November 25, 2006 to December 17, 2006
Over one of the free weekends, we travelled to Nanjing and Hangzhou by train with her classmates and lecturer. Taking the train and just being at the train station is indeed a truly China experience. We had to first take the subway to Shanghai Railway Station and from there we take the train to Nanjing. The subway itself is so crowded. We were travelling in a group of 10 and all of us could not squeeze (or should I use the word jostle) into the train. Ken was smart he managed to stand in the front and the crowd simply just pushed him into the carriage when the train arrived.
The journey from Shanghai to Nanjing was good and it took us about 2.5hrs. However the train journey from Nanjing to Hangzhou was a nightmare! We kept asking each other "Are we there yet?". The train was not only slow but it kept stopping in between stations and so our ride was freaking 10 hours long instead of at max 5hrs. Yes and we were grumbling that we could fly from Melbourne to Singapore and even have enough time to clear immigration and head to East Coast Park for a feast!!
Well despite the "endurance test" we decided to make the best of our time in Nanjing and Hangzhou. In Nanjing we were treated like VIPs, we had the best dinner upon arrival and later was checked into one of the finest hotel. Its a pity that none of us had cameras with us when we had dinner as each of us had a 24 course dinner!! The next morning I thought I was dreaming as I had smoked salmon (in China) for breakfast at the hotel!! And we were chauffeured around sightseeing.
Purple Palace Hotel, Nanjing
 Our suite |
 Nice fluffy beds |
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 Lakeside - Hotel's permises |
 Sunrise with purple hue |
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 Hotel rooms were facing the lake |
Train Ride
 Train Platforms |
 Train Class-Hard Sleeper |
Sightseeing
Nanjing - It is a pity that we had less thabn 24 hours in Nanjing. With the little time we had, we visited Xuyuan Garden, Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum and Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum. Xuyuan Garden is very pretty at night and it was in one of the restaurants there that we had a 24 course Nanjing dinner!
 Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum |
 Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum |
Hangzhou - We had 2 days in Hangzhou and was able to explore more. We enjoyed West Lake best and sunset there is so beautiful! And of course no trip is complete without feast at Lou Wai Lou restaurant along West Lake.
 Sunset |
 Sunset from West Lake |
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 Boat ride on West Lake |
 West Lake |
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 Sinfully sweet candy |
 Doctor consultation anyone? |
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 Chinese Herbs |
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Feast at Lou Wai Lou restaurant.
 Famous West Lake Vinegar Fish |
 Begger's Chicken |
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 Ken's special order Dongpo Meat |
 Serena's Fav - Eel with shrimps |
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 Not for the faint heart. Make a guess what this is!! |
 Everyone satisfied! Ken can't get enough-still looking at menu. |
Qinghefeng Jie Food Street. Lots of delicacies or should I say Fear Factor type of foodie segment. Well I belong to the faint hearted so I stayed clear of such foods and also gave Ken the no go. I would say that the Begger's Chicken here is should be the authentic Begger's Chicken unlike the one at Lou Wai Lou which had yummy beef and vegetable stuffings.
 Of course we didn't eat these! Yes they are Duck Heads. |
 Ken unwrapping "the real Begger's Chicken". |
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 This is the real Begger's Chicken. No frills. |
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Look out for the final installment Part III - Suzhou and Beijing, China's Capital. Shesh I got hungry after updating the foodie section.