a family day not to be repeated in canada

Bright and early doug shows up, we dress. And basically sneak him into our holiday great breakfast.
After eating like it was our last meal we go back to the room, pack for the last time and
Go downstairs to settle our bill.
The english speaking front desk man is trying to charge me for a choxolate that was never eaten from the mini bar.
Convinced him that never happened which it didn't, and then we realized carly had taken 2 water bottles
As the normally 2 freebies were no where in sight.
After some negotiations we got them for free.
Left our suitcases in the holding area and we 3 grabbed a cab to a area where only chinese people shop.
I will try and describe this place, but even with this picture I can't capture it .
Filthy streets, people screaming and bargaining , foreign smells ranging from bodyily functions to cooking smells.
And then we enter one of 4 bldgs all 5 floors each.
The stalls are all packed with people caryls age buying, no trying on, purely guesstimates
Wall to wall stalls each one the size of a small powder room. People latching onto us as we are the only 3 white faces for miles.
Doug disappears to go to the bathroom and possibly inspect a near by electrical box. He came back with a total look of disgust.
Worse than normal I ask, no comment.
I forget to mention no ac in these bldgs. Deoderant optional.
Unfortunately,I then had to go too. Let's just say in china you get up close and personal with human waste the likes of north americans
Have no clue about. Hygiene doesn't exist in much of china.
We did some shopping, haggling bargaining etc.
We then walked back to nanjing room western side as we did spy a shoe store prices not bad.
Said goodbye to doug and we entered shoe heaven, hundreds of asian style shoes.
Carly bought , relished the atmosphere and we left. Suddenly poring with every vendor trying to sell us an umbrella.
Back into the taxi heading for the hotel, hot sweaty but gotta organize the new suitcase
Ready and prepared for cab, liam @2. Flying out at 5
Wrong, try 9;45 that night.
A more than normal chatty female from washington latched onto us as we were in the cab together.
Didn't stop for air once. A psyc proff, learned more about her in 5 mins than I possibly know
About my own family. Yikes!
We lay on the airport benches fell asleep, I imagined when she didn't have us as a captive audience she moved on
I was right.
Boarded the plane @9:45 to sit for over 12 hours. Shitty middle seat again, carly aisle and some been in canada 4 years chinese guy.
Long long flight.
So there you have it, thanks for coming along for the most incredible 3 weeks away in my life.
Get to scratch that one off my bucket list.
End of blog.

back in shanghai

We now drive 3 hours to get to shanghai.
We are taken to our restaurant and met by liam. Handsome, young tour guide who we had met one other time.
He is already in our bad books for the dinner debacle. Eddie is giving him the cold shoulder and I am too tired to care, knowing he will sort it out in mandarin.
Lunch good, shanghai heat like a sauna.
We are dropped off at the bund area, like wall street, big financial area.
Hoardes of people .
Walked over to nanjing road, west side omega, bloor street however interspersed are some cheaper places.
East side chinese side, haggle, bargain walk away , they chase you lowering the price as you walk away.
We then got stuck in a typical traffic jam lasting hours and onto dinner.
Good dinner nothing strange, but too much heat, not hydrated only wanted sleep.
Phoned doug to organize time to see him and by now we needed another suitcase.
Showered, bed. Doug said he would be there at the hotel 7am

hangzhou tea capital

We motored on to a larger city, know for a longevity tea dragons well.
Took us til luchtime to get to our restaurant and meet mandy#2 NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH1.
The restaurant could have been good, but the staff were slow and stupid. We were cranky and probably tired too.
Once again getting closer to shanghai and away from schewan food makes it on the sweeter side.
We found this city to be pretty, according to marco polo beautiful and magnificant in the world.
Ah yes, we drive to a huge local park and walk to west lake, with boats, hoping against hope we aren't boarding one!
Well we do, a 20 minute cruise along the lake, people will get on and off as well, one end of the park to the other.
It was in the 40s, no breeze and we board this thing. Carly of course became an instant celebrity having her pic taken by many people.
Beautiful smiling white girl.
Next activity is the yellow dragon cave and the dragon well tea ceremony.
It wasn't very interesting as we really scored with our other tea ceremony in chongquing, however what really capped it was when asked if we wanted to buy this overpriced tea, eddie the chinese
Looking grandpa tells her he drinks a better cheaper tea from indonesia found in oklahoma.
She promptly left the room.
Dinner was early, good but the whole fresh water fish, tasted fishy and with head intact we declined.
Hotel good, showered and since only cnn was on other channels all in chinese, hit the hay @ 10.

