Shangri-La Hotel, Suzhou

... with a copy of my itinerary for 11/11 to fly from shanghai to new york city. this is the second time i've given it to the accountant, but i wanted to make sure that everything was ok. this time she looked at the receipt and said this is no good without the boarding pass. i said i haven't taken this flight yet so there would be no boarding pass. she said that i'll have to bring her a new one with a boarding pass.

after several more mins ...

so it's official. i have less than a month in china now. and not surprising, it's beginning to affect my sleep. i woke up this morning at 7. my first class isn't until 1 p.m. so why was i up so early? because of stress and anxiety. despite my better intentions, i always procrastinate til the last minute to do everything. preparing for home hasn't been an exception.

i finally bought the final leg of my trip today. from nyc to nola on 11/17. so i'll be in ny for a week hanging out ...

... refreshing experience in my opinion. I mean, most years i do the routine two family dinners, both a little boring and containing not near enough booze to get me through happy and content. Also you could never play a decent game of Trevors Ass at a family dinner haha. Trev i'm hoping you'll read this because then at least one person will get my joke! But anyways, great night, great company, and great laughs =). 
Happy turkey eating!
-B

Suzhou's Grand Canal

Suzhou's Grand Canal was a lovely excursion. I boarded my boat near one of Suzhou's two remaining ancient city walls. The area was nicely designed and had a nice atmosphere. The boat was fairly small and only held about fifteen people. The ...

... is now. The garden is separated into three principal parts, east, central and west. The eastern section has colourful flowers but is of less interest than the other two.

We enjoyed a cruise on the one thousand year old Grand Canal then went to an embroidery workshop and had lunch at a nearby restaurant.

That night we took a taxi to a shopping area and checked out the local shops, found a KFC and had a burger for tea.

... from Shanghai and known as a garden city. The traffic is horrendous and road rules are very limited, there are push bikes, motor bikes and scooters everywhere, helmets not worn and even the babies are taken on the bikes and held by a parent. Enjoyed a walk along the street dodging the bikes parked on the footpaths and taking our lives in our hands when we crossed the road, even when it's on a crossing with the green light.

... allow the Emperor to travel from his palace in Beijing to (I think) Hangzhou. It's really impressive--yet again--to see what was built so many thousands of years ago. At the restaurant, we were met up with Lei-Lei who became our local guide for Suzhou. While she was more serious in nature, Jeff got her to crack up quite a bid and called him a "funny face" or "funny man." After lunch, we went to the Panmen Gate and ...

... slept the morning away. It was fantastic. We spent the next few days walking around the canals and gardens that make up Suzhou, otherwise known as the "Venice of the East." There's a Chinese saying that goes "There is Heaven, but on earth there is Suzhou and Haungzhou." Suzhou definitely earns its title. The city is smothered in leafy green trees that droop over the canals that weave and wind through the city. Beautiful Chinese gardens are ...

... a donation, especially since she had lined up to help me and the like was one of those 30 deep ones. However, God was smiling today and I got a ticket, gave her a big thankyou and that was that. Thank god as I swear I would have hit the roof if she asked for anything. Now continuing my traveling in spring festival adventure I could only get a standing ticket on a train in three hours. Now this is for town 2.5 hours away - ahh well...I'm ...

... ride down the canels of Suzhou. Both Alliance and Rob had a trun at rowing our boat...more difficult than one would have thought. it was nice and relaxing. along the way we saw the homes of the people that live on the canel. they were all very rustic. we got back to shanghai in the late afternoon, had dinner and hung out at the hostel bar for a bit. Sa**************ed back to weifang. I had a soft sleeper...which was basically the same as the hard sleeper except ...