Wednesday, January 14, 2009

at 2:23 AM Posted by Ian

The view from my bedroom window

I now live in Hangzhou, China. Life is good. I live in a big house with my brother. We are surrounded by mountains and tea fields. We have a puppy. Down the street is an "organic living center" where I eat most of my lunches. The air is clean. The people are friendly. I speak Chinese all the time now. Every few months we throw big parties. There is a bus nearby that goes directly to my yoga center. Even though we live in the boonies, we can easily find cabs because there is a giant Buddhist temple that everyone visits. I work from home in a cozy office, still for the same management consulting company.

Hangzhou is famous in China for its beauty. It was also the capital of China a thousand years ago, and at the time, was the most populated and developed city in the world. Someone told me two story buildings were invented here. The Chinese have a saying: Above there is heaven, below there is Suzhou and Hangzhou. I’ve visited Suzhou once, it pales in comparison. What makes Hangzhou special are its gardens, which is something Chinese have always done very, very well. Basically I live in the middle of a giant garden. When my girlfriend dumped me 6 months ago I was pretty shocked and upset, but Hangzhou saved me. There is nowhere else in the world I would rather be. I have found my little slice of heaven.

2 comments:

  1. Hey Ian! The view from your house looks gorgeous! Hope I can make it up there to visit sometime. Take care, Leslie

  1. Hi Ian! Your view in Hangzhou looks so much better than mine in Guangzhou! Hope you're well!