Suzhou

Well, tonight I broke down and paid for the internet in the hotel. I didn't feel like trekking about searching for a creepy internet bar full of smoke and creepers playing weirdo computer games. Yesterday, we took a morning train from Hangzhou to Suzhou (Sue-Jo). It was about a three hour ride, and it was great to get a chance to see the countryside a little bit.

Our last days in Hangzhou were restful. It stopped raining long enough for us to actually see the lake, which was absolutely amazing. I need to come back to China in the spring, because this region is supposed to be gorgeous. At our hotel in Hangzhou, there were at least three weddings each night! The bride and groom stand in the lobby and take pictures with each guest as they arrive. We would leave the hotel at 4 or 5 PM and come back at 9 or 10 and they'd still be standing there, taking pictures.

Suzhou is lovely, too. Marco Polo delcared it the Venice of the East, because each major road has a canal running next to it -- they call it a double-lined chessboard. It's also very green here, but freezing cold. The worst part is that it's cold even indoors. Hotels tend to have heat, but restaurants and hospitals and stores are often even colder than it is outside. Today we went to a very famous classical garden. The designers of the garden came to Portland a few years ago to design the Chinese garden there. We also visited a rural clinic, where we were very warmly welcomed.

The food is getting stranger. I'm often not sure what I'm eating, even after I eat it. Tonight, there were definitely chicken feet on the dinner table. We've gotten used to counting the number of eyes on the table, too. Eating the fish head is apparently a big honor in China, but no one has been brave enough to do it. Last night, we were eating an egg dish and one girl says "Um...does any one else's eggs have eyes?". Sure enough, it looked like there were tiny baby dolphins in the eggs. This was AFTER the vegetarian in our group had eaten quite a bit. I think they were shrimpy things or something, but they really did look like baby dolphins.

We're in Suzhou until Sunday, and then we take another train to Shanghai. And then back to Portland! I am looking forward to a grilled cheese sandwich. I miss cheese so much!