Advertisement
Published: July 21st 2011
Edit Blog Post
So... as of tomorrow it will have been exactly 1 month since I have left the United States. Time does seem to be going pretty quickly here. Every day has been some kind of adventure, be it getting on the wrong bus or acting as a tourist and seeing the sights.
Yesterday I had some friends come in from Shanghai to see me and the town. We had a good time but I felt terrible because on several accounts I led them the wrong way or took them on the wrong bus. I did my best to plan ahead of time and things just kept going wrong. It's very difficult because the buses are not in English and there are no maps! It's a terrible system but it is the ONLY system so you have to make do with what you have.
Anyways, besides getting lost, we had a wonderful time at Suzhou's number 1 attraction, Tiger Hill. It was honestly breathtaking. It has been my favorite part of China so far. I'm sure that the Great Wall will top it of course but for right now, Tiger Hill was quite the gem.
Tiger Hill is a beautiful
Beisi Ta
I love this shot! area that has a 1,000 year old pagoda and rests on a hill that overlooks the city of Suzhou. There are plenty of little scenic areas on the premises so this is the very best place to take pictures.
After that we ate lunch at the gourmet McDonalds and headed over to a garden that apparently does not exist. We searched and searched but no luck. So we ended up going to Beisi Ta pagoda. It was beautiful! My friend Katie and I climbed all the way to the top. The view is wonderful and worth the 270 foot hike up.
I had another day off today so I journeyed through the slums of Suzhou, which was an experience in and of itself. I didn't take pictures because I would've felt weird with the people all around me. But the slums are the worst I've ever seen. It's amazing how the city goes from beautiful to devastating in just one turn around a corner.
The slums then led to a bridge that eventually led me to the area that I have been searching for ever since I got here, the Shantang River area. It's a nice area
that doesn't feel touristy but yet tourists are everywhere. So you get the genuine authentic Chinese feel yet in a safe and comfortable environment.
I ran into some Japanese girls who started talking to me in English, randomly and right away I thought, "Oh no, I'm sure these girls are teahouse promoters trying to lure me in". So I was skeptical but nice to them. I cut the conversation off early just in case of any funny business.
After my 5 mile walk back to the bus station (yes 5) I noticed something so odd. There was a child who seemed to be walking alone. He was screaming for his mother and was completely nude with no shoes. I don't know what was going on but all I know is is that for some reason I see a lot of parents letting their children roam free hundreds of yards in front of them or behind them. But in this case, I saw no parents and this naked little child was crossing streets. It was shocking.
So those are some tales from my time off. Enjoy the photos!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.082s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 11; qc: 28; dbt: 0.0458s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb