A few weeks ago, I traveled to Hangzhou for a job fair. I didn't secure a job, but I met a Chinese gentleman named Min Jie. We spent some time together in the West Lake area; it was enjoyable, but I doubt we will be traveling together again soon. The West Lake has a box garden and the Hangzhou provincial museum. There are several artificial causeways throughout the lake, making it easy for me to walk around without any hills or stairs. I still hope to return to exploring the mountains someday, but for now, I'm grounded at sea level. Our first boat ride was empty, which was fortunate since the rest of the day was quite crowded. The boat back to the mainland was packed. I met a woman from Beijing, and Min Jie is on the right side of the photo. I initially thought I needed to go to Beijing for my Uzbekistan visa, but it turns out I won't have to. She mentioned I could crash on her couch if needed. Here are some garden photos for my mom. These monuments in the center of the lake are featured on the 1 yuan note.
I'm still trying out my knee, so I visited Zhou "garden" (which isn't really a garden) and Wenfeng pagoda. It was impressive but tough for me to climb.
One thing that surprised me about Chengdu was how similar it felt to Beijing and other major Chinese cities we had explored. While we experienced some interesting nightlife spots, the city overall seemed quite generic. I initially thought this might be due to my limited Western viewpoint, but Mei Ling concurred that Chengdu didn't truly embody Sichuanese culture. We resolved to venture beyond the city borders during our remaining days in Chengdu.
Along the Yangtze River, there are several caves featuring Guanyin, but since most of them are inaccessible, I simply walked along the cliff.
We spent two weeks in Beijing. The day after our arrival, we visited Chao Yang Park (Sun Park) and rented a duck boat. It was quite slow, but we enjoyed navigating it around the lake.
We spent two weeks in Changde. It rained nearly every day, which limited our exploration more than we had hoped. We enjoyed playing at arcades, engaged in Township (a game on our phones and tablets), and went go-karting three times. The go-karts were fully electric and located inside a mall. Logan and Lizzy have been playing Township for over three years and taught Jenny how to play during a two-day stretch of continuous rain. She enjoys the game because it allows her to garden digitally while we travel. They also introduced Lutao to the game, so now the entire family plays Township together.
16.11.2024 - 16.11.2024 20 degrees Celsius
A few weeks back, I visited Hangzhou for a job fair. Although I didn't secure a job, I met a Chinese guy named Min Jie. We spent some time together in the West Lake area, which was enjoyable, but I doubt we'll be traveling together again anytime soon.