China-Day 5: Suzhou

We woke up in our berth at 6:30 this morning. Our train was to arrive at Suzhou station at 6:55am, so around 13 hours after departing Beijing. However, from the commotion outside our room plus the slowing of the train, we surmised that we had reached our destination, and were still in our underwear.
We threw on whatever was closest and hastily packed our things together, then were the last to depart the train. Being in carriage 1, we were as far away from the exit as you could get.
Wendy, a Kuoni guide, was waiting for us outside the train,and led us outside the station. It was quite apparent we were out of the big city, as street peddlers advertised their fried pancakes and dumplings off of rickety wooden carts. Our car drove up, a spotless black buick that stood out like a sore thumb amongst the dusty world around us, and we jumped in.
The drive to our hotel was interesting since it was through the residential part of Suzhou, filled with people on bicycles and electric scooters speeding to and fro. They carried all sorts of things; we saw people carrying flattened boxes, hollowed out melons, rubbish, and many had children, some as young as 3, on the back. That is something you never see at home. We also saw a woman in a business suit carrying 4 bags of groceries, hanging from both ends of a wooden rod that she carried across her back.
We arrived at our hotel, the Bamboo Grove, around 7am. Thankfully they had a room available, so were able to give us a key right away. Today we have the day to ourselves, so Wendy wished us well and left, and we went up to room 2064. It actually has two beds, a full and a twin, which we put some of our luggage on, and overlooks the tennis courts.
Exhausted and feeling unfresh, we both bathed then fell fast asleep. We woke up around 12:30pm and started thinking about going out, since we hadn't eaten since lunchtime yesterday. The doorbell rang (we have a doorbell?). When Kelly answered it, it was a Chinese maid who handed her a crystal vase filled with a bouquet of beautiful coral colored roses. The maid smiled, bowed, and then left.
We finished dressing and decided to take a walk to find out what is in the area. We stopped first in a little shop in our hotel, mainly to look at the luggage since we need a new bag for the stuff we've bought so far. The two women in the store followed us everywhere, promising "best price". However, they wanted 880 yuan for a large suitcase, which is not going to happen. Kelly saw a champagne bottle cover that was 8 times what she had haggled for it in Beijing. So we left. We followed the directions Wendy gave us to the nearest market, but ended up on a residential street. Christian said that the majority of Chinese most likely live in places like this street. By Western standards, it would be best described as squalid. However, the wonderful smell of cooked dumplings filled the air.
We decided Wendy probably gave us the wrong directions so made another turn down a street that looked far more promising to contain a market. It was very local, filled with small bakeries, clothing stores, and little supermarkets. We walked all the way down the street, but except for a small noodle house (which had no chance of anything in English) we came upon no where to eat. At this point, an old woman in a rickshaw started following us, waiving a sheet of paper with a picture of the Garden of the Humble Administrator on it, presumably so she can take us there. As usual, we just shook our heads, and finally went into a small convenience store to get rid of her. We bought a bottle of Diet Coke, a bottle of Green Tea, a can of beer (Tai Hu Shui), two packs of sausages for Christian, and a pack of coffee flavored gum for 19 Yuan (GBP1.50/$2.90). We both drank the Coke whilst walking back to the hotel to drop the stuff off. Kelly absolutely adored the gum, and we decided we have to get more of this.
We returned to the hotel and asked the manager to arrange for us to be transported to the Flower Market, one of the places Wendy had recommended. He summoned a taxi and we made it there in about 20 minutes, for the outrageous price of 11 yuan (80p/$1.15). We alighted from the cab and immediately took out our pocket pc's in order to find WiFi so we could finally upload to our blog. We didn’t find wifi, but we were instantaneously surrounded by about 7 young men who, mouths agape, unabashedly looked over our shoulders at what we were doing.
