We had an eventful day in Hangzhou today. In the end I think it came good, but there were definitely a few ups and downs along the way.

We awoke around 10am and got up and ready quickly. We had decided to go to the Lingyin Temple which is located about half an hour by bus from where we are staying. When we picked up our laundry from reception we asked the guy how to get there and he said you walk up to near the metro station and then catch the number 7 bus.

So we walked up our street looking for possible breakfast options along the way and then made it to the bus stop, with no success on the breakfast front. We weren't sure which side of the road to stand on for the bus but a number 7 came along and we hopped on, without paying because we didn't know what was going on and the bus driver didn't say anything. Before long the bus terminated and everybody got off. We were still in the middle of the city which wasn't the idea.

We walked back the way we had come on the bus and soon found the main train station. Shannon knew we'd be able to get a bus from there so we made our way towards it and once there again tried to find some breakfast. There was nothing we liked the look of so I bought a lemon tea from a stall and we hopped on the bus.

Once we got to the lake area the bus started to hit some traffic and the journey became pretty slow. It was 12pm by this point and Shannon suggested we get off now whilst we are near food places and then hop back on the bus after. We tried to get off at one stop near an Ajisen Ramen but weren't fast enough. Another 300m down the road we hopped off and then had to walk back down the very busy street where the footpath pavers had been ripped up for replacement but no alternative path had been provided. It was a real schmozle as we had to battle buses and taxis and scooters and people all trying to use the road.

When we got into Ajisen we found a table upstairs and helped ourselves to menus and hot tea as the place was busy and the waiters weren't helping. We flagged down the waiter and placed our order. When it came out they had brought us two of the same ramen, even though I had ordered a pork one and Shannon had ordered duck. We had already paid though so I made do with duck. We also had some gyoza, fried chicken and bok choy on the side.

After we were done we went back out to the bus stop and before long the number 7 came along and we hopped on. Because we had hopped on at a later stage in the journey there were no seats available which was fine. At first. Soon after the bus became very crowded and we had to spend the half hour journey trying to keep our feet as the bus continually stopped and started in the traffic as well as keep our place in the crowd.

We were both glad when we got off the bus at the temple. At the temple we then had dramas trying to find the ticket office. There were a myriad of signs pointing us in a number of different directions and it was not easy to find. We finally got our tickets and then headed into the temple grounds.

The temple area itself was very nice. There were clear streams and Buddhas carved in the rock wall faces, lovely gardens and different Buddhist buildings. We didn't have a ticket to get into the main temple, and couldn't work out how to get one, but we walked up to a viewing platform where you could see the lakes and city and also a meditation area. The buildings were all yellow and red and looked very striking against the greenness of the mountain forest.

We even found a tea house at one point and stopped to have some afternoon tea. We ordered an oolong variety for two and when they brought it out it came on a bamboo tray with two cups, a glass teapot with a strainer and then a clay teapot. He then brought out a kettle of hot water and a big thermos. The tea was still in a foil bag and we were very confused about which teapot to put it in. Before we made any mistakes I called the tea boy over and made a confused gesture. He then proceeded to pour the tea for us. It was quite an elaborate process where he rinsed out everything with hot water first and then rinsed it all again with some tea and then finally poured our first cup. After that he left it to us. It was a very nice process and I enjoyed sitting there and pouring tea for ourselves. Just for reference purposes, the tea leaves went into the clay teapot.

After tea we made our way back down the mountains and to the bus stop. We decided to take the Y2 bus this time because there was a big line for the number 7. We had to wait in the line for probably close to half an hour before the bus arrived but we did get a seat. From the outset the bus was pretty packed. It took almost an hour to get down towards the lake and we were stuck in heavy traffic almost the whole way so it was very stop and start and pretty annoying. Once we knew where we were we hopped off the bus and Shannon was very relieved to be off.

We decided to have dinner at the same place we had lunch at yesterday because we wanted cheesecake again anyway. We ordered some pasta for our dinner and it was actually pretty delicious. We also ordered hot lemon tea but we got given sugary cold lemon tea instead. It took a while to flag down someone to order dessert but once we did they brought it out quickly. When we went to leave and pay, one lady started to put us through the register and took our money. Then she took off and left some other girl to finish us off because we needed change. We ended us waiting about ten minutes whilst this other girl tried to fix up the computer and we were a bit confused about what was going on. Eventually we got our change and then headed out.

On the walk home we stopped at a shopping centre where I bought a fox print shirt from H&M for $15 and we saw a virtual reality game which looked pretty fun as well as some other cheap shops and food places.

We also had a walk down a market like street near our hostel where we went through some shops and I bought a face cleaner and a new iPhone cord.

Everything seemed like it was a bit harder than necessary today but I still had a good day and I especially enjoyed the tea ceremony.