Knowing when the morning ceremony for the monastery was I got up earlier than that to do my own ceremony so that I can be done in time to join the monastery one. As I headed out the door to join the monastery ceremony, I noticed the grandmas were all up sitting in their bed tucked in the blanket reciting their own ceremony. Everyone was vigorous and dedicated. It was something they did every day. Not for show, not for anyone else. It was a beautiful sight to see.
I joined the morning ceremony in the main hall, and realized I was the only one in my room who did; I quickly noticed the residents all paid special attention to the morning ceremony because there were guests in the nunnery whom they thought would partake. They were disappointed when only I showed up after putting out their best for the chanting.
During the chanting I realized the style the ladies chanted in were in Shan Ge style. Sung like mountain songs were sung in China, with a high nasal pitch strong enough to break through valleys, mountain, hills, and then rolling back in echoes. I am not used to this sound at all.
I inhaled breakfast, it was a bowl of porridge. I was going to pass on breakfast fearing I would miss the first shuttle down to the gate where I can catch the bus to Tunxi, Xidi, HungCun but the residents wouldn’t have it my way. They like the fact I joined in on their ceremony and was a self starter kind of a person. Well I am much younger than the grandmas and I have been in monasteries so I have a little bit of experience. Well, I didn’t want to miss my bus for the day so I ran after breakfast in hopes that I would nit get sick from all this rushing.
The bus ride out was amazingly beautiful with the mountains of Huang Shan as the backdrop and old farm lands with wooden barns to set the scene, it was a place for an artist to stop and do some art. It was beautiful, as beautiful as nature inhabited by humans with modern convenience could offer.
It was raining outside and I contemplated on whether or not I would visit HungCun where Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon was filmed. I saw the sign for it on the road and the bus driver did not stop where I was suppose to get off. He forgot and I wasn’t sure enough to call out for him to stop. So there went that possible plan that I was still working on. Just like that it was decided without any deciding.
The bus was ride was a joyful one with beautiful scenery on the outside and Teresa Tang’s karaoke being played on the bus. We all sang the classics. We were like little children on a school bus out on a field trip. It was fun.
When I made it back to the bus terminal at Tunxi where my backs were in the Youth Hostel, I passed by a bus that was heading directly to HangZhou and it was leaving in half and hour. At that moment I made a convenient connection and decided to head straight to HangZhou and be done with AnHui.
I ran to pick up my pack and ran back to the bus terminal barely in the nick of time. As I approached the bus, another driver pulled me over and said his bus was the right bus and I was boarding the wrong bus. I was confused. In fact all the other bus drivers were lobbying for their bus. Then a female ticket taker flagged me down and asked me what bus did I really want to get on. I told her the express non-stop bus to HangZhou by means of the highway. She instructed me on how to get the right bus ticket at the counter by giving them the code for the bus. I mean, who know the code off hand? It’s not even listed anywhere. The people at the ticketing counter are not usually the most helpful. They are merely functional and don’t have the time for questions.
I think the ticket taker lady really saved the day. It was a good thing because I afterwards while on the bus, in the parking lot, I saw how others got snagged and was on the other bus to Hangzhou that was not the express and would not take the highway. What did that really mean? It meant it will drive for hours picking up riders until the bus was full at all times, all the way to Hangzhou. Being on the highway means you can’t just stop to pull over to pick up a rider. Plus there wouldn’t be pedestrians on the highway.
The express bus was new, clean, and heated. I had peaked at the other buses, they were old, stinky, and dirty. After getting on the right bus with the right ticket in my hand I asked to sit in the front seat and was approved by my neighbor. I quickly dumped my packs off and ran to the empty back seat while the bus rolled off. I looked to the right, I looked to the left, I looked to the front, I looked to the back and double check for visual clearance for privacy because I needed to take off layers of stinky wool shirts that I had been wearing for the past week. It was the only place I could change on the bus. The bus was heated and it would be much warmer in Hangzhou than Huang Shan was at 5 degrees and dropping each day.
I arrived in Hangzhou in the evening. I must have looked really tired because everyone who I came across handled me with extra care. Either that or people are gentler and nicer here. Hangzhou is known for its leisure and culture.
I was able to finally check into the Youth Hostel off West Lake after walking in the fog and rain. It took me a long time to figure out the entrance to the hostel is through an alley, a back alley.
I met three English teachers from Wen Zhou college who had a Thanksgiving buffet for 100 yuan in Hangzhou. Tonight, their mission is to find Mexican food in Hangzhou. I passed on their invitation to join. I decided to wash up first and check out the Historical Cultural Street.
