Shengshi Jin Jiang International Hotel Wujiang

... a menu already!!!! Drives me CRAZY!!!!

... the heat and be vigilant about the door ( we
have a sign on the door to keep it closed, a rather large sign just in
case someone forgets. I did not put the sign there but I think it was
an incredibly wonderful idea) so it stays nice and warm in there.

As I
leisurely eat my lunch I can enjoy the comfort of the warmth,
especially after one of my students introduced me to the Chinese water
bottle. One of my ...

... region that you can't enter without paying a hefty fee.

Still, there are neighbourhoods here that have survived, retaining their ancient charm without trying or making a big deal out of it. Their narrow cobblestone streets buzz with activity, as pots steam, fish flop in buckets, and laundry drips dry from above. But these gems are hidden among the tourists zones and overshadowed by cloud-touching condos.

In conversation with young Chinese people, I have told ...

... 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.

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 ...

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After checking in luggages we went to waiting room. I can't imagine what I will do without a guide because there were no English signs telling you the way the gates.I believe that you can't talk in English even with employee of train station because they didn't speak English! By the way, the boarding ticket from Shanghai to Suzhou costs 26 Yuan. The train is excellent, the seat is comfortable, and the AC is working fine. At the beginning, the employee ...

... here at Suzhou Daxue. I started classes yesterday. There is one other American in my class (he's 63 yrs. old and from Nebraska, bizarre, huh?), one Russian girl, one guy from Canada ('Jianadaren'), two Australians, three Japanese people, five German girls, and eight Korean people! There are all levels of Chinese (Hanyu) education in my class, and unfortunately I am at the bottom. Also people of all ages, some who have been English teachers before ...

... there are many people who can never afford all the different varieties of food we eat in the states. At night, Ray and I headed out to the Bund and we found the Captain Hostel. It has a great rooftop bar/restaurant with killer views of Pudong. Our waitress was Li and she was a treat because she had the best giggle and even giggled when we called her name.

... in the high, dry air of Colorado leaves us ill-prepared for the intense humidity of coastal cities, and in Shanghai in June the tall buildings have all but stopped any air flow that might help make the heat more tolerable. The hotel was air conditioned, and after refusing a dark room stinking of cigarette smoke, we landed in a lovely 19th floor non-smoking room complete with computer and high-speed internet- all for only about $50 a night. There were windows in two directions ...

... that draw people to great world cities and furthermore to finance, icons of wealth creation, beacons of innovation. The Jian Mao Tower is the 4th largest building in the world, the tallest when it was first completed, and we had to climb. Reaching the 150th and top floor with dozens of other tourists in search of dusk cityscapes, we peered out of the windows; the view was breathtaking as lights began to flicker on the huge HSBC tower and its peers, day turning to night. Whilst in ...

We left Nan Yue knowing that we had a fairly large journey ahead of us. First up was a bus to Heng Yang, no problems, only an hour long. Our bus driver was nice to us and managed to work out that we wanted to go to the train station, rather than going all the way to the bus station he made us get off early so a taxi would (presumeably) be cheaper for us. The taxi driver was a real character, I showed him the Chinese word for 'Train Station' from my Phrase book, he then said a lot to ...