Suzhou Bamboo Grove Hotel

... 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 ...

... street garbage collection hut. Just past the hut a group of children wait for the bus to pick them for school. They begin jumping and waving as we approach, shouting 'Hello', or &#8216;Good Morning'. We slow down as we try to get through the crowd gathered in front of the local Tim Hortons. It's not a real Tim Hortons, but a vendor who has baked a variety of breads, pastries, and cakes. She sells them from her ...

... br>I am not sure if I have always been a bit of a wimp at crossing the road. I grew up in a small village but did move to the big city when I was 12 and don&#8217;t remember being traumatised. Maybe the Tufty club did a good job or maybe it was just the sense of immortality that the young have. It was many years later that Julie pointed out that my desire to hold her hand as we crossed the road was more for my benefit than hers as she had ...

Our school is actually made up of two schools - the Chinese Public School, and the BC International School. Both schools share the same campus and facilities. When I look out my classroom window I look over at the Chinese students in the next building working hard at their studies. The Chinese Public School is made up of about 1700 students, grades 7 - 12. Our BC school is made up of about 220 students from grades 10 - 12. We have 5 non-Asian students in ...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!! I'm dressing up *s * pir*te / cr*cked out gypsy loh*n, it's pretty legend*ry. Tonight were going to Pulp Fiction, who *re ridiculously nice *nd giving free beer to everyone who is dressed up. It should get f*irly rowdy. App*rently none of the chinese dress up so it's b*sic*lly drunk exp*ts flooding b*r street cre*ting *ll sorts of shen*n****ns. <br>H*ve *n *wesome h*lloween!!! <br>-B

... a beautiful network of canals that wound their way down many of the old-town streets. We visited one of the most beautiful gardens in Suzhou on our first afternoon. I forget the name of the place but it contained an impressive collection of authentic Chinese buildings, quaint little gardens and a main lake in the middle where there was a beautiful pagoda. The garden is probably most recognisable for its incredible rocks which I ...

... tonky back in the US. When you enter the establishment, you purchase a card with a number on it. This was your password to use the machine and Web. The Internet Explorer browser is an adventure to use because most of the menu items are in characters. My knowledge of Microsoft products is sorely tested. I sometimes would type Word files on my laptop and then upload them and photos to Ben's jump drive using that to transfer ...

Interesting train trip to Suzhou - town's beauty eulogised in ancient Chinese proverb "In Heaven there is Paradise, on Earth there is Hangzhou &amp; Suzhou"<br><br>Famous for its rivers &amp; canals, classical Chinese gardens &amp; silk industry.<br> <br>We visited the Humble Administrators Garden - uses ingenuity to harmoniously blend the main elements of hills, water, pavillions &amp; plants in a ...

... I swear. On Wednesday morning we sought out bargains at a decent local market with the Aussies in tow. At lunch time we caught 2(!) cabs to the Shanghai Jewish community centre on the other side of town. When we arrived, the building was still being constructed. We managed to prise an outrageously expensive meal of vusht pitta from the Rabbis wife, and left somewhat disappointed. That evening, the group walked across the city centre to a nearby theatre, taking in the ...