 |
| In one of the many gardens in Suzhou, a very well balanced, warm-feeling garden |
Before venturing to Suzhou, China, situated about 45 minutes west of Shanghai, I heard from many sources that it's a nice town and place.
I wanted to check it out because there is an abundance of job opportunities at international kindergartens and to see if I would like to live there or not.
I didn't really appreciate the city very much, but I didn't check out the entire vicinity. The city is quite large and lacking huge buildings and sky scrappers. The city is laid out well and is covered with local looking mom and pop shops, and completely flat. When looking around the city and to the outskirts, there are isn't much nature to speak of and no mountains at all. That's the huge downfall for me. It seems far away from being able to immerse yourself in a really foresty or mountainous area or near some hiking. There are a few large lakes though.
My trip:
I went to my hotel by bus. The hotel was expensive, about 60$ a night, 300 rmb, and was a themed hotel. My room looked like this: (It also had a bathtub and beautiful stand up shower.)
I didn't spend too much time in the room before heading out. The town has numerous gardens that, I don't think, could all be visited in one day. Also, it would cost you a fortune to do so; each garden, A.K.A. scenic area, has an entrance fee of about 40 rmb, 8 dollars. None of the gardens/scenic areas are open and can just be entered. They are all blocked of and have gates with turnstiles and ticket counters. I couldn't imagine living there and having to pay every time you want to visit one of the gardens. But on the other hand, the ones I did enter, were lovely. Here is one: (It also costs extra to go up the pagoda, an extra 6 rmb, $1.50; I didn't do it, just seems silly because I just paid the entrance fee.)
You just follow the well kept pathways around, and most of the time, if you don't want to walk, you can take a shuttle bus for an extra $1.
The following pictures are from the next spot that I visit, and it was definitely different. It was more of a temple, old style living quarters area. The first picture in this blog is from there.
Getting from one spot to the next wasn't difficult at all. The transportation in Suzhou, China, is excellent and inexpensive. It definitely takes time getting from one location to another, about 45 minutes by bus.
In the evening, I went to a walking street called Shantang something, a very lively walking street area that is at least a kilometer long with many shops and a canal running through the middle. It was packed with locals and travelers, Chinese travelers, I guess, no other foreigners though, a great night spot.
The next day:
There are about 11 Indian restaurants in Suzhou. Apparently, there are a lot of Indian business men who come through there. The Indian place we chose was in an area with other foreign restaurants, and make sure to bring a big wallet, you'll have to pay nicely. This meal was expensive and we only ordered two dishes, 175 rmb, $25. The food wasn't bad at all and the owner is very pleasant and knowledgeable about the city. Usually Indian food is quite heavy but this wasn't. The owner, an Indian guy, explained that he uses fresher ingredients and not so much butter like other places.
The Indian shop owner suggested that I visit a place called Tongli, an ancient town about 25km away from there. So, I ordered a taxi, a Didi, and headed off.
Tongli Ancient Town:
After the town, I went back into town by public transportation: first by bus, then subway. They have a great subway system that expands far out of the city center. I always use a Chinese map app called Baidu, Google maps or Apple maps don't cut it here...
I headed to another scenic area in town but was too late. It had closed already, so I just kept walking and came across:
The great never ending walking street! I don't know how long it was. But block after block, along a narrow canal and parallel walking street, this shopping/eating area just keeps going.....
The end.. That night I stayed in a cheapish hotel near the norther railway station.. yeah!!
