"The wheels of the bus go round and round.. "

So goes the tune of the children's song...

My favourite bus in Hangzhou is the tourist bus Y4. Here's why - for a start, it goes past 2 of my favourite bars - Seven and Maya. Then it goes down leafy, tree-lined Shuguang lu and swings west into the countryside - passing through the Hangzhou botanical gardens, rows of picturesque teahouses, the "new" west lake, and some new-ancient Buddhist temples. Then it chugs into the Meiling tunnel and emerges on to the winding road leading to Meijiawu and Yunxi bamboo forest, where both have excellent trails leading up to the hills. Best of all, it costs next to nothing, and its a joy when you get the window seat and get to snap photos of the scenes passing by.

Evidence presented below :-)

Huang-ni-ling （黄泥岭）

Meijiawu valley

Cute - its a toy-boat by the way.

Mao Jia Bu (茅家埠）

Opposite Yunxi bamboo trail (云栖竹径）

2008/08/08 18:08:00 hrs

Countdown: Only 120 minutes more to go to the opening ceremony

Probably fair to say 1 billion people in China will be glued to their telly tonight at 8.08pm.

Beijingers got a day off work today (presumably to clear up the smog and clear the streets of errant motorists), and over here in Hangzhou, some offices closed half day, and we got off work an hour earlier in my company just so we can go home early and view The Event of the year.
Popped into C-store (Hangzhou's answer to seven-eleven) earlier and everyone is busy buying up snacks and drinks - potato chips, guazi, bacardi breezers, beer, etc.

The hype had been steadily building up over the past few months on every available media and its been hard to ignore or escape from it.

Everyone here, i mean EVERYONE is waiting in anticipation and today O-fever hits new heights. Shops, and supermarkets are going to shut early, even taxi-drivers are planning to abandon the streets in favour of watching China's glorious moment. Several cars are already sporting "Go China" flags and decals.

The opening ceremony, as i am cynically thinking, is going to be one big giant parade with thousands of people waving synchronised placards and flags. Oh and fireworks - loads of it. But having said that, I do like watching sports events, especially the Olympics and the mood here is infectious.

So, excuse me while i get ready to go to my friend's pad for the Olympics party (yes, i've already bagged my potato chips) *fingers crossed i get a cab!*