Hoston Hotel Suzhou

... is this the Venice of the East, but it also has the Leaning Tower of China. Of course, both the city and the tower predate their Italian counterparts by a few hundred years or more. <br><br>We took it slow through the complex, and the pace was a welcome change from the running we did in Beijing. It was a peaceful area, and all of the different tourists seemed happy to be there. A few in our group were pulled into pictures with the ...

... side of the street are homes, shops, eating establishments, hair salons, a scooter mechanic shop, a small hotel, and many street vendors. It seems like the entire neighborhood is out on the street every morning getting ready for the day. As we turn onto the street we often see a little old lady hunched over as she works on her small garden plot beside the road. A few more meters and we pick up the pace as we pass the ...

... passed the stage for maternal fussing. <br><br>But I have to say that we are quite spoiled in the UK. Most motorists stop when they see you standing at a pedestrian crossing, unlike Russia where you have to make the bold move onto the crossing before they stop. But things are done differently in China.<br><br>They have quite a cute system in Suzhou at the traffic lights. A countdown in red tells the impatient how many seconds until they ...

... the Chinese school, so to use the gym and observatory and auditorium the owner of the school has to pay for it, which he's not willing to do. The owner is building a new state of the art school which is supposed to be ready in about 18 months. <br><br>The students day begins at 7am when they meet in their classrooms for some English instruction with their Chinese Teacher Assistants. Each classroom has a Chinese Teacher Assistant. These Assistants are ...

One of our biggest surprises, and now one of our favorite places in Suzhou is the Bookworm. The Bookworm is an English language bookstore, library, and restaurant. It's a fantastic place to get an 'English' reading fix. We can read, check out some new books, surf the internet, have some lunch, and relax. The Book Worm has a great outdoor patio along the canal. The building has two floors with a bar on the bottom floor and lot's of ...

Aaaaargh!!! I have just spent an hour writing a blog entry about the last 4 days in Suzhou, and I have managed to delete it. Needless the say I am not in the mood to write it all again now. I will write it all out again when we get to Hangzhou either later tody or maybe tomorrow. Kate xxx

... a VERY long time. And then speaks in Chinese close to the speed of light, to "clarify" the question. Which does nothing more than get me more flustered. Still not knowing the answer that I never knew I meekly whisper "wo bu zhidao" (I dont know), she stares a little longer and than moves on. We have 30 people in our class, you would think she could try calling someone else. Its quite a fun process.... My other class however Han yu ke (Chinese language class) is quite fun ...

... br>After the gardens I made my way back towards the city and found a little back alley to wonder down in search of some food. There seemed to be a heap of renovating going on all around me as I walked. Old was being replaced by new but happily not modern new. Maybe a new 'Ancient Town' will be found here in a year or so. I found some awesome ...

... tell you that China is a country of contrasts like no other - from the 3rd world conditions in the rural areas to the hustle and bustle of cities like Shanghai. Very different from Japan, in terms of the face they show the world, but I think in Japan much of the rawness of life is hidden away while in China it is in your face. One image is framed in my mind: on the bus to Baisha market I looked out the window and saw the back of a little fellow about 6 entering his "home ...

... Shan a beau etre une montagne sacree, les dizaines de milliers de pelerins passes par la toutes ces annees ont laisse des centaines de milliers d'ordures le long des chemins, pas tres souvent nettoyes sur cette partie semble t'il. Pour rejoindre le pic des mille bouddhas (3099m), sachez qu'on vous interdira l'acces, juge trop dangereux. Il est neanmoins praticable. Une fois passe le 3077, attendez que personne ne vous regarde pour franchir la barriere ou il est ecrit acces interdit ...