上海 Shanghai -> 杭州 Hangzhou
12.09.2009 - 12.09.2009
Leisurely woke up at 9:30am, subwayed over to Little Wang's Sheng Jian place, a pan-cooked soup dumpling restaurant that I love near People's Sqaure. Got four to go, finished them on the way back, checked out of the hotel, taxied to the train station, trained to Hangzhou.
I got to Hangzhou in the early afternoon, took the hour bus ride from the train station to near campus, then taxied to the general area of the dorm (it doesn't have a street address). The dormitory is located within an old enclave of dorms nearby the campus. Run-down but functional. Checked in, got my room (B201), roommate had already been living there but for now was nowhere to be seen. The room is across from the bathroom/laundry, which has squat toilets, no toilet paper. Rooms have no internet, but my roommate has a dsl modem so I think we'll be able to get a router and share the happiness.
The rest of the day was spent frentically trying to find living necessities. ATM trouble prevented me from being able to get any money, but thankfully the leftover money Neil gave me (from when he visited me in China in 2007) would last (by 50 yuan) until I could find some money.
Visited the Internet cafe, went to 兰州拉面 (Lanzhou Handpulled Noodles) for dinner, hadn't eaten lunch, had a bowl of mutton noodles. When I returned to the dorm, my roommate was there. Benoît, a Belgian, he speaks fine English (in addition to Dutch, French, Chinese, and some German). Seems like a cool guy. He had just gotten back from couchsurfing in Wuxi, visiting some friends there. It seems as if his entire Chinese department class at university has come to China, as he has numerous classmates/friends in various Chinese cities, as well as in Taiwan.
His existence immediately made being here more bearable. Talked a fair bit, then to bed.
Posted by Michael C 05.09.2009 18:13
