Suzhou

---

Ye-ha, we board another overnight train to Suzhou. The enthusiasm has waned a little but we've come prepared. Armed with weird little butter filled coffee cakes, the packet looked like chocolate and custard to me, and bread with an unfathomable number of preservatives, we set off. We pass smoke stack after smoke stack...perhaps Mr Abbott should have ridden an overnight train in China, and press on.

Day 7

A slight hurdle, our train terminates in Shanghai and we have to get off 80km before this in Suzhou. No English here, not a single word. And for some reason when they say Soo-chow its fine but when I say Soo-chow, I get a look of puzzlement. We wake the kids and wait and wait and wait, carefully decifer every station sign until we finally reach Suzhou. Shiny marble floors, high ceilings and order... I breath a sigh of relief. There is an underground haven of taxis which we orderly board and head to our hotel, Scholars Pingjiangfu, the Raffles of Suzhou. Oh its good to be home...

We explore this canal town, known for its beautiful gardens. Gotta love that feeling of sweat running into your eyes at 8.30 in the morning. Yay for summer in China! We enter the Humble Administrator's Garden. Its beautiful. The kids race to the top of every stone monument...again, I think this is allowed, and I meander through the bridges, lane ways, buildings and by the lily filled lakes.

We leave here in search of the air-conditioned museum. We buy our umpteenth fan from a granny for 2 Rmb while waiting in the queue and before we know it we're wandering around artifacts from 3000BC. Meanwhile, Hannah has befriended a little Chinese girl who posses the same fan, and is running around the before mentioned artifacts like crazy people. Only in China. We bid farewell to Hannah's BFF to tears of despair which can only be quelled by peach flavoured Fanta, and move on. To cries of anguish, I force the family onwards to the North Temple Pagoda. We pass some delightful BBQ buns and deep fried parcels of who knows what. I look at Scott with the look of "I'm game if you are" and we fill a couple of plates, pay the required $2, and head upstairs. They turn out to be little parcels of goodness enhanced by the now familiar chilly sauce. We press on and find the 7 story pagoda. After chants of "go team!" we climb the 200+ stairs to the top. The view is breathtaking and Scott finally appreciates why I wanted to come here. The pagoda is surrounded by a couple of kilometres of low rise traditional buildings then a ring of familiar high rises. Quite unique for China and greatly appreciated.

Day 8
Up bright and early for a 7am start and taxi ride to the Tiger Hill Pagoda. Believe it or not, this time we did beat the crowds! If Suzhou is the Venice of the East, then Tiger Hill Pagoda is the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Built over 1000 years ago, it began to lean around 400 years later as half the tower is on rock and half on soil. Now the top and bottom of the tower varies by 2.3m.

We trek the winding path to the top where we find the oldies out for their morning exercises. I spot a group of 6 or so ladies doing the Chinese equivalent of "Zumba Gold", so join in. Oh what fun! Why am I sweating buckets while they look refreshed and relaxed???

Little Hannah spots a like-sized boy, who also felt compelled to join Zumba, and now has a new little buddy. They run and jump and run and jump for ages. Very cute!

We meander back down the hill through bamboo forests and past little waterfalls. Its beautiful. From here, we taxi to Hanshan temple, an active Buddhist temple and monastery, then onto the Lingering Gardens. A UNESCO World Heritage Site it has spectacular rockeries and bonsais.

We head back to our beautiful hotel for a much needed rest. After some time, I head out on my own. I wander the streets and see a couple of western faces buried in a map. After giving directions like a local, much better actually as we can understand each other, I pop into a bakery where I sit in the peace and quiet to enjoy some chocolate mousse cake. Yum. I move on and wander past local shops and pop into one where I see familiar yellow and red signs that indicate "Sale". Its funny how some things transcend the language barrier! I buy a sweet little nightie and realise I may have spent my entrance fee to the Lion Grove Garden. Oops. I scrounge together the 40rmb needed and climb the labyrinth of taihu rock formations. So glad I didn't have the stroller at this one. I walk up/under/through these intriguing rock mazes. It turns out his 1154 sq m grotto contains a maze of 9 paths winding through 21 caves across 3 levels, and I think I've been through every one...twice! Eventually I find the exit where I spend my last 3.5 Yuan on a couple of kids purses, couldn't resist, and rejoin the fam.

Have you ever tried ordering room service when the person at the end of the line doesn't speak your language? Word for the wise, don't! After some confusion, mercifully she decides to come to the room where pointing and nodding gets us what we want. Hannah's repertoire of food now includes bolognaise and bow tie pasta. She will live another day!

---