I was sleepily enjoying every mouthful of my hot scrambled eggs with ham and cheese when a piercing voice broke the silence.
“Are you guys the six Malaysian tourists?”, shrieked a petite Chinese lady who had just walked in.
Bleary-eyed and groggy, I continued chewing my eggs while the ever enthusiastic Simon and Min Yee entertained her question.
The next day, we woke up nice and early for the hostel breakfast. Yawning sleepily, I headed to the dining area expecting a simple meal of bread with jam and perhaps even an egg if the hostel is generous.
When I saw the food provided, my mind woke up instantly. Here’s a tray of steaming hot scrambled eggs with ham and cheese. My favorite!
Then there’s roast potatoes with herbs and spices, another one of my favorite. I’m in heaven!
Bread, buns and ham. (A toaster is provided).
I “kiap” my bread with thick layers of onion mayo and boiled eggs from the salad bar, heheh!
Then there’s milk, oatmeal, and fruits, which I didn’t eat.
Local rice porridge flavored with preserved vegetables. Looks good but I didn’t try this either.
So sorry that these photos are crooked. Despite the fabulous smells, my eyes could hardly open!
After a very filling lunch, we walked back towards Xi Hu to relax by the lake. The sky was beautiful that day. Unfortunately the trees were totally barren. This is how it will look in a few weeks time when Spring springs forth life. (This photo from FlickR)
Instead, this is the sight that greeted us. Bet this tree can tell a lot of stories, if only it could talk.
Despite that it is only early spring / end of winter, it is still gorgeous at West Lake. We saw barren trees all in a row.
Every where we went, we heard shutters clicking. Even a lady dressed like a farmer came with her own DSLR to snap scenic shots of West Lake!
The sun was beginning to set but we were not ready to go home yet.
We saw a magnificent pagoda standing high in the distance. It looked like a light house. It could be a light house shining giving light to every individual, but for now, it is merely a pagoda.
We tried to negotiate for a boat ride but was told the water’s too choppy. The great wind is billowing today, no wonder my legs are freezing!
We continued our walk around the lake, guess what came out of the blue to surprise me? Here’s a tree with its branches heavy laden with thick flowers. This, while surrounded by bald and barren friends!
The gorgeous pink flowers are genuine plum blossoms my friend, not the hard plastic type we buy in Malaysia to decorate our house for Chinese New Year!
The flowers felt soft, cool and petal-ly. I love how it feels between my fingers!
(this last photo from my dad’s camera).
After Simon got the walking directions, we quickly found our way to the HangZhou International Youth Hostel. Not a very romantic name, but the hostel itself is awfully romantic. Here’s Simon checking us in.
As we walked out the plane, I noticed a Japan Airline plane parked next to ours. I discovered that HangZhou is very near to Japan and that Japan Airline is a budget flight operator that services this route.
After getting my passport stamped, I collected my rucksack and headed for the Airport Shuttle Ticket Office. 
Last year, Nic and I stayed at a beautiful multi-award winning hotel, the Kinabalu Pine Resort. Just before we checked in, we were shocked to hear from a friend that the beds in the hotel are full of bed bugs.
My friend had visited the same place for her honeymoon and after just one night there, she found herself itching all over. It was a horrible experience because it is her honeymoon, I’m sure like any other bride, she desired to look extra appealing for her hubs.
However, by the time I received her warning, it was too late. Nic and I were only two days away from a night there and we didn’t have any back-up plan.
Bravely we checked in at Kinabalu Pine Resort and gladly we discovered, they must have had a bed bug fumigation before we came. We slept as soundly as a pair of three day old babies through the night.
It wasn’t perfect though. The hot water shower did not work so we couldn’t shower at all!
Like any caring mother, each time that I travel to Singapore, mine will load me up with food glorious food.
I used to have to carry four bags whenever I make the journey - one trolley bag, one backpack, one hand bag, and one shoulder carry-on.
A few weeks ago, my adventuresome mother even tried to stuff in two chickens.
Unfortunately, they were discovered when they went through the x-ray machine.
It was quite a traumatic experience.
So from now on, I establish a new rule. I will carry only one handbag, and one backpack. Nothing less, and nothing more.
And look ma,
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