• home
  • about me
  • latest
  • brooke beyond

  • destinations
    • WORLD MAP
    • Africa
      • Botswana
      • Morocco
      • Namibia
      • South Africa
      • Zambia
      • Zimbabwe
    • Asia
      • Cambodia
      • China
      • Indonesia
      • Laos
      • Thailand
      • Vietnam
    • Aus + NZ
      • Adelaide & South Australia
      • Brisbane & Queensland
      • Hobart & Tasmania
      • Melbourne & Victoria
      • Perth & Western Australia
      • Sydney & New South Wales
      • New Zealand
    • Europe
      • Austria
      • Czech Republic
      • France
      • Germany
      • Hungary
      • Iceland
      • Ireland
      • Italy
      • Netherlands
      • Poland
      • Slovenia
      • Spain
      • Switzerland
      • UK
    • Latin America
      • Mexico
        • all Mexico
        • Baja Peninsula
      • Argentina
      • Bolivia
      • Brazil
      • Chile
      • Colombia
      • Ecuador
      • Panama
      • Peru
    • USA
      • Arizona
      • California
      • Colorado
      • Hawaii
      • Idaho
      • Montana
      • Nevada
      • New Mexico
      • Oregon
      • Utah
      • Washington
      • Wyoming
  • hiking guides

brooke beyond

Asia / China

The gals explore Hangzhou & West Lake

June 20, 2015

After a crazy Friday night out (you know it’s a good night when you lose your dress), and the subsequent full day of recovery, we are finally able to get out of bed and do some exploring around Hangzhou.

All the details: Hangzhou

Getting there: Fly into Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport, and then take a taxi to your accommodation from the rank out front. There are a number of buses also servicing the city, but it’s quite a challenge to navigate these unless you speak Mandarin.

What to do: While in Hangzhou, sample tasty Chinese nibbles like “glutinous rice dumplings” at the dozens of restaurants surrounding the University (or, better yet, the street vendors selling inexpensive stir fry); visit the beautiful Linjyin Temple complex and light a stick of incense; explore scenic West Lake and its many pagodas; or shop for tea and other local souvenirs in Old Town.

 Top tips: Hangzhou is actually a lovely city that is incredibly underrated as a tourist destination, so spend extra days here to enjoy the clean(ish) air and the stunning scenery before moving on to Beijing and Shanghai.

My dear friend from the airplane, Trench, picks us up in the morning and takes us to a massive feast at a restaurant near his alma mater. The highlight of the meal is this magnificent gummy soup dish that I fall in love with.

I can’t say the Chinese name, but the literal translation is “glutinous rice dumpling in sweet rice wine”, and I honestly don’t think anything has ever been more appropriately named than this dish. I’m not sure if I want to eat it or roll in it.

After stuffing our faces with glutinous rice dumpling and other delights such as “cold beef meet”, which is so hot I burn my tongue on the first bite, and “Chinese yam”, which is 100% not a yam, we drive on to the famous Linjyin Temple to explore. Trench is probably the most confused person in all of China, and manages to get us lost about 9 times in between the carpark and the temple, but we do eventually make it.

The complex is giant, and we probably only see half before it starts bucketing rain and we give up, but it is so impressive. There’s this one massive Buddha that looks a bit sleepy, but in a soothing way, and we stand there staring at him for ages.

After burning myself numerous times on the incense sticks out front, we enter the main temple and watch for probably near an hour while the monks sing/read/chant from this ancient text. It seems boring, but it’s almost trance-like how perfectly timed their recitation is and there is an occasional gong bang, which keeps things interesting.

On our way back to the car, we stop at Starbucks (hark!) and Trench buys frappuccinos for us and I am so thankful that I did not have to shell out 39CNY myself. Aka $8AUD. Who can afford that? Trench, apparently, who willingly shares that he makes $150,000 “in only one year”. Congrats. We all sit down to enjoy our drinks and have a great conversation with Trench about his fiancé before it’s time for more photos (Trench absolutely loves a good photo, and probably has about 50 photos of me and Becka on his phone from the 2 days that we’ve known him).

After a lovely day with our new friend, I can’t wait to see more of Becka’s surprisingly beautiful city, and we spend the next week exploring Old Town and its numerous temples and indulging in all the street food we can physically fit in.

Read more about my time in China

WELCOME TO CHINA

BECOMING TRUE MEN ON THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA

TO SHANGHAI FOR THE WEEKEND

TAGS:city escapesculture shock
0 Comments
Share
brooke brisbine

I've spent the last decade exploring the world— everything from solo trekking in the Andes to overlanding in Zambia, all while completing a PhD in Biomechanics, teaching at a university & securing permanent residency in Australia. In 2020, I finally fulfilled my dream of becoming a full-time nomad! Whether it’s vanlife in Mexico, scuba diving in the Galápagos, ticking off incredible US National Parks, or climbing in the Dolomites, I hope this blog will inspire your future adventures & help you find wonder in every corner of the globe. xx bb

Leave a Comment Cancel Comment

You May Also Like

January 21, 2014

Volunteering in Vietnam: An Outing with the Kiddies in Hanoi

January 13, 2014

From Ho Chi Minh, With Love

March 2, 2014

Photo journal: drop everything and go to Thailand

hi, I’m brooke!

I've spent the last decade exploring the world— everything from solo trekking in the Andes to overlanding in Zambia, all while completing a PhD in Biomechanics. In 2020, I finally fulfilled my dream of becoming a full-time nomad! Whether it’s vanlife in Mexico, scuba diving in the Galápagos, ticking off incredible US National Parks, or climbing in the Dolomites, I hope this blog will inspire your future adventures & help you find wonder in every corner of the globe. xx bb

read my story
currently exploring

currently exploring

mexico

img

travel resources

flights ✈️ Skyscanner

hotels 🏨 booking.com

adventure gear 🥾 REI

travel essentials 📸 Amazon

travel guides

hiking guides

vanlife resources

moving to australia

trip itineraries

recent posts

  • Alta Via 4 Italian Dolomites hiking via ferrata guide

    Alta Via 4 (day 0): San Candido to Rifugio Tre Scarperi

    December 28, 2022
  • Alta Via 2 Italian Dolomites hiking via ferrata guide

    Alta Via 2 (day 13): Rifugio Boz to Croce d’Aune

    October 11, 2022
  • Alta Via 2 Italian Dolomites hiking via ferrata guide

    Alta Via 2 (day 12): Passo Cereda to Rifugio Boz

    October 11, 2022
  • Alta Via 2 Italian Dolomites hiking via ferrata guide

    Alta Via 2 (day 11): Rifugio Treviso to Passo Cereda + Via Ferrata Canalone

    October 11, 2022
  • Alta Via 2 Italian Dolomites hiking via ferrata guide

    Alta Via 2 (day 10): Rifugio Pradidali to Rifugio Treviso + Via Ferrata Porton & Nico Gusella

    October 3, 2022

…

travel beyond the ordinary

Explore my travel guides, custom itineraries & blog posts with an interactive world map ✨

all destinations

…

  • home
  • about me
  • latest
  • destinations
  • hiking guides
  • moving to Australia
  • vanlife resources
  • contact

COPYRIGHT © 2022 BROOKE BEYOND. TRAVEL BEYOND THE ORDINARY. Site Powered by Pix & Hue.