Holiday Inn Jasmine Suzhou

... to see what the other ones have in store. Before we left we watched Suzhou's local Kun Opera which is performed daily for visitors . I really enjoyed it. The singing style of Kun Opera is much more natural than that in Beijing Opera. They performed an act from the famous opera The Peony Pavilion. The garden was wonderful. After, my guide asked if I was hungry and wanted to visit ...

... in golf carts to see the extensive land. All the paths were paved and in a way it reminded me of a theme park like Bush Gardens. Sometimes within the forests and "natural habitats" there would be different activities to do such as go-carts and paddle boats for the lake. All in all the weekend was entertaining and fun. I am not sure if I "Captured Chongming" to the Chinese liking but it was definitely one of the coolest free trips I have never had. 

... understand the stuff in the "textbook" I'm supposed to be using. Strangely enough, I'm actually teaching from a science textbook and spend most of my time leaping around classrooms trying to make light sources and shadows interesing... They're much less innocent than my previous lot and one student's first words to me were "My name is Killer, my favourite colour ...

... Fridays, where the staff was all decked out in Halloween costumes. We were joined at dinner by Jason's wife Rose and their 1.5 year old daughter Maggie. The night was so interesting as we talked about their life in China. It felt a lot like meeting friends out at home and the ribs weren't bad either! Thanks again to Elle and Jason for being such great hosts in Suzhou. It wasn't our first impression of Suzhou that we will remember but rather our last impression!

... economy. Interestingly the walkway is anchored by the Temple of Mystery. This Daoist temple (major tourist attraction) dates back in one form another - 1,800 years. Much of it though was built around 1200 during the Song Dynasty (a high point for Suzhou). The compound contained four main buildings and we only had time to tour two of them. Influences of Buddhism are seen with the art work and some of the statues. One facet of Daoism is to try to live in harmony with your ...

... went to the Grand Hyatt in the Jinmao tower what used to be one of the tallest towers in the world. We shared a bottle of wine on the 87th floor called cloud 9 amd have great chat from politcs to hair to make up to the state of the economy it was really interesting and one of the highlights of China for me. Day 4 looked around French concession with the girls then chilled out for the night. Day 5 Went back to hangzhou for a few days

The past few days in Shanghai have been about food and family. There have been numerous family dinners since we got back from Beijing. Ting has not seen her family for 2 1/2 years so there has been a lot of catching up to do. Thats not counting the fact of the first white fellah in the family. For those that have not experienced it, you should make it a priority to spend at least one chinese New years eve in a major city in China. I dont know how to describe it, but it was amazing. The ...

Today it was an opportunity to take a bit of a walk around on our own. ting decided to take me to Xintiandi to have a look. This is a very touristy spot and pretty new, but it is lovely architecture and is worth a look. We walked around the various alleyways and took photos before stopping for a mid morning coffee. I cant say I have had a latte or a cappuccino served with whipped cream, but it was certainly a better coffee than the 60RMB ...

... her friend on the side of her stared sharing the bag with her. So all together there was 3 of them throwing up at the same time. I am not 100% sure but I think the really old guy sitting in front of me might have thrown up in his jacket? And this is just one of my vomit stories! *The Nomad asks the question: Are Chinese allergic to the Nomad? For some reason Chinese babies do not wear diapers? The little kids here wear these pants with a hole cut out to expose ...