Emergency brake to stop

We’re both up at 3:00, that is am, so we are not over the jetlag yet. Grace manages to go back to sleep, my mind is racing, so I am up the rest of the night.

Downstairs for breakfast at that terrific buffet at 6:30. I’m reconsidering the 250 linear feet, thinking it is closer to 350 linear feet. Coffee is great, still. But have to say we had a cup after dinner last night and maybe they reheat it for evening customers. Last night’s cup was not so good. The dinner price kind of surprised us. Bill was about $50.00 USD for the buffet plus “bing da Qingdao pejiu” or cold Tsingtao beer and coffee. That was for both of us. But we were tired to the bone after all that walking yesterday, and happy to be able to eat at the hotel instead of going out.

Oh, and Grace tells me it is spelled Masseman Curry, not what she says I wrote: “mossy man curry.” That was a yesterday post. Sometimes she just shakes her head at what I write and say. At least I think I put a question mark after it to indicate I was unsure of the spelling. I hope.

Checkout is 2:00 pm and we are headed to Shanghai then. So we are off to the Humble Administrator’s Garden, one of the prime tourist spots in China and one of the many UN Cultural Heritage sites. Taxi ride is uneventful, although I might point out that one of the taxis yesterday used the emergency brake to stop each time. No, I did not tell Grace then, but did this morning when this one actually used the foot pedal. She said she appreciated the wait time on that one.

You should not stay in the New City area if going to all these ancient tourist sites. They are on the other side of town, a long drive. But hey, taxis are half the fun. Most staying here are business types searching for that China opportunity.

The garden is very nice, lots of water, water lilies, camellias, pavilions and rockery. The garden is very large, surprisingly large, I think the brochure says 15 acres. As we walk up, a wanna be guide tells us outside that it is like a maze inside and we need his services. But inside we find there are excellent signs with maps posted in Chinese and English. After we get back to the hotel I find we unknowingly have a map on the back of each ticket. Ticket price is 70 RMB per person. That was unheard of when we lived here before, prices have certainly climbed significantly. I cannot remember any ticket ever costing more than about 10 RMB then, about $1.25 USD or so. 70 RMB today is better than $10.00 USD so prices have certainly escalated.

Walked and walked again: but worth it. And lots of pictures, but think clicking on this link will do just the same, maybe better: photos. This is a page put up by someone (David) who went there, and is very good. Although we did not see his young Chinese friend while there. Thanks for the pictures, David.

On our exit I am surprised at how few souvenirs are available. Nothing of high value or price is on offer, just what I would call trinkets. But I also notice that there are no tourist groups around, and no bus parking lot. So maybe we have exited a local exit and not the main tourist exit. Everywhere else we have been here in Suzhou there have been very expensive offerings, although maybe not high quality.

No taxis around when we exited, and have to admit there was a bit of worry. But found one, an empty one and are now safely back at the hotel and resting before the 2-3 hour drive into Shanghai. Bit of confusion when the driver tried to explain (in Chinese of course) that he was taking a special route back to the hotel, through a tunnel. I told him OK, and even told Grace although I have never heard the word for tunnel in Chinese and would not be able to repeat what he said. Not sure if it is body language or a basic understanding, but if you listen, sometimes it is surprising what you hear. For us it is simple, the rule in China is always carry a hotel business card and use it to get “home.” No ruby red slippers needed here, the Chinese people are friendly and try very hard to be courteous.