The Flower Market was filled with all sorts of plants and different kinds of vases. It is a local market visited only by locals, so we didn't get any of the high pressure sales we got at the Pearl Market of Beijing. Adjacent to the Flower Market was the "Animal Market", the idea of which Kelly really struggled with. She saw cages filled with birds, hamsters. Jars containing turtles, tortuises, frogs. Huge vats filled with wriggling meal worms. When they saw the kittens and puppies, Kelly almost had to walk out, until they noticed leashes and pet care equipment. It appeared this market was more for purposes of adoption rather than food. Kelly walked up to crates full of the fluffiest puppies jumping up for attention, but she had to remember she couldn’t so much as touch any of them, since the threat of disease is still very real.
While walking back through the Flower Market, we came upon a stall selling various wooden stands for flower pots, and Christian mentioned one of them would be very good for a glass vase Kelly had bought in Beijing. The girl manning the stall was all of 4 foot 5, and she advised that the stand we were looking at could be had for 85 yuan. Kelly countered at 20, which she shook her head at and took out her cell phone so that we could type the numbers out. When she said 80 yuan, Kelly swooned and began to rigorously fan herself, which made passersby who were watching laugh. We finally got her down to 30 yuan (GBP2.10/$3.20), although as it is hand carved, it most likely worth far more than that.
We exited the market and somehow wandered into a local shopping street. There were absolutely no other foreigners there and we received a lot of attention. We stopped in a shop selling clothing, and we bought a cute little red outfit for our neice Morgana. They wanted 100 yuan for it, and Kelly got them down to 20. We also found 2 champagne covers we bought as gifts. They wanted 50 yuan each, we offered 10 for both, and they had to take it. The secret is holding the money out and not backing down.
We decided that, rather then eating out in a restaurant, we would eat from local stalls, as the locals were doing. We went past a stall we referred to as "Mutten King", but Kelly refused to eat anything called "gristle" or "stinky tofu". However, next door Christian bought 3 pieces of chicken on a stick for 3 yuan (21p/40 cents) and it was so amazing we bought two more. Then Kelly went across the street to buy a sticky rice ball; rice packed around a piece of chicken and wrapped in bamboo leaves. It was very good and only 5 yuan. Down the street, Christian saw a McDonalds and decided he HAD to taste a Big Mac (since he has one in every country he visits). We bought one big mac meal for 16 yuan (about GBP1). We both agreed it was the most wonderful big mac we had ever tasted. Leaving McDonalds, Christian noticed they had a hot fudge sundae for 5.5 yuan, but Kelly wanted to try the Haagen Dazs. But at 25 yuan for one scoop, it was way out of our budget and we returned to McDonalds.
It was raining pretty hard at this point. We saw a great terracotta colored t-shirt in a window, and at 10 yuan (73p/$1.10) we just bought it for Christian. It was getting cold so Kelly put it on. With the attention she was getting when wearing a tank top, the extra cover provided a bit of relief.
The rain picked up enough that, by 5pm, we were ready to return to the hotel. We approached a rickshaw driver and asked how much it would cost. He communicated back by holding up a 20 yuan note. It is about twice the price as the taxi, but in this rain we were willing to pay it. We jumped in, and did not anticipate how much fun the ride would be. Chinese people are kamakaze drivers, and often we saw our lives flash before our eyes. It took him about 15 minutes to get us back, and we decided to pay him 30 yuan for the ride, as it was so worth it. He graced us with a tremendous smile and blessed us both. We returned up to the hotel room for the night.
Whilst watching a documentary about elephants on the National Geographic channel, the doorbell rang again. A maid handed us a pink card which read: "Mr. Sculpher & Mrs. Ohlson
Congratulations and Best Wishis (sic) on your Wedding Anniversary.
The Management and all staff of Bamboo Grove Hotel
September. 11' 2006"
We should explain two things here:

1. Kelly travels under the name Ohlson since she never had her passport changed.
2. They think it is our anniversary because Jyoti, our travel agent, told them so as a way to ensure we get the best of everything. We love Jyoti.

During the evening, we watched Nightmare on Elm Street III, with Chinese subtitles, and a fascinating show about a Chinese performing arts troupe consisting entirely of disabled Chinese people, including deaf dancers, a blind orchestra, and wheelchair bound singers. At 10pm, we switched to China Central Broadcasting to watch the Tribute to the victims of 9/11, being filmed live in New York. We saw an aged Guilliani speak, although he was partially drowned out by the Chinese translation. Finally we found CNN which made it much easier.