Renaissance Suzhou

... unwound the silk on giant machines. I was then shown how silk is woven into cloth on giant looms. It was quite an impressive process. They went into a lot of detail and it really made me appreciate silk more. We then headed to the selling area which was huge and extremely well lit and designed. They had everything from silk bedding and quilts, scarves and ...

... and everybody on the bus) if this is really the way to picturesque Mudu, some 20 km from Suzhou but without any open space between the two. Then, if you get off at the right stop, walk down an alley, suddenly you find yourself in that old town, with Chinese gardens and houses with courtyards and arched roofs. Little lanes too narrow for cars, very pretty indeed, but walk one block out of it and you're back in the frenzy of modern-day China.

... afternoon. A little bit of shopping, a visit to one of Suzhou's most famous gardens, The Garden of the Master of the Nets, some perusing at my home-away-from-dorm The Book Worm (a cafe/book store/restaurant with a nice selection of English books, gasp!), some Mexican food (decidedly our most craved food since getting here) and a little partying followed with some Chinese clubbing. It was a great day.

... it stayed down. The coffee was a life saver and it slowed the jumbo jets down enough for a smile to shine through. The aim of the day was to find the 'Copy Market'. We had been told about a huge store known as the 'Copy Market'. Supposedly it was like a supermarket full of brand name ripoffs. It was supposed to be down Nanjing Road somewhere near the end. Right, like I ...

... the rest - there's no time to read plaques when you're with a 2 and a 3 year old that are a little more than on edge from all the people and creatures swirling around them. Afterwards, I was able to pick up my visa with no problems. So, I got ready to enjoy another month in China. I decided to start with a nap on the lawn in Renmin Park. Eventually, a groundskeeper came and moved me along. That's when I thought I recognized one of the girls ...

... erupted. The jacket was made from faux marten fur. How weird. I didn't go for it. Instead I found a fleece jacket at another store that would probably sell for around $60 at the Bay. I paid $3. Much more fun (can you believe it!?!) was getting a foot-care product. My shoes, along with the rest of me, were completely soaked at the Jianghong water festival. Unfortunately, they never properly dried out, and as we all know that ...

... inform us as to how much the fish cost beforehand and hence argued that we shouldn't have to pay that much. We were left sitting at the table for about 2 hours pondering what was happening:- did Dragon make a mistake? Were we being fleeced as we were westerners? Who was in the wrong? Our lack of understanding of mandarin meant we could only wonder! Offers were made and refused, tempers flared ...

... was telling us he just got married and his wife is from Hong Kong, yet he can only go there for 3 months at a time, having to come back to China for about 5-10days in between, for the next 3 years before he can live there permanently. Apparently the Honkers don't have the same restrictions. Interesting.... Anywho, sucks to be him I guess. :) We arrived at the staton in Shanghai and didn't know if Mal would ...

... got slowly ****** on jack daniels! Following day, and with stinking hangovers, we went to see Shanghai old street and Yu gardens with a few doses of starbucks between! The city is so westernised that its got better shopping than new york with sightseeing to match, but still doesn't live up to Beijing for sheer diversity (still the number 1 city on earth). Last night, feeling really tired but excited, we went off to see the Shanghai acrobats with ...