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Published: April 7th 2007
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The Behind-The-Scenes Haven
Just a few turns down some narrow streets leads to the lesser seen side of Suzhou's city sights. Leaving Shanghai For the first time ever, I missed a train. Whoever wrote the signs in the warren of tunnels under Shanghai Railway Station needs to be sent away for re-education. How are pointers like 'South Square' and 'North Square' helpful when what you're looking for is 'Entrance'???
Following the crowds didn't help either as some of them, or most even, were heading for the bus stand outside the station. General bystanders were less than helpful, until one person pointed to the correct exit. We emerged from the warren, entered the station and rushed to the waiting room only to find that the train had already departed. Bugger.
Back at the enquiries desk, the lady didn't bat an eyelid as she scibbled new train details on our tickets. I guess if you miss one then you get the next appropriate train, only your seat is no longer reserved. This second train we did not miss. We had a whole double-decker carriage to ourselves. The guard disturbed us with a warning to watch our belongings or else someone might take the whole lot! Happy thought indeed...
Chaos At The Exit The area in front of Suzhou
An Inquisitive Resident
'I don't know what you're after, but there's nothing down that way...' Railway Station is a mass of people on the move. Like everywhere else in China really. Braving the gauntlet of map vendors and rickshaw drivers, we were determind to wait for a bus. Bus 202 to be exact. We waited. And waited. And waited. Every other number came and went about 5 times over, but no 202. We considered the option of a rickshaw, but they wanted to take us to the 'city centre' not to our hostel, or even that area. Eventually, we settled for a taxi. We did find out the next day that any number of other buses would have taken us to the same place. The hostel staff would not be getting a good rating on hostelbookers!
Away From The Highlights Modern day Suzhou is an up and coming city with a picturesque setting. A city that likes it's boutiques and swish places. While looking for internet cafes, we got hungry and settled ourselves at Charmant, a slightly upmarket restaurant/cafe that serves Chinese food, but with unexpected variations on a theme. The hot and sour soup was as it should be, full of tasty tidbits and strong in flavour. The 'honey ham' was a
The Saturday Crowd
It seems quite a few people are out and about today... bit of a surprise. A deconstructed sandwich, brought to the table in parts for assemblage by the diner, with a Chinese twist. Instead of baked bread, there were little rectangular steamed buns (white as white and piping hot) slided down the middle. On the accompanying plate were slices of ham coated in honey, cucumber and fried tofu skin. The idea is to make a sandwich. Which turned out to be delicious. Today's Suzhou shows signs of developing a taste for the eclectic.
For the everyday tourist, Suzhou is famous for its gardens. There are too many to name. Of all the gardens, the most famous is the 'Humble Administrator's Garden'. From the garden itself to the entrance fee, it is anything but humble! First the guide book (becoming more obsolete by the minute) got the opening time wrong (which gave us time for breakfast at least) then when we finally entered the garden we were swamped by tour groups. Flag toting guides shepherded their colour coded flock here and there, entertaining the masses with anecdotes and historical trivia. It would otherwise have been a tranquil and romantic setting... Willow trees by the water ways swaying in the breeze, white
The Modern Day Bread Queue
'Big Mac and fries, please!' walled galleries with teak trim, tile-roofed gazebos sitting amongst rockeries and leafy green islands connected by bridges... It would be the perfect setting for a
private wedding.
After one circuit of the garden, we had had enough. This garden was never created to accommodate modern day tourism! Even the capping of visitor numbers at 2000 is ridiculous, the garden couldn't possibly hold even half that number comfortably. Every photo is full of baseball-capped hordes taking pictures of eachother. Delightful. Just what I want for the mantlepiece.
Exiting the Administrator's Garden, we decided not to venture into another. It is usual for visitors to see 2 or 3 gardens during a trip to Suzhou, but we were certain that the other gardens would prove equally unrewarding. The gardens are too small and the crowds are just too big. We decided to take a stroll along the numerous canals instead and found the crowd-free parts of scenic Suzhou.
In the back streets, away from traffic and noise, there is a whole other world in Suzhou. Where cobbled lanes run along side the meandering canal ways punctuated by small, arched bridges and lined by the occassional willow tree. Old white-washed houses with classic tiled roofs and shutter style doorways still dominate and outside still sit the oldies drinking tea and playing with the grandkids. No tour buses venture here, they wouldn't fit if they tried. No tour groups walk here either. This is the perfect promenade for viewing a little hint of history.
A few turns later, and it was back to modern day Suzhou. Buses, cars, motorbikes, the odd bike and lots of people! It's Saturday afternoon and the locals were out in force for food and shopping. The main shopping street of Guantian Jie was heaving with the afternoon family crowd. The street that runs parallel is lined with restaurants all keen on a piece of the action and a cut of the profits. However, as this is modern day China, the eatery with the most prominent queue was the McDonalds next to the Taoist Temple of Mystery. I don't know when the McD arrived, but the temple was first founded in the 3rd century AD. Old meets new at every corner here.
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Lynne
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Sounds like a real adventure for you guys! Love to hear about it. Will miss you both next week at BCC!