Saffron Corridors

After a long day of adventuring around West Lake, I slept surprisingly well considering the hotel situation picked out for our Chinese Holiday in Hangzhou...Did I not mention the 5 of us shoved the 2 beds together and all slumbered in some sort of franken-megabed? It gets funnier and funnier the longer I think about it especially when you also include the fact the wall was missing from our hallway. That hotel .... Hannah has a life theory about fun that is extremely applicable in this situation; she concludes there are two types of fun in life. Type 1 fun is fun in the moment, the sort of activity that makes you smile when you remember it years later. Type 2 fun is not in the least bit enjoyable but makes a fabulous story worth telling for years. This hotel was definitely a type 2 situation combined with a lesson in humility and gratitude. Though the room wasn't my cup of tea, it was dry, which isn't something everyone can say about where they slept last night. 

The downpour of rain hadn't really let up from last night, meaning it was off to try and dry out at the Silk Museum via city bus Sunday morning. We should have taken the bus ride as a omen. As we were happily whizzing around the streets of Hangzhou, our bus hit a tree when pulling into a stop. Considering the situation, our driver was rather calm about the whole ordeal.  He got out of the bus, checked the damage and we were off again. Just a few moments later, we arrived at the museum to find out it would reopen in July. Time for Plan B. We braved another city bus and got the Lingyin temple for a truly magical afternoon that ended up being way cooler than anticipated. 

Grottoes are my jam. 

The grounds were more like a lush forest made infinitely more beautiful by the dripping rain. What really was unexpected was the network of grottoes dotted with Buddhist carvings dating back from the Tang Dynasty. It was eerie to be in these damp caves seeking shelter from the still leaking clouds, staring at carvings that had seen hundreds of years' worth of history. After seeing the carvings on the inner walls of the caves, we opted to see the ones on the outer rim of the cave which led us up to a viewpoint where you could see the Lingyin temple peeking out from the  greenery. The climb up was made both gorgeous  and treacherous by the rain and twisting vines that obstructed the path. At one point the stairway up creating a mini waterfall due to all the rain. It was magical. 

Lunch was next on our cold and wet agenda- a little ramen spot caught my eye in the sopping food court area down from the mountain. This girl loves noodles and has yet to find a bowl she didn't like. Due to wet socks and shoes, something indoors seemed to be the the vote  but our weathered guide book indicated an early closing time, leading us to explore the temple itself. It meant more time in the rain, but exploring the empty halls of the Buddhist temple was my favorite part of the day. The rain had let up somewhat letting us explore with both hands unimpeded by umbrella. A sloping hill led us to the entrance, where the rainy afternoon had deterred the hordes of tourists, letting Hannah and myself clamor up the windy stone steps to the grand halls. In the hall of the 500 Buddhas in the shape of a svastika, we spent the afternoon picking out which statues most truly reflected each other (and the others in our group). There was a haunting sense of reverence as the temple emptied of the few remaining tourists while the spicy smoke of the incense still burned in the cauldrons below. In a matter of a couple minutes, the only people we could see on the sprawling complex was Hannah and myself. Just as the guards were whistling to close the entrance doors, a group of monks in their tangerine robes made their way up the mossy steps as the gong reverberated the wet saffron colored corridors.

Saffron corridors. 

As a note, be sure to get into the slower moving line when catching the bus. We got in line to board the buses, not sure exactly which line to get in so naturally we chose the fasted moving one. Funnily enough, they have 2 lines for the same bus: one standing line and one sitting line. Here's how it all works: The empty bus pulls up, the sitting line moves forward 25 people or so, depending on how many seats there are on the vehicles. Then the standing line surges ahead, cramming 60 people in at the front. As if that wasn't enough,  the middle bus door comically opens and 12 or so more people are shoved into every possible crevice. Needless to say, it was a stuffy type 2 ride back to the hotel. 

Can you spot the American?