onto the pearl store in wuxi

I am actually home now, but my trip wasn't over at the last blog, so if you are still interested here it is.
We are taken to a very large fresh water pearl store.
Little explanation , pearl tea to sip,tasteless and ushered into the store with many pretty
Things to buy.
This larger over bearing sales girl latches herself onto me and with her annoying broken engrish contiues
To badger me with " I give you discount , lady"!
I thought I would go out of my mind. Even when I siddled over to see what damage my daughter had done, she followd me.
Didn't do as. Much spending as she would have liked, but got out unscathed!
Back into our van, dumped that guide and onto hangzhou.
As we were leaving met some canadian delegates from 1000 islands. Funny how you unabashedly
Go up to a perfect stranger wearing a canadian flag, and say hi, where you from.
Stayed in a nice hotel that night and dinner was good with little spice

drivers in china

I feel compelled to tell you about the driving here as we are now in our ac panel truck \motor car
Driving to shanghai. We have no guide right now, just our driver mr.wong.
Before you conjure up some old wrinkled wise chinese man looking possibly like confusciuos,
Think again.
He is the chinese version of evil kniveil!
Youngish, married 3 kids, one set of twins, so its alloed.
Laughs out loud belly gut laugh.
Communiates with the older ones in mandarin.
Uses his horn like its an extension of his steering wheel. Yet, we kinda feel safe in a peculiar way.
Traffic jams are quite a sight to see, people darting offf the curbs
Taking their lives in their hands just to get to the other side, to possibly wait, push and be jostled again.
Toronto traffic jams seem so civilized, at least no one drives close to the sidewalk
On the shoulder to get one car ahead.

a #

wuxi or wuchi

Good morning,

Gotta tell you this is one pretty city. Smaller than shanghai but similar in many ways.
We are met by mandy chinese name unknown, but it means money.
She like the other girl fuides is cute, friendly and her english was ok.
We visited turtle head penninsulae park.over looking lake tai.
3rd largest lake in china. Fresh water pearl farm there.
Wuxi was hot but there was a breeze.
Carly had her picture taken several times byy young chinese guys. They secretly take pics trying not to be obvious, she
However sees them, smiles and she then takes pics of them.
She is young, white skinned and people just look in amazement.
We then drove to a restaurant for lunch mostly sweeter dishes, good change for us.
This city feels like a up and coming one, there is a good univercity here , but honestly every city has one
As the country is so populated.
We drove around the city sightseeing more.
Hotel as part of the radisson chain.
Rooms ok. Lobby lavish as many hotels have.
Converter not working. Hairdryer not working.
In the morning ac in large breakfast room not working.
Slept ok and on to pearls shopping in wuxi before we leave for new place

day trip north west of shanghai

Afternoon ppl,
We are in a town of 6.9 million called suzchou
Means fish and water, of which they have an abundance of. A man made canal that stretches for miles.
A venice of the orient as they like to call it.
First thing we did was pick up another guide. Judy. English speaking even knowing idioms.
She took us the master of the nets temple right in the heart of the city.
Interesting gardens for the sacred daughters to play in many years ago.
Humid today like I have never experienced.
We then drove to tigers hill. Temples, buddist statues and a tower leaning like the tower of pisa.
We walked the famous 108 steps downhill thank goodness. Legend has it, after walking those
Steps all your problems will be gone. I'm waiting for this to kick in!
Onto to lunch , yummy food even a yummy tofu soup with egg, bean, onion and some foreign meat,
Which I didn't bother with.
After that on to the famous silkmaking shop which suzhou is proud of and exports overseas.
Bought some silk bedding, prices were insanely cheap even with conversion.
Said goodbye to judy , it is now 4pm back in the motorcar to drive to wuxi, pronounced wuchi.
Meeting yet another guide. Believe me, all this nonsense of guides wasn't in the damn brochure.