10/22-23/2025 – Bless you
Today we decided to take the optional tour of Suzhou Gardens. Yes, each time we hear someone say that, we want to say, “Bless you!” The tour was nothing to sneeze at though. It was a delightful day that saw us reach an area along a canal similar to Venice. We walked down a staircase to a gondola. We clambered aboard to ride the canal considered the “Venice of Shanghai”. It was a delightful trip that saw us enjoy the views of the local buildings and area. While a round trip, each side gave us different views and we enjoyed the time on the boat. Soon we were set free to enjoy ourselves and we opted to try some local noodles with the two sisters from England and Sue from Canada. Both sisters are physicians with different specialties who travel together, leaving hubbies and children at home, while Sue is retired. It was a lot of fun, although a lot of work. This area is renowned for its noodles. However, Kathy just cannot get the hang of chopsticks and, needless to say, watching her struggle created a lot of laughs. Sue took pity on Kathy and found her a “ladle/spoon” to try and eat some of the noodles (not Kathy’s favorite meal of the trip).
Next, people strolled along looking for deals to buy. Soon we were herded back onto the bus and drove to the Suzhou Museum. SUZHOU MUSEUM The museum was amazing. It housed not only tranquil areas to relax and find your Zen, but also some unique and interesting pieces from Chinese history, including artwork, carvings, and sculptures dating back thousands of years. It was well worth it to just stroll through the museum.
After a full day we opted to stroll to the mall again and have dinner again at a local restaurant. Kathy again opted for King Pao Chicken and Dave had the sweet and sour chicken. Of note, they provided us with an appetizer which was a plate of glazed mini pomegranates on a stick – definitely worth trying. Tomorrow sees us head home. We are not excited about the 27 hours of traveling, but that is the price to pay in order to see the wonders of the world.
On the 23rd, we readied ourselves to fly back home to NY. We had the whole day free, so we opted to eat a leisurely breakfast, take a walk in the area, and then clean up before heading to the airport. Not much happening today. The airport experience, though, was the most efficient transition we have ever experienced and kudos to the planners. We were in and out, did not get lost, and the people were friendly and helpful. They even smiled at Kathy’s little joke. Not anywhere close to the scary and dangerous encounter with “Communist China” that some people were anticipating. For sure, we made sure to “mind our P’s and Q’s, and we avoided questions about politics when advised by our guides. But everyone we encountered in China was helpful and friendly. There were not police or military on every corner (the police didn’t even carry guns). In certain areas, there were dozens of cameras on every light post, but that was not common. Kathy and I discussed whether the average Chinese citizen had the same quality of life as the average US citizen, and we thought they would. The one exception, we assume, would be freedom of speech and the ability to criticize the government. Fortunately, we still have that in the US, since there is so much in our governments to criticize.