Thousand Island Lake

"You want to have an island of yourself? Come to a place called Qiandaohu (Thousand Island Lake)! This lake has more than 1000 islands (1078 smaller and bigger islands) on it. Most of the islands are covered with forests, the water is crystal clean and every day definitely more than 1000 Chinese tourists, sometimes additionally up to three foreigners per day are cruising with boats on the lake."

"You want to escape the Beijing pre-olympic hype? Don't go on planes, go an a boat near Shanghai (about four hours drive away from Shanghai). If you go on planes, you have to go through additional long-lasting security checks with dynamite and drug dogs at the airport (although a Chinese colleague travelling with me on the business trip suggested that they should actually use pigs because their nose is better than dogs' noses, but just imagine the police at the airport walking around with a pig...). Where in the past five persons were queuing for a taxi, now over 50 persons are waiting and it takes you over 35 minutes to get on a cab. "

There's of course more reasons than just that to go to Qiandaohu. I actually enjoyed the trip with my Chinese travel tour very much. Chinese travel tour meant: 11 Chinese, one Chinese tour guide (of course only speaking Chinese) and me. That's authentic travelling in China organised for me by nice Shanghai colleagues (first reply from the agency: "We don't take foreigners on the trip.", so they really had to persuade them that I do speak Chinese, that I am not dangerous etc.).

The highlights?

- the boat cruise on Qiandaohu. Climbing on top of the mountain with a Chinese family and taking photos...

- Bamboo rafting on a river nearby. Luckily we didn't have to construct the bamboo rafts on our own.

- the "laowai" warning / warning to foreign tour members (i.e. me). At noon on the first day the travel guide warned me: "Well, the hotel might not be what you expect it to be, but rather Chinese and rather basic." What a surprise! Of course for the full tour including bus from Shanghai, including all entrance fees, boat cruise, bamboo rafting, cave visit, travel guide etc. for a total price of 60 EUR (600 RMB) I was expecting a 5 star hotel with all comfort :-). But the warning was exaggerated because the hotel was actually quite ok.

- my first ice cream with green bean taste. Needless to mention that I didn't finish the ice cream, however it was difficult not to eat it up because a Chinese family on the trip had given it to me as a present.

- my first buddhist 'church service'. Afterwards the others went in small groups to see the monk in person and receive some suggestion. One Chinese friend on the tour received the recommendation to be 'generous'. So because I didn't have a sun umbrella or cap to protect myself from the sun, she gave me a new sun cap as a present. Luckily she didn't give me a sun umbrella...

That was my trip to Qiandaohu which I did last weekend from Shanghai.