I swear I wasn't going to complain, but OMG, I just can't even.
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Oh, as a traveler visiting Hangzhou after a 12-year gap, it's hard to express how much has changed in terms of the experience at various places here.
First and foremost, let's talk about transportation:
- Taxi drivers are welcoming and friendly. No arguments there.
- Caution! The toll on the airport highway can be a bit expensive!
- Just a short drive on the expressway from the airport requires paying a toll fee of 20 RMB, which feels like we're making an upfront payment just to get into the city, hahaha.
- Then there is the metro...
- We couldn't figure out the best way to use it...
- Caution! For those going to tourist spots, taking the metro may not always be convenient.
- Nearly all of the famous sightseeing destinations that we wanted to visit were not easily accessible by metro. When we asked locals, they said it was better to ride in a car as the metro route would take a lot more time and require several transfers before you reach them.
- And oh, there’s the pick-me-up area for ride-hailing vehicles at the high-speed railway station!
- Caution! Take note when looking for designated pickup points for ride-hailing services in the high-speed railway station!
- Signs instructed that these services picked up their passengers at parking lot P6, but signs soon disappeared, and we had no choice but to play tag with P6 until we finally found it. The same confusion also befell many other people, it turned out.
Finally, let's talk about the public facilities provided in tourist areas, especially parents with children should pay attention to:
- Caution! It might be hard to find hot water in the scenic spot for babies or for quenching one's thirst!
- We brought our child along and we wanted warm water for their food or to drink, but we couldn't find a place inside the scenic site where we could draw some. Either there was no hot water, or only cold water was available, just a little too extreme!
- We ended up having to carry bottles of water around, causing us quite a bit of fatigue!
Ah, Hangzhou... this place used to seem so much nicer twelve years ago. What does it come to?
I can’t understand it, really! #LostForWords #ParentsWhoGetIt #HangZhouTravel -
I've been here for four years and haven't had any problems; my first impression four years ago was already very positive. The West Lake Scenic Area is a UNESCO World Heritage site, so they wouldn't approve building a subway there even if you wanted to. For drinking water, you either bring your own or buy it in the scenic area—it's just that prices are higher in tourist spots, that's all.
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This is just my initial impression as an out-of-town tourist. Perhaps different places are simply different.
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I feel the same way. It's a total rip-off. I get the sense they're very unfriendly to tourists. If they don't make the money they expect from a tourist, they'll curse them out, calling them 'Japanese' as an insult.
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We haven't encountered being cursed at ourselves, but the overall experience was genuinely unpleasant.