Hangzhou is left behind and we find ourselves again on the train travelling back along track we rode coming from Nanjing days before.WE have decided that the train and bus travel is geting to us and decide to change the schedule.We have underestimated the distances between places and while the travel agents have done everything we asked of them we asked for a bit much.We are off to Suzhou the 'venice of the east'.Again we are met by a smileing Speak sign attached to George a great guide with a warm and engaging smile and personality as well as an excellent command of english.We are spirited to a Tourist restaurant which sems to serve tours exclusively.While we eat we discuss the changes to our schedule with George.A woman passes by with a large jar of snake ... read more

Up early and breakfast in the hotel.It is paid for and waiting for us all at the appointed hour.Large bowl of a bland tasting rice porrage,unknown vegetable of a pale palour,cooked greens served at room temperature and fermented bean curd.Mushy taste and foul odor.A couple of kinds of steamed buns,noodles and broth and hot soy milk.The familiar boiled egg to round off the beige meal...yum yum. The culinary delights are punctuated by the cleaning of the fish tanks and tubs lying around the floor.:Lots of noise and activity. Off we go then to visit the Puji Temple a beautiful Buddist temple set on the side of a small lake with huge lotus plants growing We have come to appreciate the lotus and were lucky to find a couple of them still in bloom though we have ... read more

Well bloggers we have surfaced in Shanghai,arrived in good shape and none the worse for wear this afternoon.The cone of technical silence has been lifted in a big way and the computer I write to you on now is in room 703 of the Pacific Hotel.Jazz saxaphone is floating on the breeze and we have piled our dirty clothes in a bag for much needed laundry.But I am ahead of myself again.It seems like a long time ago now that I last wrote and so much has happened since then.Close your eyes and travel back with us to Nanjing on our last night there.We decidied to take our wonderful hosts out for supper as a small gesture of our apreciation for their warm and complete ospitality.We decided on Indian food and off we went.Well 2/3 of ... read more

I forgot to tell you about text messaging in China.Almost every one of the 1.3 billion Chinese has a cell phone,well perhaps not everyone but every 20 something, of which there are millions,has a cell phone and all of them are text messaging ALL the time.Thumbs are flying and messages are shooting through the air waves.During the show last night the conga player was text messaging while on stage!!! People are biking and messaging and Noah and his friends are constantly in touch.It is cheaper than phoning apparently and you would be hard pressed to find someone without a cell phone in his hand... read more

As the sun rises we pull into Nanjing station, groggy but anxious to meet Noah. It feels like the half of China that is not already on the train with us is waiting on the other side of the barrier to meet thier loved ones. Peter and I are getting used to the crowds, but today is particulary bad as China begins a week's vacation to celebrate its 50th anniversary. As we move with the mass we quickly spot a local man with the Peter Richard Speak/L. Ann Speak sign bearing tickets to be used on Tuesday on to our next leg of the journey. After some searching we connect with Noah and head off to his big and modern apartment, meeting his flat mates and friends. His Chinese sound pretty fluent as he negotiates the ... read more