Say no to panda eyes

Now I understand the difference between 5 star and 4 star. Everything. That is the difference. Our 4star hotel is stinky smoky, the breakfast was hard to find something to eat, they won't exchange money and claim not to have an international stamp.

Next door, as in attached to our hotel is Walmart. But not like one back home trust me. It had such a terrible smell I had to breathe out of my mouth. They did have a sale on chicken feet.

Today we had a good cruise on West Lake and had lots of laughs and smiles with the tourist girls from Hong Kong. There are pictures below. Take a photo of a young person here and they make the peace sign with their fingers. I asked our guide and he said they believe that is what cool people do in North America so that is why they do it. So cute!

We went to the Dragon Well green tea plantation which was awesome. Bought some green tea pills. Lots of them actually! We learned that if you put your cup of boiling hot tea to your eyes it stops you from having panda eyes. We all had our tea close to our eyes. It was interesting. 

Had a good lunch for a change. It was like other food except it wasn't as greasy to we ate like it was our last meal! Uncle Rick stuck his glass of beer to his eyes. It is the Saskatchewan way of reducing panda eyes.

Next the Six Harmony Pagoda. It was a work out to go to the top. You'll see what I mean when you see the picture. Every floor had a stamp and red stamp pad and you can stamp whatever you like to show you conquered the floor. My parents have a postcard coming to them with all the stamps on it!

Next we went to a market shopping street. The smell of some of the food made my stomach turn. There were thousands of people, lots of noise, music, and the usual backdrop of car horns honking. We ate at KFC, bought a pop and then we were told we should not drink it since it had ice made of local water. So we threw it away only to learn that they boil the water before they make ice. So we went to DQ for a Blizzard. I bought a book that I fell in one with so I have a little souvenir. 

It started to rain just in time for our next event, a show on the lake. They provide rain coats. The show is called Impressions West Lake, created by the same fellow who created the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympic. Wow it is amazing. People walked on water, incredible lights and setting on the lake. Admittedly it is hard to explain it. If you find yourself at Hangzhou (pronounced Hong Joe) you have to go.

Now we are heading home, it is 930 pm and we haven't been home since 8 am. Tomorrow starts early as we head to Xian (pronounced She En).