Day 33 to 34: Shanghai - Suzhou

Trip Start Apr 16, 2009
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Trip End May 31, 2009


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Flag of China  , Anhui,
Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Another day in Shanghai. Beautiful weather, sunshine. I decided to take the metro - which already counts nine lines if I remember it correctly - to an area known as French Concession, although you will never find this name on any map. As one can expect, the architecture there is pretty much European, and thus very different from other parts of Shanghai. Lonely Planet says, Shanghai without the French Concession would be like London without Kensington. I first walked around an area known as Xin Tian Di, packed with restaurants, bars, clubs and some shops. It is very lively during the evenings and nights, but also during lunch time. I hardly felt being in Shanghai or China, because of the many Westerners, the specific selection of restaurants where you eat with forks and knives - hard to use those again :) - and the many English and French words you hear around you. Likewise, it fealt very business-like, with the many business suits around you. As a backpacking tourist, the picture was almost a bit contradictory.
I then found my way south/west, first through Fuxing Park and then to Taikang Road, known for its art centre, many little lanes with cosy cafes and shops that invite for strolling around and enjoying art.
Afterwards, I headed back to the Old Town and Yu Garden which I missed the day before. Compared to Suzhou's gardens - see below - this garden did not offer that much, indeed. As on Sunday, I tried to escape the crowded area there as soon as possible and called it a day by enjoying a foot massage - after almost five weeks travelling, this one was a relief for my feet, though not necessarily during the massage. If it hurts, then something is not in balance regarding your health. Well, what a surprise for a Westerner and our Western lifestyle ... although I guess the Chinese will have the similar pains as well ... the good old and traditional lifestyle changes at a tremendous speed. Fast food, in particular McD and KFC, as well as coffee, ice cream, and so forth seem to win the game over time. And Tai Chi is really only played (this is funny, Chinese always say "play Tai Chi", and not "practise") by old people ...
On Tuesday, I got up way too early to catch a morning train to Suzhou, well-known for its ancient gardens. I have been contacted by a guy named Henry before, who saw my post on the couchsurfing site. Surprisingly, he and his wife awaited me at the exit of Suzhou's train station, and we spent a wonderful morning and lunchtime together. There are several gardens to see in Suzhou, amongst other inviting places around the old canals that still run through the inner part of town. One day is definitely not enough to enjoy Suzhou, but I had to return to Shanghai to prepare for moving on to Xi'an the next day. In the evening, I was back at the Taikang Road art centre, at Bell Bar, joining the weekly couchsurfing meeting there, also enjoying a real Czech Budvar and German Erdinger beer. What a difference, compared to Chinese beer!
One thing particularly interesting to me is the way how Chinese queue up for trains. Commonly known, the queue is not that popular here, and when trying to enter buses or other places, people tend to just use their elbows if necessary. On the platforms and waiting for the trains, though, people oddly queue up in several lines where the doors of trains are to be expected. And this really works. Likewise, I found the organisation at the train stations very efficient. Of course, if you need to queue up at the ticket office - good luck. Chinese like to ignore queues there, just go ahead of the queue and don't even mention a word. After passing the mandatory baggage security check (at every train station upon entering it), you then head for the waiting hall or lounge and there you wait until 10 to 15 minutes before the train arrives. Only then, the gates open, the tickets are validated manually, and all people move to the platforms. Then the queue/up game begins. On my trip from Shanghai to Suzhou, and particularly back in the evening, not only hundreds of people queued up and waited. Must have been at least one thousand. And the train left almost on time. Fascinating system, indeed!
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