DAY 40 - A Day trip to Suzhou

Dubbed the "Venice of the East"... I wouldn't go so far as to say that!... but there were some beautiful bits to this day-trip destination. The city itself is not all that great, so visits to the post office and bank were somewhat dull. The exciting part was jumping on a motorised tricycle with a woman who we "hawked" (rather than being harassed ourselves!) to take us to town for £3. It was cramped and bumpy, and Stu's head hit the ceiling everytime we went over a pothole!

 

Stu's stomach was not feeling so great today, so he had to take special care on what he ate... in fact he hardly ate at all today, which meant that I had to devour the "Fruit" Pizza at lunch mostly by myself!

After lunch, we had a look at the Taoist "Temple of Mystery" and then went to see the crowning glories of Suzhou - proper canals and gardens. It's a shame we left this to the end of the day, and it was a bit rushed. The canals were Venice-like at times, but not in every direction! The "Humble Garden of The Administrator" was very nice, though didn't quite justify the entrance fee value (greater than that of the Great Wall)! It would have been peaceful if it wasn't for the crickets!

 

I got plagued by mosquitoes on the way back, so had a comiseratory dish of chicken's feet as a take away from our "local" when I got back. Stu had pot noodles due to his increasing un-wellness.