Thanks to some last minute intervention from Acro and some reasonable pre-trail-markings by the hare (Push-up Bra) the small pack made it’s way to the start, a sort of cheery looking stone archway thing at the foot of a hill.
Guest hashmen from Shanghai Quasimodo and Joe joined Acronymph, Little Drunken Apple, PhoneBox, DoggieStyle and virgin Dave and the pack was away in reasonably good time for once. The hare suggested that while it was quite flat that Joe might not want to bring his scooter.

The pack set off up a short flight of stairs and along about 5 metres of flat ground before the trail began to climb. It was in point of fact the last flat ground the pack would see, save for a few metres at the top of Nangao Fang, until we got back to the start. So it climbed, veered off into the tea fields and then back on to the stairs all the way to the top of the minor peak. The trail then snaked it’s way up to Nangao Fang where the pack were rewarded with the stunning views. The pack were also at this point rewarded with a few metres of the flat ground they’d been promised.

The trail then took the pack down the other side of the mountain through more lush forest. The later start time of the run seemed to have caused a exponential increase in the number of mosquitoes which served, along side the failing light, as a good motivator to keep the pack moving.

Near the bottom only yours truly was dumb enough to follow the false trail for quarter of a mile through a dumping ground, building site, over concealed iron trip hazards. Somewhere round the course a question from one of the visitors caused the proverbial penny to drop and yours truly realised that while, of course, remembering the beer I’d completely forgotten to buy water. Acro solved this problem for us while, causing great offense to poor push-up Phone Box went off to run a bit further as she didn’t think it was long enough.

A brief (due to editing out the non family friendly parts) circle followed in front of what we now realised was an ancient tomb in the increasingly spooky failing light. Down downs for Push-up “fairly flat ground my bottom” the hare. Phone Box for insulting him with the extra run, LDA for fun and guests and virgins just to prove we’re a hospitable bunch.

After that it was pile into whatever space we could find in hash virgin Dave’s car (you’ll not bring a car again will you) and off to Maya for the on on.

In excess of 50 years between our oldest and youngest participant proved that we are a really inclusive bunch and not just for letting BottomFeeder come along.

On on, DoggieStyle.

Run #9 – Pancho’s Xixi Rd– Hare Doggie Style – Turnout 7

A bloody afternoon it was, bloody hot, bloody hot and bloody hot. It was bloody other things as well, but the heat overcame all else. Pancho’s is found in a particularly bloody unprepossessing part of Xixi Rd and not found easily because the pretty logo on the top of the façade is bloody hard to read from the street. Only the made in China Mexican blanket in the window with a collection of nick nacks from a Tijuana tourist stall offered clues to the identity of this weeks venue. Scribe, rarely completely confident of his exact location in outer Hangzhou, was surprised to get a call from perplexed Hangzhovian LDA, looking for navigational assistance, from a laowai!. Depressed numbers included Pelagic, Sylke, Laura and Lizzie who joined scribe on the run set by Doggy Style, who was evidently suffering more than the heat, as he recovered from he and Daisy’s party for Little Drunken Apple the night before. The trail crossed Xixi and wended it’s way to cross Tianmushan via a memorable underpass after which there was a complete absence of evidence that hash was a reality, rather a figment of the imagination of the 5 lost souls going, coming, returning, checking, peering under cars and all this in bright weather with 40 degrees coming down from on high and 70 degrees radiating from the tarmac. Technology came to the frazzled pack’s aid, with a quick call to DS establishing that the trail was definitely there, but some significant distance up to the left. The locals were pleased to finally see this unusual group stop casing the street, but it wasn’t long before DS set more hurdles in the path of the pack. The trail dodged and weaved along verges, drains and back fences, and no, no bodies were found, they must have been picked up that morning. DS later admitted that he had slightly erred in his bearings, and having started setting the trail late, the combination of both events punished the pack’s endurance. Finally the trail went bush and a 10 degree drop in temperature, but suddenly Little Drunken Apple appeared running in the wrong direction, blithely imagining that the trail would be easy to follow backwards. It was 23rd birthday confidence, long may it last. Maybe he was on to something after all, because it was bloody hard going the right way. Back to Xixi Rd too soon, and Lizzy managed to extract information from a street sweeper that there was a water shop in an easterly direction; it is Hangzhou after all, how could she be wrong. So all were saved from re-hydration therapy and made it back to Panchos in a fairly bloody mental state. The pack split like the proverbial banana, leaving only Doggie Style, LDA and scribe to the dubious cuisine and hospitality of Panchos. LDA starred again, declining to admit the meal he ordered was his, resulting in a general reshuffle which actually disadvantaged nobody, as it appeared to scribe anyway, that whilst meals were assembled in different shapes and colours, they all tasted exactly the same. Serving astronauts would have felt at home here. A few late stragglers meanwhile joined the original stragglers, who then straggled up to the Jazz bar for late drink orders which, true to form, straggled from the bar, after which the stragglers straggled home.

