Since we needed to adjust our itinerary, we decided to visit Hangzhou this day. Le tour’s staff found that there were only 100 tickets for the earliest train for Shanghai-Hangzhou which was at 630am, so we decided to take a bus instead. We didn’t want to experience another frustrating day at the railway station again.

We took the metro to Shanghai South Railway station. We had another long walk in the subway before we finally found the bus station. One unusual thing worth noting was that the female toilet in this station was like a drainage system wherein all the cubicles were connected by a single, drainage-like system. You would see all floating objects coming from other cubicles. Xty had a terrible experience with this. :p

We managed to buy bus tickets (RMB 68) going to Hangzhou departing at 850AM. This was actually more expensive than the train ticket. Before going to Hangzhou or to any other provinces in china, we advise that one of you should know at least basic mandarin. Talking at the ticket counters would be disastrous since they know little English. If you could survive Shanghai because of a very organized subway, think again before going to Hangzhou. If you were unable to book a train ticket, it would be very difficult to buy a bus ticket. Besides, the ticket’s printed in Chinese, so good luck!

The bus ride took 2+ hours. We bought a bus ticket going to Shanghai (65RMB) before proceeding. We found out that the tourist bus was parked at the train station, so we proceeded at Hangzhou railway. It took another hour of bus ride (K508) just to get at the station.

At the bus (K7), all the bus stops were written in Chinese. Xty asked the other passengers what stop Lingyin temple/ Peak Flown From Afar or Fei Lai Feng was. This was the farthest tourist spot in our itinerary, so we decided to go there first.

Lingyin Temple/ Fei Lai Feng

It was still raining when we got off the bus, but we decided to continue anyway. In order to get to Lingyin temple, you need to buy tickets for Fei Lai Feng. Fei lai Feng is composed of Buddha carvings on the rocks and caves. There was also a small pond where turtles abound the area. We’re looking for a Buddha statue (which we later found to be the laughing Buddha carved near the entrance of Fei Lai Feng), so we decided to enter Lingyin temple. Lots of Buddhists flock the area. As expected, Lingyin temple has lots of Buddhist statues inside the temple. We don’t know who these Gods were. And as a sign of respect, we didn’t take any picture inside the temples.

Get Lost!

We were looking for a certain Buddha statue at this point, but we can’t find it anywhere. Since we don’t have a map of the Lingyin/fei Lai feng, I took a picture of a map-like sign. When I turned around, I was surprised that Anton and Xty were missing —- ok, I was missing! I walked around where most people were going (going to the EXIT actually) and try to look for them. I tried to stop and wait a bit, hoping that they would find me if I stop at one place. But I got too bored and anxious that I thought of going directly to the exit since all the people would eventually go there. They might even be waiting for me there. But alas, they’re not in the exit. I’m glad that we’re in the modern world and my phone roaming was working. So I texted them and we met at the Lingyin temple entrance. I would have waited in that exit forever if ever my roaming was broken. BTW, Anton’s roaming service was not working so it’s a relief that he’s not the one who got lost. I’m sure he’d panic if ever.hehe

Broken Shoes

We wasted some time because of that incident that we’re unable to tour the whole Lingyin temple. While waiting for them, I checked my itouch and found out that the Buddha statue we’re looking was actually the Laughing Buddha carved near the entrance of the Fei lai feng. That disappointed us quite a bit. We rode another K7 bus and hopped out where a KFC’s near. Upon getting off the bus, Xty’s shoe suddenly shattered. The strap loosened and it was almost impossible for her to walk. We immediately went inside KFC, ordered our lunch and asked for a stapler. At first, the crew could not understand Xty. So we checked our translator app and Xty used that to ask for a stapler. Voila! We were able to get a stapler. I stapled the loosened strap back, and stapled some other straps as well. We didn’t bother stapling the other shoe. :p

With a stapled shoe, we went on with our tour. We managed to find the Mausoleum of General Yue Fei, but we didn’t enter because we would be visiting another temple. Personally I would love to visit this mausoleum out of curiosity. There’s much to do in Hangzhou, and West Lake’s so big, so we decided to walk to West Lake.

West Lake

West Lake was stunning. Too bad, it’s raining and foggy, so our view was limited. If it’s not raining, I’m sure West Lake’s much more beautiful. We don’t know which part of West lake we were in, but we decided to pass through the inside road of West lake. Since the lake was too big, we tried to search where we can hitch a tram but with no success. So we had no choice but to walk. While walking, we were looking for the Broken Bridge and the Liuhe Pagoda, which was said to be of walking distance from West Lake. (Walking distance if you’re in the correct side of West Lake). We saw 2 other tombs here, but didn’t know who they were. At the end of the road, the other shoe of Xty broke down. The straps were a complete mess. She’s unable to move without dragging her shoe. We tried to ask for help from a utility man, but he didn’t help us, so we’re on our own. Using our Mcgyver skills, we were able to get strings from our things. We can’t find any other possible solution, but those two strings. I tied up Xty’s foot to her shoe, tying her toe thumb as well for a better knot. The resulting shoe was funny enough, but what the hell, there weren’t any shoe store in the area. We hoped that the knot’s good enough and would survive until we returned to Shanghai. I didn’t notice it, but they said that a local looked at Xty’s shoe in awe. Maybe she’s wondering if that’s a new trend or something.hahaha

Since it’s getting late and Xty’s shoes were broken, we decided to end the tour and return to Shanghai. We were unable to see the Broken Bridge, Liuhe Pagoda and Hefang road. That’s ok, we have enough adventure for a day. BTW,Xty’s umbrella was another casualty. Her umbrella broke down because of a sudden wind while we’re touring Shanghai the day before.

Entrance Fee/ Bus Cost

Bus Shanghai South Railway to Hangzhou East Bus Station – 68

Bus Hangzhou East Bus station to Shanghai south railway – 65

Bus K508 – 3 (per ride)

Bus K7 – 2 (per ride)

Lingyin temple entrance: 45

Fei lai feng entrance: 30

Tip: Have lots of coins, buses don’t give change

Just a thought: how come Buddhist temples have entrance fees? If this is a place of worship, why should Chinese Buddhists pay just to worship?