After tedious security checks and asking people if we were in the right place we found the platform. The train was quite comfortable with lots of legroom. A one way ticket from Shanghai to Hangzhou costs 78RMB and takes about an hour. There are some stops on the way but the train terminates at Hangzhou.
From the station we took the K7 bus to West Lake. The bus costs 1RMB and takes about 15-20 minutes to get to the lake. The lake is much bigger than it seemed and I'd read it would take 5 hours to slowly walk around it. There are some ferry boats that take people to the smaller islands in the middle of the lake which cost 45RMB for the day.
We decided to walk in the other direction to most people and came across many smaller parks, bridges, gardens as well as many food stands and souvenier shops. Seeing as the night before it was a huge storm and I'm told even a slight earthquake, it was surprisingly warm to the point I'm sunburnt!
You can hire bikes and even 2 and 3 people seater ones although there are many parts of the lake where you can't ride the bike. It costs I think 200RMB as a deposit and 100RMB to rent although the amount is deducted according to how many times you use it or something. It is much like in London with the Boris bikes you can put them into a rack when you don't want to use them and swipe a card to release a bike.
There are also some trolley cars taking people to different stops and since they squeeze onto the same paths as people it can get very dangerous but musical with the "horns" playing various tunes. I find it amusing still to see all these stores selling instant noodles! There are also black sweetcorns which I thought were burnt but apparently not - I can't say they looked appetizing. Some meat skewers, candy floss, popcorn..... and plenty of ice cream.
There were so many people that at some point you feel you are just being herded like sheep into the same direction..... We managed to pull out of the current and went up the hills to get a better view. We also found the remains of a palace up there that had been preserved under glass. It was kind of amazing this feeling of looking at ground and architecture from ancient times and thinking who might have walked on this ground and what they might be thinking of the world now as we stood on wooden slats listening to a man playing an erhu in one of the pagodas.....
At one stage we seemed to have wondering into a nearby park and thus lost sight of the lake. We were so tired but kept going and in total it did take us about 5-6 hours to get around. It was another headache trying to get the K7 back to the station and we were so lucky we left when we did as it took about 40 minutes of trekking up and down the road and asking various people where the K7 bus stop was. I asked a very nice policeman who pointed us up the road which took another 15 minutes trekking!
The buses were packed and when we squeezed on a bus we were right against the doors standing on the step. As we got back to where we spoke to the policeman he leapt out chasing a man and then forcing him head down on his bike and grabbing his handcuffs. That was such a drama and right in front of us! And that policeman was so nice and friendly and spoke English too.
The bus stopped and people wanted to get on but we were already so squished. I have no idea how we managed to fit 3 more people in of which the businessman kept turning around at us and grinning (creepy) and hanging onto the rail right above my head that I had to keep crouching. There was awful traffic and it felt like we were stuck forever..... a baby crying, so stuffy and claustrophobic, and you couldn't move and getting cramped and sore feet from walking ALL day......
When the bus stopped at the station I pretty much fell out losing feeling in my legs. We went to Cafe85 for some sugary drinks and luckily enough to get a seat. We took the train back and got back into Shanghai by 8pm.
Hanghzou's West Lake is very beautiful but I think it would be better enjoying not during a holiday season! There are some parts that are less busy and can be more relaxing. Its also a place where anything goes and you randomly can hear people burst into song, others make crowns out of willow tree leaves they are good at weaving them and adding flowers, you notice some of the most hideous of clothes.... its just very colourful a place to be....
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