Zhenjiang Guoji Hotel

We had just enough time to purchase an indulgent round of sandwiches from James' favourite local deli before heading to the train station to catch the train to Jessica's home town, Danyang (halfway between Shanghai and Nanjing).
Jessica and her mother collected us and our enormous bags, and we were chauffeured for an hour and a half in air conditioned, leather-seat luxury, to a silk-duvet factory outlet shore, so that we could satisfy Margery's desires for a duvet that can be used all ...

... When taking a boat trip along the long slim lake, I can see the golden sunshine sparkling on the water and feel the gentle breeze on my face----this is the very moment that I actually believe paradise does exist. Get packed and come to Yangzhou in the lively spring, to embrace and enjoy. I wish my pen,my eyes and my camera could capture the spectacular scenery.

... t get a very good write-up in the guidebooks but we thought it was stunning and really friendly in a less leery way than Suzhou. The main attraction is the Slender West Lake which is a pretty park. Ge Garden was so lovely - almost as nice as Suzhou's Master of the Garden of Nets!

J'ai cette semaine continuer la visite des alentours de Shanghai, sur la carte on voit à peine le périple mais si vous regardez bien cela fait quand même une amplitude de 700 km du nord au sud. Tout ça pour vous dire qu'une tete d'épingle sur la carte de Chine représente de grandes distances en réalité. Jen'ai eu depuis mon arrivée le 19 mars qu'un jour ou deux de soleil. Ce vendredi était bleu... Et à Yangzhou c'était ...

... invited me to dinner at her parent's house later that evening where she promised to wok up a tasty feast for us all. After a several more hours of happy walking and talking we caught a bus to her home. Whilst Cheng Ru wokked up an extraordinary meal in the tiny brick building her parents lived in the rest of us sat drinking beer with her parents and soon with her brothers and some of their friends. Her ...

... gardens. The monastery was beautiful and the gardens were peaceful and I lay for a sleep for an hour until it began to pour with rain. Luckily for me it was just after I woke.

I then turned very Chinese and instead of running for shelter I simply squatted beneath my umbrella until it stopped and continued walking.

The pathway that takes you around the island wasn't what I actually hoped for and also much shorter ...

... eatery just off Jiefang Lu and Zhongshan Donglu. There seems to be a huge night market that covers several streets and nearly as long as a city block. I haven't been to explore yet but I will on my way home...which was supposed to be three hours ago. Argh, you can do these things when you travel. Beers N Noodles toya.....shane ________________________ The soundtrack to this entry was The Chemical Brothers The album was 'Surrender' Out of control mate!

... Ticket and see what happens. Guess what? Its actually part of the Multi-ticket! It was so beautiful and I was so happy I noticed the entrance as I was walking. From the LP: it offers a quiet escape along a small canal dotted with birds and blossoms, archways, bridges, pavilions and a marble boat. There are hundreds of bonsai ...

... to the Ge Gardens after which I found an awesome Dumpling Eatery where I sat for Joutsa and Won Ton Soup before heading to KFC for an ElcheapO coffee and some aircon! By now my feet really are badly blistered beneath the sandal straps. I'm now beginning to leave trails of tissue pieces along the ground as I walk. It's ...

... We saw lots of examples of ancient pots and more modern ones as well. It didn't take long to get through and we were anxious to find the artists' shops which were nearby. There were lots of shops but many were closed due to it being low season. We found one that had pots we liked so we started to talk to the woman there. She didn't speak english and all we had were a phrase book and our own crude form of sign language, but it worked! She wrote ...