Silkworms and Tea

Quick blog. Today I arrived in Shanghai, which is my final stop in China; I will stay here until Saturday, when I depart for Bangkok.

China Spree has had me on-the-go for the last three days, checking in one day and out the next. After Xian, we stayed a night in Hangzhou, and then Suzhou (spelling?), and I loved both of the cities. We took boat rides through parts of both cities, which allowed me to practice (and improve) my photography skills.

Last night, dad and I roamed the streets nearby our hotel, which was in a nice area of Suzhou. The night before, in Hangzhou, I ditched the tour group with two older women from our group, and went off the beaten path. One of the women is in her 70's, and when we were sitting in a local nail salon, a local woman of the same age walked in and just stared at my group member, and it was just amazing. They were like mirror images of one another, and I'll kick myself for not getting a picture... One of my favorite parts about traveling is making a real impact, however small, on the local people.

I loved visiting the tea farm we went to, and left with about $125 worth of goods - empress tea, and grade A tea, the two best green teas, as well as some fruit which you can combine with leftover green tea leaves for "weightloss/good health" and "good skin". It will last 4 years, and will make for great gifts.

Before departing Suzhou today, we toured the top silk factory, and I did quite a bit of "damage" there, as well. My new saying for visiting in China, and really touring anywhere, is this: "It's only a scam if you end up buying things you don't want to buy." And so, I'm more than happy with my purchases!

The tour is great, and our first meal in Shanghai was delicious. On Friday we have a free day, and I think I'll spend part of that visiting a local kindergarten class. Which reminds me, today when my group got off from our boat ride, there were about 50 middle school-aged kids on a field trip, and two of the boys were eating KFC sandwiches. I had my national guide, Ming, tell the boys where I was from, and they immediately burst out loud in laughter; I took a picture with them, KFC bag in hand.

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