Greg and Kat's blog

Today started early. 5:30 early. Damn you jet lag! But, waking up early meant that we were definitely on time for the 7:00 hotel breakfast. After breakfast Janice met us at the hotel, and we set off for a day of adventure. We cabbed to the Leifeng Pagoda where we saw the excavation of the original pagoda’s foundation, a collection of amazing artwork (wood carvings, paintings, calligraphy, etc), and breathtaking views of the West Lake.

Then we took a boat to see the three stone buoys (they were actually stone monuments, but we called them buoys because that’s what they looked like) which are depicted on the 1 yuan bill. [GB: the scene is apparently Three Pools Mirroring the Moon]

We had lunch of steamed freshwater fish, chicken cooked in a (banana?) leaf, and rice in a little restaurant on the lake.

We then took a boat to the island that is in the middle of the lake, walked around there, and then took another boat to the eastern shore of West Lake where we then went to the Temple of King Qian.

Following a refreshing and rejuvenating afternoon coffee, we walked through the flower market and then the night market (yes, we went to the night market in the afternoon). We then decided to take a bus to the silk market as catching a cab at rush hour can be difficult. We got on a bus that we thought went by the market. What we didn’t realize was that the bus did go by the market, but on the expressway, where there are no bus stops. We blew right by the market! But we were able to figure out where we were, and walked back over an interesting bike-pedestrian bridge that went over a canal and a busy expressway. Definitely a fun adventure! 🙂

We finally made it to the silk market, but it was closing so we made our way to a noodle house, had dinner, and then it was back to the hotel to rest our weary legs.

Edit GB: quickly threw a few pics up temporarily until we can take a serious look through them.