We woke up early & around 5:30 a.m. made our way to the temple, offered the fruits, candies, biscuits, lit incense, said our prayers and burned the materials or paper for the alay.
We then had a quick breakfast at the hotel and then it was off to the pier for another boat ride across the sea to the main island. This is the scariest part of the tour. The weather was really bad that morning. To our dismay upon arriving at the pier, there were still a lot of passengers waiting because the boat that should’ve carried them across left without taking any passengers. The owner of the South Ocean Travel Agency was mad and franticly made arrangements for another boat to take us across. I thought that we were going to be transferred by batch. Aparently, that was the dilemma. There was a typhoon (or maybe a tropical depression) approaching the island rendering travel by sea dangerous. This is probably the reason why the previous boat left without taking anyone onboard. We waited for about 15-20 minutes and we boarded a boat.
To our surprise and horror, they crammed the boat with almost three batches of passengers. In short, the boat was definitely overloaded! We were standing in the aisles, clinging to each other for support. I didn’t realize how bad the weather was until we started our trip. Luckily the boat ran at a slower speed. The waves were really rocking the boat and somewhere in between the islands, it rocked so hard I thought we were going to tip over. Everyone I knew was praying. To add anxiety, an old Chinese woman who was sitting in front of Jackie and William suddenly rang a bell or clapped a small gong then started chanting or was it singing a prayer? Then the other Chinese women joined in the "chanting". It was really scary and they were doing it just as the boat was rocking hard in the middle of the ocean. The lady crew approached her and although I cannot understand Chinese, I'm pretty sure she asked the woman to keep quiet. That, I tell you, were the longest 15-20 minutes of my life. I was so tense. And, there were no life vests where they should’ve been! We managed to safely cross the sea to the other side. Thanks to God, all the other buddhas and the Goddess of Mercy whom we prayed to for guidance and safety. But, before we got off the boat, picture this: everyone trying to get off the boat as fast as they could and there was only one exit. It was mayhem! The people at the door were shouting at the people pushing and shoving them from behind. Elderly women pushed and shoved like crazy! Luckily, no one was injured. I tell you, we were all glad to have gotten out of the water and that boat.
Later, we learned that was the last trip out of the island. The typhoon came and there were people still stranded at the pier.
After that harrowing boat ride, we traveled by land via bus to Hangzhou. Hangzhou which was also T-O-N-Y’s hometown was another city and was said to be well-known for its beautiful natural scenery.
Before the trip, Tony reminded us to use the washroom since it would be a two and a half hour ride to Hangzhou. Now this is where I first got acquainted with bathrooms in China. Little did I know that majority of the bathrooms, public and those in restaurants did not have the standard toilet bowls. It was either the toilet seat was flat on the ground or there was a canal where the bowl should be. In otherwords, you squat sister! This was also where I realized I truly am not a cowboy. I couldn’t bring it upon myself to squat. Aside from the fact that I had a belt bag and didn’t have an extra pair of jeans with me, (I was pretty sure I’d need to change pants because my aim is poor) I didn’t have any extra shoes. So, I didn’t go. Luckily, I really didn’t need to pee.
I slept on the bus and after two hours we had a pitstop. Ugh, squat again so, no go sister… I had to reduce my fluid intake to ensure I’d make it to Hangzhou. I prayed that there’d be a bowl in the bathroom there. An hour afterwards and in a restaurant, bless their soul, they had one cubicle that had a toilet bowl. It was a cubicle for the disabled - right there and then I considered myself disabled. Whew!
So it's lunch first then we're off to the Soul Retreat Center which is 1,650 yrs. old.
...Hangzhou's population is roughly 1.5M making it a 'medium city'
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