Day 2 dawned (well I assume the sun came up, the thick shroud of fog makes determining such events a little tricky) over a steaming plate of fried noodles, courtesy of the Charms Hotel Restaurnat. Don't ask me where they dig up these bizarre translations, though in this particular case the pack of condoms prominently displayed in the mini bar may offer some hints...
Following breakfast, the adventurers set out for the first destination of the day - Zhouzhuang - the Venice of the East. It's probably best if I skim over the road trip down the Shanghai motorway - let's just say it say it was an "experience" that makes China Easter look like Sinagpore Airlines.
Zhouzhuang is everything Mei (and Lonely Planet) promised - an ancient maze of rickety houses and shops perched over crisscrossing canals. First stop - lunch. Anyone who knows Mei will know the Chinese lover theior food - Zhouzhuang is famous for a particualr stewed pork leg. The fame is well deserved - it's sublime (and "so cheap"). The next few hours involved dodging the hawkers and their tack in search of the requisite photo ops on top of the many bridges, and punting lazily along the canals (well lazyily for us, no doubt the poor boatwomen pushing the thing was cursing the fat tourists she picked up...). I'll have to confirm with Jared, but I bet the whole experience cost less than one icecream in the real Venice - gotta love that Made in China tag :)
Next stop, Suzhou, best known for its multitude of traditional gardens. After depositing our bags at the luxurous "so cheap" hotel (110 kiwi and only a notch below the gold standard - Sheraton on the Park Sydney) we set forth for one of the aforementioned gardens. Chinese gardens are all about tranquility and the balanced arrangement of stone, water, and a few sparing placed plants. Well, they were all about tranquility till Mei walked through the gate... :)
Day two closed with some superb "so cheap" Chinese cusine. Simply the best sweet and sour pork ever (though I swear Mei's dad was ridiculing my wide-eyed wonderment at such a generic dish :) Also fit in a bit of shopping - Suzhou is famous for its real silk. Mei picked up something and also a present for mum (that's all the hint you'll get...)
So that's that. Finding net cafes is a real challenge. The commies must be pretty stringent because none are well marked and there's never USB access. Over and out from the rice paddys...
4 comments:
hmm, were you typing on a chinese keyboard and having to guess what letters to press? or has your briefest of flirtations with another language already robbed you of your (let's be honest here) tenuous grasp of english?
p.s. not hearing a lot about 'meeting the parents'...looking for some comedy gold here people, unless your blog intends to go the way of jared's travel journal (may it rest in peace)
Looks like The Party doesn't like the journal so much after all. Apparently the j00sters can't view the comments page so I have to go in, copy all the comments, and email them to Rock. Now that's the kinda efficiency we'd be proud of in market risk...
I'd like to think that maybe someone in the vast commie machine has taken exception to our insensitive political commentary...but considering the individuals involved I think user error is a more likely culprit.
I can't really understand the mentality of people that travel several thousand miles to write reports on what amounts to glorified Chinese takeaways. I can get that action by wandering down the street. Descriptions of stuffing oneself with mountains of food may be de rigueur for a Harry Potter novel, but J. K. Rowling you are not.
Here's a suggestion for writing a decent travel blog:
"Although the lights have been out for quite some time, Shanghai once beguiled foreigners with its seductive mix of tradition and sophistication. Now it is reawakening and dusting off its party shoes for another silken tango with the wider world.
In many ways, Shanghai is a Western invention. The Bund, its riverside area, and Frenchtown are the best places to see the remnants of its decadent colonial past. Move on to temples, gardens, bazaars and the striking architecture of the new Shanghai."
(c.f. http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/north_east_asia/china/attractions.htm
c.f. also, Jared Cahan...)
I think you mean: (Lonely Planet, cited in Cahan, 2005)
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