Hangzhou, China

We just arrived in Hangzhou, which is just a few hours outside of Shanghai. We were VERY excited to leave the big city for a small town. As it turns out, Hangzhou is a small town only by Chinese standards, which means about six million people live there!

Its so cold here that I have to buy a coat. It's my lucky day when the only parka in my size (XL) is also red (which means "happiness," and the Chinese wear A LOT of it) . People seem to be staring at me less, perhaps its because I just blend in so well with the parka, or because this town is more geared to tourists with five-star resorts and hi-end stores (Ralph Lauren, Versace, etc) where locals could never afford to shop (not that I can either).