Related posts: Hangzhou, China: A Stunning Sunset On The West Lake

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The travel bug bit somewhere between Wuzhen and Suzhou. We returned from Suzhou Saturday night. But by Sunday morning, JC and I already had our bags packed and a one-way ticket in our hand. We took the next departing train fr0m Shanghai to Hangzhou. It was an hour and a half of smooth sailing.

The first thing we did was go island hopping. In Xihu (West Lake), the most famous lake in Hangzhou, there are three smaller man-made islands. Nearby are three small pagodas erected from the water. On a full moon, each pagoda would be lit with candles. The light from the pagodas were then reflected on water, which gave the illusion of three moons. Hence the body of water near the islands is called, The Three Pools Mirroring the Moon.

In the evening, JC and I had dinner across the street from a beer festival. Unfortunately, we didn’t have tickets to the event. But in hindsight, that was a blessing in disguise. After dinner, we plopped ourselves down on a wooden bench near Xihu to watch the sun set. I was mesmerized by what I saw. With the soothing sound of water and the breeze through the trees, I didn’t want to move. I didn’t want to speak. I just wanted it to last forever.

When the sun disappeared behind the horizon, we strolled along Xihu. Thinking that we were close to where we started, I suggested to walk around the entire lake. We ended up lost, hungry and trekking for the next 4 hours. We had to recharge after the third hour so we stopped off at a local mom-and-pop noodle shop. I had chicken noodles with flies on the side.

It was a relief to finally arrive at our hotel. Even after the 4 hour trek, the only thing I saw when I closed my eyes was the sun set at the lake. In an attempt to see it again, I suggested we stay another night. But there was one problem. We only had one pair of underwear and it was the pair we had been wearing all day. Then, JC had the brilliant idea of writing a book about our travels titled, “A Pair of Panties & Boxers.” This was the beginning of our travels together and story behind the title of this blog.

And yes, we wore our panties and boxers twice. Inside out.