the most beautiful places here, and to top it off, I get to molest the people… for free!

Taiji Teahouse

I love travel. There is no more pleasurable feeling than going to a place that you’ve read of in books and seen in photos and which turns out to be all of what you expected and more. In modern conventions we have multimedia presentations that can combine audio, images, and text into a morphing travelblog as in the example here of the New York Times multimedia presentation of the Taiji Teahouse (Chawu) in Hangzhou, China. The content was provided by Chinese photographer and sometimes journalist Chang W. Lee.

What makes this teahouse so subtly engage the mind is the Qing Dynasty atmosphere from the moment you step onto the street that passes the entrance. Cobbled and worn from a century or more of pedestrians and rickshaws the street is. The tea is still roasted right there to view if you’d like, with the leaves coming from the hills to the north (the first spring leaves are sold at the prices of gold they are of such quality, also the teahouses, which Mary blogged earlier about, not only serve tea, but also a variety of delectables and snacks). After being seated, we were given sugary young Kumquats, sunflower seeds still in the shell, walnuts (or some such similar nuts), dates, and many more. The Hangzhou tea of choice is what we got, Longjin.

What really made this house of tea so special is their art of serving teas, techniques of which were developed during the time when teahouses were so busy they overflowed with customers. The tea spouts on the teapots had to be elongated in order to reach every cup on the table from any angle and direction. So squeezing into tight corners, standing on stools, or even up the stairs led to the development of a kung fu like style of pouring tea which is still practiced in certain teahouses today of which Taiji Teahouse is renowned for.

A student/server gave us a demonstration after lining up our five glasses. He proceeded to go from one form and pattern to the next fluidly connecting the cessation of one with the beginning of another, arms locked rigid around the spout, but ready to spring into another form. One, the teapot spins 720 degrees, right elbow raised, teapot in hand, spout cradled in his arms like a baby about to be rocked, legs locked, and the tea is poured. Two, the teapot and spout are rotated like the flaming sword that guards the entrance to the Garden of Eden, teapot on shoulder with the spout in hands, he supports and grips it strongly and confidently like a logger with “the tallest piece of Pine Hewn from Norwegian hills”, while the tea pours out like water rushing forth from the rock that Moses split in the desert for the Israelites… minus the bad taste. For each cup, similar steps are taken with the teapot and spout to create patterns and to lock forms. There are rotations, sweeping arcs, and spins only to be held firmly at the end while the tea pours out. The best form is when the front leg is locked and his upper body is leaning downwards at an angle of 45 degrees sharp, as if his whole body is a teapot and spout; the pour is done from behind the back.

On leaving, after our tea has been drunk, a single teapot sits on a scratched, cracked, and worn wooden table while the sun reflects off the pots highly polished brass surface into my eyes. It is as if the sun is reflecting off the shaved head of a silent Buddhist monk who looks directly at you acknowledging, for the first time, the fact that you have come to understand a bit more about his world now. To the right a student yells to the crowd walking along the street to come taste the freshly roasted tea. To the left, a table filled with your choice of fresh tea leaves and an offering of tea just brewed for those who want to try simply the best around.

Deep-Fried Scorpions

Probably the coolest things I’ve done here is tried deep-fried scorpions. At first, John, Brian C. and I were hesitant to try them. I considered it to be tantamount to an extreme sport, but what the hell we were in China and traveling so why not try something crazy I thought. The pictures really tell the story the best I think, but I’ll add that they taste like 3-D Doritos chips without the cheese taste, but with sausage filling… kinda.

Conclusion

Hangzhou is a paradise and is worth going back to over and over again. In fact, it is one of the few places in China Mary and I actually do return to. Just this last Monday we went back to pick up sleeping bags (and some fleece for me) for the travels we’ll take out west in two weeks. Also while we were there, we went to the Maya Bar for some killer chilly, nachos, Tiger beer from the tap, and chicken burritos while listening to Jack Johnson, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dave Mathews Band, and other good old’ American music. We finished off this trip by going to the Charming Music Library and listening to the Mario Bros. theme songs played on the piano (a CD) while I sipped irish coffee and Mary sipped amaretto coffee. So, I do recommend if you ever plan on visiting China anytime in the near or distant future, that you make a stop off in Hangzhou, one of the finest, most splendid cities in the world.