So after just one day of my new contract at Yinhe school the Chinese National Day holiday began. It’s called National Day but by law most business close for 5 consecutive days, which when combined with weekends can add up to a decent break. Well our school was closing for 9 days – awesome – so Margaurita and I started planning where we should go. The holiday is great but, as anyone in China (a country of 1.3 Billion people) will tell you, travelling at this time should be avoided at all costs.
Thousands of passengers wait to get inside the Guangzhou Railway station in Guangzhou, in south China's Guangdong province. photo by Vincent Yu, AP
To avoid these crowds we were planning a flight to Hong Kong or even Singapore but my passport was in getting a new visa so that was out. Local seemed our only option and even then booking into hotels was going to be tricky because as a foreigner you have to always show your passport and visa but we were determined to get away.
Throwing caution to the wind, or perhaps it was just procrastination, we went to the ticket office on Sunday 3rd looking to book train tickets for the next day. Thinking we may have missed the early rush, we had looked up the schedules online and noted down the train numbers that would suit us but we were wrong. Out of the 4 options we had chosen, there were no seats to be had. So we took a time out, team huddle and then approached the counter again with our best Chinese to establish if there were any seats available the next day and we found some on a 6:42am train which meant a very early start but at least our holiday was now in sight.
It’s no secret I don’t enjoy travelling in China at the best of times so I was a little nervous but it was so early we managed to get a seat on the bus to Hangzhou, and the train station wasn’t too crazy. Three hours later we rolled into Suzhou, Margaurita directed the taxi driver to our hotel where she had stayed with a friend in August and we checked in without too much hassle because of my lack of passport; helped in part by them remembering Margaurita.
The Chillon Castle had to be seen to be believed. It has a black and white checkered floor in the lobby along with a horse-drawn stage-coach, a 300 year old grand piano in the bar, ball and claw furniture throughout, stain glass windows, glass walled bathrooms with velvet curtains for privacy and, as one of the reviews said, the staff all wear funny costumes; like ones you would see in a period piece movie of old England. It was clean, fairly centrally located, reasonably priced and the breakfast included, while nothing to write home about, was served in your room at whatever time you specified.
The glass walled bathroom with velvet curtain. (look carefully and you'll see the reflection of the stain glass windows)
Suzhou, if the TV commercials are to be believed, is a ”water paradise” and is famous for its’ canals and stone bridges which has meant it is sometimes refered to as the “Venice of China.” It is also known for it’s meticulously designed gardens, of which I think there are about 68, and pagodas. We only visited one, which was enough as far as I was concerned. Also popular and cheap is their silk, embroidery and hand crafts so bargains are to be had and Christmas gifts were purchased. Now for the rest of the blog in pictures…
A canal, a stone bridge and me = Suzhou done.
I know I shouldn’t be so cynical about Chinese tourist attractions but I don’t know what all the fuss is about.
Heinously priced Chinese gondola ride and very dirty canal water.
Ok ok, I’ll let it go and show you the rest of the photos. The weather was particularly pleasant and Autumn or Spring are definitely the times to travel in China – not too hot or too cold.
Entering Tiger Hill - the one garden we went to.
The base of the Yunyan Pagoda - "The Leaning Tower of Suzhou"
Information on the Pagoda - can you spot the Chinglish?
Taking in the Bonsai Garden at Tiger Hill
Old men playing cards in the afternoon beside the canal
Stereotypical canal side dwelling in Suzhou
Margaurita and I enjoying a boat cruise on one of the canals
Sunset over a canal
The beautifully lit canals at night and my amateur attempt at time-lapse photography
Reflection
Jeez bugger!
One day into it and already world’s ahead of your previous slave-driver type tutelage position… NICE!
As for your lack of wonderment at the Chinese tourist attractions, all I can say is that I hope you now appreciate the true beauty of Cape Town & it’s cemented in your head that one day you will be returning
It must be said though that leaning Pogoda thing is pretty cool and the little Bonzai forest is downright awesome!
Good to see another post, was getting a little silent there for a while (& I know, I can hardly talk but hey…)
Hey bud, new school is pretty schweet (the kids on the other hand… well…)
I now know just how beautiful Cape Town is and will definitely be back.
In the meantime I’ll try keep the posts coming.
I must agree with Roan, that Bonzai garden looks awesome!! Not sure I would like to be amongst those crowds to get out of town though! Seems easier just to stay at home! When are we going to see some pics of the lovely lady. She is spoken about but we want to meet her virtually
come on, sort it out…
The crowds in China are not fun and I really don’t enjoy travelling here most of the time. As for pics of Margaurita, I have been experiencing more technical issues with blogging in China but have updated this post with a picture of the 2 of us otherwise look back through some of my previous posts…
Hi Rory
O.K. I have spent half a hour looking at the photo of Guangzhou Railway Station. I give up, where are you? Which one is you?
We enjoyed the shots of Suzhou, it looks a lot warmer than when we were there.
[...] 4. Suzhou, the “Venice of China” or is it? [...]
I just got back from spending my first three weeks in China– I love reading about your trip because we have seen many of the same places! Great photographs!
Thanks, glad you enjoyed my account.
[...] 5. Most surprisingly successful post: Suzhou, the “Venice of China” or is it? [...]
Hi there, just discovered your blog. I was in Suzhou several months ago and ended up going to a water park and another amusement park. Next time I go I will have to actually visit the “famous canals”. Great blog! Thanks.
Hi Rory
But I lived in the Suzhou Industrial Park which is the more urbanized part. I do agree with what u write. Frankly, I hate to go to town because there’s traffic jam and human jam too. Anyway, I will try to clear my backlog of photos taken in Suzhou and other parts of China. If read that u have not visited Singapore, please visit one day!
Thank you for visiting my blog. I lived in Suzhou for a year (but has returned to Singapore end June). I was in town when u visited Suzhou