Some things are lucky.

Monday I had taken off from work to go to Hangzhou with Phil and Matt. We had some fairly impressive miscommunication (or maybe it was just lack of communication?) that ended in me not so much on a train to Hangzhou. The thing about China is that things go wrong but then they kinda work out (I've heard this from several people), and I got a later ticket from the South station. It's the new, shiny station, so that was kind of cool, and I easily killed the time I had by eating lunch. The guys met me at the station in Hangzhou and we headed off to wander through the beautiful area around West Lake. Really nice to be in a really green place and on the water, especially since it was a really warm day. Also, really fun to have companions to comment on stuff and entertain you. There are ferries going between various spots on the shore and two islands in the lake, and we checked out the first before having a delicious and interesting (interesting is good) dinner at a restaurant on the second. Checked out intriguing paths and shiny signs, then all got on the same train home. Did some walking around Xintiandi (I don't know if I really like that place or if I just don't know much else of Shanghai) and then it was time to admit that the long weekend had ended and go home.