Boats and blooms. |
I also knew I wanted to ride bikes around the lake today, which meant finding an alleyway for someone who did private bike rentals for the day. With an exchange of some yuan, and no identification check, no helmets, no insurance and we were off. China, am I right? I had the idea of riding around the lake on the cool little pathways, but that's not allowed. As it turns out you can only ride on certain pathways ringing the lake meaning you needed to maneuver the main road until you got to those sections. When in China, be sure to join the chaotic cacophony of traffic that includes willy nilly taxis, buses that will stop to let off hordes of people in the middle of the "bike" lane and motorbikes piled high with people who beep their way through the masses. Toss in some Americans riding wobbly to unknown locations and it's a fun time. Really though, it seems like a crazy idea to let someone with little directional ability in a country where traffic laws seem obsolete and let them bike around town.
My face is priceless that but that's only because I couldn't capture the look of terror on the passerbys as I biked past. |
We stopped at a few places around the lake but were concerned about returning our bikes in time so we didn't stay too long. I did love seeing a pond filled with vibrantly bright orange fish and blitzing passed the Leifang Pagoda but the definite highlight was biking through the causeway crowds. The trick was to get right behind the tourist golf carts; if you missed your window you were stuck ringing your weak sauce bike bell at the crowds, trying to get through. The causeways were gorgeous though and worth the fight. The weather made the lake really hazy and foggy but you could still see narrow rose boats row lazily under bridges as you biked by.
West Lake bridges |
China eats it all. |
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