Hanging in HangZhou. March 2025

As luck would have it, Tim and Coin's visit included a stop in Hangzhou to meet her cousin for the weekend, which suited me perfectly. Getting to Kunming is not easy and most of the time, expensive. Also, I was able ot combine the trip with a visit to my new school to sign some paperwork and get some details about the place.

Rainy evenings

I was staying in a pretty decent hotel in the 'old town' pedestrian area of the city, about a 15-minute walk from the lake. It rained on and off the whole weekend, but it made for some pretty and cosy pictures. 

I went and met my new boss, signed a mountain of paperwork and was given a tour of the campus. It looks to be more like KFLS and completely different to what I am doing now, which, in my current frame of mind, can only be a good thing. I will be teaching G10 11 12 a range of essay writing, literature and AP Language and Composition. I have basically been given free rein to teach whatever I fancy, but within reason. I am actually quite excited! 

Because of the weather, I wasn't able to get to explore around the school too much, but after a quick 10-minute explore, I quite liked the vibe. It is different to the manicured shopping centre style I have now and has more of a local feel. Reminded me a lot of Kunming. 

Tim Chris and I at the Lake

Once Tim and Chris arrived, we went for dinner and a few too many drinks and made plans to walk around West Lake the next day. 

Tim and I, Chris behind the camera. 

It was chilly and overcast but pleasant, we walked North to South before getting to the point we were hungry and more importantly thirsty. It is a huge lake and so just walking half of it took us several hours, of course we weren't exactly walking quickly and kept getting distracted by ducks and temples. 

Our shop/bar

After our stroll, we went in search of the first place that came up when I searched "craft beer", which turned out to be less of a bar and more of a shop with a small table. The girl was friendly and even made Chris a fire when he got too cold. We sampled several beers and then went to meet Tim's mates for dinner at a highly rated Italian place.

Italian stairs

 From there we went to a small bar which we were assured was a quiet and chilled place, little did we know it was the owner's birthday and he had gone all out. DJ, buffet, drinks, the works. He is a Filipino guy who got so excited with my rave reviews from the Spring Festival and my drinking red horse. He was a lot of fun and very accommodating. 

In general, I am now looking forward to my move to Hangzhou and am more convinced than ever that I am making the right decision. I just have to make it through the next 11 weeks at work and I am free.