Postscript – Acronymph thought this report a bit tough, but it was tough work getting straggle 6 times into one sentence.

Our first all Chinese hare pair, and what a lovely pair they make LDA and Phone Box, take note. We were back at Paradise which seems to be the venue where the circle seems to attract the most attention but more on that later. Yours truly is not, as you may have noticed, given to being terribly sympathetic to the hares but on this occasion they did themselves rather proud. The achieved a first for the Hangzhou hash bringing the pack in, as advertised, in about an hour, which is good especially with so many virgins in attendance. I do have a suspicion that we might have missed a few bits out though. The route managed to be interesting despite traversing our most visited hill. The only really suspicious bit of trail marking was the heart-shaped re-group, ah what a lovely couple of hares!

Virgins Daisy, Paul and Sylke joined us for the first time and Stoned Drifter joined us from Qingdao Hash, welcome all. This made a rather respectable turn out of 2 hares plus 11 hounds once you include the usual suspects DoggieStyle, Pushup (bra), BottomFeeder, Acronymph, Pelagic and Laura, Karin (not quite the usual suspect).

As the last runners trickled in we looked up at the gathering storm clouds and Push-up (bra) says “ah, we have the same kind of storms in Brisbane, this one is going to miss us.

“So push-up wasn’t haring with you so it ought to be nice and short and not too many hills then

Döner Kebab – 158 Yugu Road (???158? )
(Near the post office / western union)

Hares: bottomfeeder and born-again Pelagic

Runners: Pushup, Phonebox, Acronymph, Ross, Big Bang Theory

Token Stroller: Little Drunken Apple

Guest appearance: Doggie style (I suspect he was here only to get a kebab takeaway?)

4.30pm at Doner Kebab. Pack of 5 runners melting in 39degree heat. The run took us through a tour of the Zheda campus grounds up an endless flight of steps. Not that it helped very much but we tried to introduce some variety to the 750-steps up to the top by weaving in and out of the dirt tracks. Pack reached the top of the peak whereupon we briefly enjoyed some lovely views of the east toward the lake, and a rather smoggy view of west HZ.

The trail continued westward along the ridge and it was a relatively flat stretch for us to catch our breath. The hares set another false trail (perhaps not entirely on purpose) leading up to the entrance of the Botanic gardens, whereupon we had to head back and go down a dirt track.

Phonebox displayed enthusiasm and energy as she bounded up and down the hill trails, and even took a tumble on a rather slippery slope but emerged unscathed. She wondered out aloud to yours truly if we would, one day chance upon dead bodies abandoned by wanton murderers while on hash runs. Never knew Phonebox was the morbid sort but then again we are thrashing around tombstones every weekend anyway…

The pack descended quickly into the botanic gardens whereupon Pushup then took an unusual interest in the materials used in the construction of a certain pavilion. It is likely to be an occupational hazard for furniture guys to inspect random wooden structures and attempt to date (as in “age