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Hello!
It's my turn to blog, but hopefully it'll be a short one as we're running out of time...!
So dave left things in Xi'an where we were waiting to board a posh ‘D' train to Suzhou. We swiftly dumped our bags and headed straight out as we only had an afternoon to explore. We visited the 'Master of the Nets' garden, which is a labyrinth (pardon the spelling!) of little walled gardens surrounds by hutongs. You'd wlak around and think you'd seen everything then something new would pop up. It was absolutely lovely and would be a great place to relax with a book in the peace and quiet. Instead we dashed round the city to a place called 'Pan Men' that enclosed more beautiful gardens but on a much larger, more open scale. We wandered around with Dan and Natalie (two people on our tour) as the sun faded and night set in. Again it's a place where you could wander for hours on end, stopping to take in the different views and hidey-holes dotted around the place.
The next day started early as we travelled to Hangzhou by bus to stay for 2 nights. Hangzhou is one of our favourite cities so far as it's got so much character with little alleys and markets dotted around. The first day was spent visiting Feilai Fung up in the mountains and woods. Walking around you'd see carvings in the rocks and caves of Budhas of all varieties, some hidden more than others. Once again, we would love to have spent more time meandering around the little paths and going inside the Temple, but time was not on our side and the place was soon shutting down for the evening.
That night (and the one following!) was spent on Old Street, where there were fantastic shops, lanterns covering the hutongs and food stalls with all sorts. It was fantastic and I must admit I endulged in a bit of shopping...!
The following day consisted of a spectacular stroll around Xi Hu (West Lake) in the centre of town. It's an enormous lake with paths crossing it's length, pagodas dotted about and old men flying kites :) We Walked through a park in the north that was covered with bamboo andvery steep steps that was great for a bit of a work out! That night we headed to Old Street and tried the local food from the stalls. Admittedly we stuck with noodles and rice in a pineapple, rather than going for the duck heads and intestines...!
We are now in Shanghai! My goodness, it's brilliant despite the famous Bund being a complete building site as preparations for the Shanghai Expo are in full swing. We can't actually see the Huangpu River or the famous site from the Bund looking across the river to the Pearl Tower etc. Although the buliding works are a little annoying we have spent two lovely days wandering through the old city, Najing Road (famous for shopping) and Yu Yuan Gardens (which are absolutely gorgeous). Yesterday we went up the Jinmao Tower as the sun was setting and waited until night fell to see all the lights of Shanghai. It was amazing despite the smog blocking half our view. Still worth doing :)
We're now about to flee the internet cafe where we have spent most our morning sorting out flights and hostels for when the tour finishes so we can actually explore this amazing city a little more before seeing the Acrobatics Show later tonight. I'm so excited!
Well, that's all for now. Love you lots still and like always we're still waiting for speedy enough internet to download photos.
Miss you!
Isey and Dave
xxx
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