Short trip to 西湖 West Lake @杭州 Hangzhou, China

We took a cab from 灵隐寺 Lingyin Temple to Hangzhou Train Station, and the ride took us by 西湖 West Lake 白提 Bai Causeway and 断桥 Broken Bridge. During the ride, the driver told us that the best way to enjoy the views of West Lake was to see it from afar. He shared that the locals would just sit at a spot by the lake, and the views would be different depending on the season. He advised us to not attempt to “see” the entire lake over the next few days, but rather to take it easy and just enjoy the atmosphere. Wise words indeed 🙂

After purchasing our train tickets for the subsequent trips, we went to the bus interchange to take a bus back to 西湖 West Lake. I think there were 2 buses; route Y2 or route 7, and we took Y2 (¥3 per adult).

We saw the famed 雷峰塔 Leifeng Pagoda from afar, and then strolled to the lakeside where tourists were getting their last boat rides. They were really enthusiastic, singing and cheering in their rides! We sat at a bench by the waters and basically watched the world go by. Partly also because by now, I was all tired and leaky-nose from the cold -_-”

As it was getting dark rather early, we decided to cut short our visit here and head for dinner.