The night before, we went to Shanghai Train station (Shanghai Nan Zhan,) to purchase our ticket. We took the fast train (CRH/D train), which they called in Chinese as (Dong Che).
Very impressive train station they have and it’s clean and nice. I’m impressed with the modern and development they have in China as to compare to Malaysia railway system. Between Shanghai and Hangzhou the distance is about 200km and we reached Hanzhou in 1hour and 18mins. Imagine if we can travel from Kuala Lumpur to Ipoh (almost the same distance) versus 2 hours of driving. And we only need to pay about SGD$14/trip. Malaysia should seriously look into the railway system and it does not only improve and expand the economy by attracting more foreign investment but also reduce the inconvenience to netizens. Look Zach had his own seat as well! 
We took the 1145am train and we reach Hangzhou slightly after 1pm. The fast train is very comfortable and it so happen that our seat has a space beside us to park Zach’s stroller. So, it looks like he has his own seat as well and we do not need to carry him. Can see that Zach enjoys this trip. 
We check in to Ramada Plaza Hai Hua Hotel. I book this hotel from the good reviews it has from TripAdvisor. It was mentioned that it’s about 5minutes walk to Xi Hu lake and it’s very accessible to all shops and eateries. We also book our train ticket back from Hangzhou to Shanghai with the hotel and they only charge RMB5 (SGD1.13) per ticket which I happily pay them as this saves us so much trouble from joining the superb long Q at the train station. In fact most hotels do provide such service.
After refresh and about 1.5 hour rest in the hotel, we headed out to Xi Hu lake. The hotel called a cab and I believe they have some connection with the local tour agent. We had a van drove us to Xi Hu lake at the price of a cab but he was trying to sell us his local package tour for the next day. He offered RMB300 for full day tour and we bargain down to RMB150 to half day tour which I feel this is fair since we will not wake up at 8am and be out the whole day with Zach in tow. It’s tiring and so we decide to take it easy with the half day tour and I’m happy this arrangement suits us well!
The cab stop us at the Broken Bridge and ends on the other end.
We took the 1145am train and we reach Hangzhou slightly after 1pm. The fast train is very comfortable and it so happen that our seat has a space beside us to park Zach’s stroller. So, it looks like he has his own seat as well and we do not need to carry him. Can see that Zach enjoys this trip. We check in to Ramada Plaza Hai Hua Hotel. I book this hotel from the good reviews it has from TripAdvisor. It was mentioned that it’s about 5minutes walk to Xi Hu lake and it’s very accessible to all shops and eateries. We also book our train ticket back from Hangzhou to Shanghai with the hotel and they only charge RMB5 (SGD1.13) per ticket which I happily pay them as this saves us so much trouble from joining the superb long Q at the train station. In fact most hotels do provide such service.After refresh and about 1.5 hour rest in the hotel, we headed out to Xi Hu lake. The hotel called a cab and I believe they have some connection with the local tour agent. We had a van drove us to Xi Hu lake at the price of a cab but he was trying to sell us his local package tour for the next day. He offered RMB300 for full day tour and we bargain down to RMB150 to half day tour which I feel this is fair since we will not wake up at 8am and be out the whole day with Zach in tow. It’s tiring and so we decide to take it easy with the half day tour and I’m happy this arrangement suits us well!
The cab stop us at the Broken Bridge and ends on the other end.
Sunset at Xi Hu Lake
It took us about 20mins stroll and by time we reach the other end, it’s about 5pm and we had dinner at Lou Wai Lou, a well known restaurant in Hangzhou where you can try their specialties such as Beggar's Chicken (jiaohua ji), shrimp with longjing tea leaves (longjing xiaren). Too bad, we didn’t order the Beggar’s chicken as it contains beef in one of the ingredients (abit strange) and give a skip and order the Dongpo pork.Here's what we ordered.
Hua Tiao Chui Ci (Drunken Chicken)
Mua Yu Sun Kan (Bamboo Shoot fried with sesame oil)
Kan Cha Xiang Ling (Fried Beancurd skin - super crispy!)
Dongpo Rou (Stew pork) Sorry, I was too greedy and forgot to take pic. And here's the left over from what I had. :)
Jin Sa Nan Kua (Pumpkin fried with egg yolk)
We had a good dinner and most of our dishes ordered are delicious and not too salty/oily/spicy (except for the Dongpo fats – but it’s divine! :p). The bill came to about RMB132 which I find for the 3 is reasonably fair.
After dinner, we had a walk around Hangzhou town and on the way back to hotel I stumbled upon this stall selling this look alike roti canai.
After dinner, we had a walk around Hangzhou town and on the way back to hotel I stumbled upon this stall selling this look alike roti canai.
I decide to try it and bought one with egg. It tasted just like roti canai but more fragrant with some black pepper sprinkle on it. Dad love it too and he ordered another one for himself. After which, we head back to hotel to get ready for our day tour the next day.
Next, Day 2 in Hangzhou coming up...
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