Wujiang Ever Bright Town Holiday Inn

... smoking, but people smoke anyway. Everywhere you go you're walking through someone's cigarette smoke. Drives me CRAZY!!!

Today I wore two pairs of socks, boots, long johns, pants, two long
sleeve shirts, a fleece coat, a scarf and a long lululemon raincoat. I
wore my gloves and mitts with a hat on our bike ride to school, but
took those off for class. I didn't take any of my other clothing items
off for the majority of the day. Oh, I suppose that is not entirely
true.

I have been the door nazi today. The students don't really
think ...

... 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 ...

... br>
So far, our trip in the south has far exceeded our expectations in everything but the food. The lunch and dinner were both less appetizing than the food in Beijing. Perhaps it’s because it was the fourth day in a row with just Chinese food. XO, the downtown GR Chinese restaurant will be off the rotation for a while when we get home!

A couple of random Suzhou notes:


Chinese people don’t generally care ...

... station table in front of her shop. There are always fifteen to twenty people milling around buying their breakfast from her. She has a couple of small wooden tables with four chairs each set-up beside her cooking station for people to sit and eat. They are always full. Right next door is a small shop that sells fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as bottled water and juice. Two or three times a week I'll stop to ...

... lucky at my all itinerary because I hadn't encountered rain at all even the weather was cloudy at some cities such as Suzhou. Suzhou is also famous in silk and painting. It has many IT markets and electronics and has amusement park.

My today itinerary is to visit Lingering Garden, Pan Gate, and No.1 Silk Factory.



I went first to Lingering Garden (留园) which it is a private garden owned by a man known to be government employee and ...

... suit. Kait and I scrambled in, and didn't look back. After a ways, Mr. Zhang slowed down and explained to us that each ticket is expensive. Hence why we dodged paying. Ha. The only problem with this sly maneuver? His sanliuche was the only vehicle in sight at this deserted park, and conveniently parked next to the ticket booth. The park was refreshing - a glimpse of blue in the sky and some fresher* air for our lungs. And many spontaneous surprises, as well. The most memorable ...

... tse') rivers' edge. Boats galore, this 'Venice of the East' is calm and refreshing. See photos in my album above. I experienced Aushan, which is a terrifyingly overcrowded two-story supercenter that is swarming with probably upwards of 4000 people. Honestly. One hour of necessity shopping (15 minutes of supply gathering, 45 of navigating your cart through the aisles) and I couldn't mentally tolerate anymore. Ha. Suzhou itself has 6 million people ...

We flew into Shanghai on Saturday. From the moment we landed I loved China. We saw all the sights there are to see. The Bund is a huge street with old buildings. The French occupied this land, and all the buldings are French style. It's along the river looking on to Pudong, the new area of Shanghai. It's so romantic (artistically speaking). The Bund was probably my most favorite part of Shanghai. On The Bund there were a lot of beggars. It was really sad. We took a ...

Wow, what a day. Yesterday after all the hoofing around and finally checking in to our hostel room, we set out to take in the city. The Bund is amazing, the buildings here all look like they are from the Jetsons. Chinese people came and asked to take pictures with us (ah getting used to being the tourist attraction). There are soooo many people all running about. We walked to peoples square, and just happened to walk by a huge bustling book store, where i fought bone and ...