I'm in China again, in Hangzhou, which is a few hours west of Shanghai. We flew into Shanghai Tuesday evening and stayed at a hostel right in the heart of downtown Shanghai, in the district with all the old government buildings from the Colonial Era. The hostel is very nice an cheap for Shanghai - (around $8 per night) - although full of waiguoren (foreigners). One might say, “But, Molly, you are a waiguoren,” which is true, but a bunch of waiguoren together can be very obnoxious, as I discovered with I was still lying awake at 3:00 A.M. The first night, extremely tired, but unable to sleep due to the noisy Europeans in the hall.

Anyway, I arose at 6:00 A.M. And went for a run along the river. All of China seems to be awake by around 5:30 A.M., and they are all doing exercises of some kind: Taiji, dancing, strolling around, flying kites, etc. It is quite a community.

We went to Suzhou Wednesday afternoon and stayed overnight. Suzhou is the home of China's best silk as well as the home of beautiful gardens. I ate my first hot pot meal in a long time, and it tasted amazing.

Last night we caught an overnight boat to Hangzhou. We expected to play cards, read, etc., but, in fact, we boarded the boat, ate, and fell asleep. At about 3:00 A.M. I awoke then dozed until 5:30 A.M. The boat arrived at 7:00 this morning, so I’ve already had quite a full day. The plan is to check out Xihu (West Lake) and various pagodas and gardens in the area then catch a train back to Shanghai to spend the next two nights there. My friends Fu and Nicki are traveling with me, but Fu is leaving Sunday from Shanghai. Nicki and I are still deciding where we’ll go next, but I’m thinking probably somewhere a little less urban. The smog starts to get to you quickly in the big cities.

“Holding down the fort” in Zhejiang province,

Molly