e FAST (wiebber) n e FURIOUS (me): April 2008

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

China Trip 2008: Part 2

China Trip 2008
Part 2: Suzhou

Day 3 - Suzhou 苏州

We took a 2-hr coach from Hangzhou to Suzhou. Upon checking in to Motel 168, we step out to SHOP!!! Staying rite in the shopping area is fantastic. =P

On the streets of Suzhou, this is a pedestrian onli shopping street

My mama in high spirits

Russian?!? No... Juz english pasted in the wrong direction

As it also happened to be Tina's bdae, we surprised her with a cake at Harry's Bar.
(Left - right: Ah Bing, Tina, Apple)

Day 4 - The Best of Suzhou 1-day Tour

As corny as it sounds, it really was quite good, minus the silk and pearl factory visit. Introducing 1 of the 4 famous Suzhou gardens, The Humble Administator Garden.

The brilliance of Suzhou's garden lies with the secret of meticulous planning on how its scenery changes each time the visitor views through different windows, direction, etc. As land is scarce in Suzhou, the gardens cannot be big, so views had to be 'borrowed' to make the garden seem bigger than it was. As above, the pagoda is not part of the garden, merely borrowed into the scenery. Brilliant!

This is not photoshop-ed. Shot through blue glass in the pavilion, it gives the look of winter and soothes the heat in the summer.

Floor plan and map of Suzhou - 200 yrs ago

Awaiting for a cruise ard the moat of ancient Suzhou

We den proceeded to the Cold Mountain. It was famous due to its mention on a poem, apparently by a very famous poet.

Haiz...if only SG had seasons... Anyhow plant flowers oso nice

I simply adore round doors... personal fetish...

Next stop was the Tiger Hill 虎丘.

They happen to have a floral fair, so mum was extra pleased.

The pillow-rock

With this entrance, U enter into another realm

The leaning tower of China in the backdrop.

This is the main plaza. According to folklore, an emperor had invited all the craftsmen to a celebration upon completion of his tomb building. But he din want anyone to leak out the secret of where he would be buried, he poisoned the wine and the blood of the innocent men stained the rock creating lines of red crevices. Creepy....

But we got jolted back to modern china with signages in Chinglish telling us to be decent and pay attention to security.

My vv posed papa

Lavenders!!! Like in Summer Scent.... NICE

Parting shot at the Tiger Hill atop its bridge over its moat

After all the visiting, we continued with shopping, trying to get to as many shops as possible before leaving for Shanghai the next day...

...TO BE CONT...

China Trip 2008 Part 1

China Trip 2008 (29th Mar - 08th Apr)
Part 1: Hangzhou

Day 1 - Dep Singapore - Shanghai

Yeah!!! Departed from Terminal 3. Damien and Anning came to pick us up, but with too much luggage, we had to spilt into 2 grps with my mum and sis taking a cab. Met up with Anning's family (they specially came to see us off), my 3rd uncle (aka Sa-gu) family and Hanbin and had Popeye's b4 checking in.

Arrive Pudong International Airport (Shanghai) @ 11pm.
Daddy and Uncle Wuming picked us up and we drove for 3 hrs to Hangzhou.

Arrive at Hangzhou at 2am, checked in Pod-Inn. Vv nice and comfy and CHEAP!!! Haha... Every room was with its private toilet and small table, best of all, free internet and computer for EVERY BED!!! Great for travellers!

Day 2 - Hangzhou 杭州

When in Hangzhou, there is something you must see, and that is the West Lake (西湖). With all the folklore of Leifeng Pagoda and Madam White Snake and the tragic romance ingrained as part of the landscape, we went strolling and first experienced the Chinese garden wonders 一步换景.

Where there's flowers, there's my mum's smile

Under the Plum Blossom Tree

Wierd fire extinguisher BOX in Yue Wang Temple (to commemorate 岳飞)

We came across our first out of many more Chinglish

After strolling for at the West Lake for the whole morning, we den had lunch at this pretty girly restaurant. Everything was pink and flowery and the food was all served in girls' portion. Most of them good for the skin or wadever... This is 玲珑小镇. =)

And we had the famous Three-cup chicken. Vv nice but not served in cups.

After lunch, we took a split into 2 grp, 7 followed Uncle Wuming in the Mini-Bus and the others went on a cab. Reached this place where there was a vv huge Milefo (Laughing Buddha), but becoz the entrance fee was quite expensive - 100RMB per pax (equivalent to S$200 if everybody went up) - so we gave it a miss. My Sa Gu actually said that my father was stupid for not wanting to spending that LITTLE money, which made us quite unhappy becoz my father actually told him tad if he wanted to go, we will wait for him. *So angry* Little $$ for him, but not for my family...

Even though we din go up the hill, we still took a photo at its entrance. This is 灵影寺.

We den went shopping at 丝绸街 (Silk Street) where i bought PJs and some pashmina and scarves. My Sa Gu bought some ties and got change in counterfreit 50RMB notes. So for pple gg china, muz make sure u check the texture of the notes wor.

Dinner was at 外婆家 (Grandma's Kitchen) and it was DELICIOUS!!! It was like fine dining, the chinese way. Luckily we had reserved tables beforehand as it was packed by 7pm. And it doesn't do any advertisement. Great food draws pple from afar. As there was time b4 dinner, Tina and I took the chance to cam-whore outside with our coats.