Buffin, Helen, Elliot and I had been planning a trip to nearby canal town Suzhou for months, but the timing never quite worked out. Buff and I had to postpone it once when my uncle came to visit. Later, Elliot cancelled because he had to make up classes after an H1N1 epidemic rocked his town. Then, Helen, not to be outdone, spent all her money on cashmere sweaters. We finally settled on January 2nd. Buffin and I knew that if something went awry this go round, we probably wouldn’t make it to Suzhou at all. Our remaining weekends in China were quickly booking up. So, it was Suzhou or bust.
And it was very nearly a bust. We bought train tickets for 8:01 a.m. [China, do you enjoy not making any sense?] that Saturday and severely miscalculated how long it would take to get to the station by metro. I’m sure stopping at Mister Donut for coffee and cake-masquerading-as-breakfast-food didn’t help. We pulled up to the Shanghai Railway Station at 7:55. I felt like one of the McCallister cousins in my very own “Run, Run Rudolph” moment a la Home Alone. I don’t suggest you try sprinting like your life depends on it after downing a cup of coffee on an empty stomach. Amazingly enough, we made it – and without a moment to spare. Almost as soon as we hurtled our bodies onto the train, the doors closed.
Forty-five minutes later, we de-boarded that God-forsaken train and put the morning’s near catastrophe behind us. It was time to think happier thoughts, like meeting up with Helen and Elliot, who we hadn’t seen in over two months. After a round of hugs and a quick catch-up session, we headed into our first stop, The Garden of The Master of The Nets. Suzhou is known for its gardens, and this was supposed to be one of the best. Tough critics as we tend to be, we were seriously underwhelmed by what it had to offer, but that’s probably because it was the dead of winter and the garden wasn’t in its tip-top spring shape. Bummer.
I was determined to take a boat ride along the main canal, but after wandering through a very “local” (read: ghetto) part of town and coming up empty handed, we gave up on that venture. But the attempt wasn’t completely in vain since we scored some of Suzhou’s famous pastries on a random side street somewhere along the way.
Next up: The Twin Pagodas. Now, Buffin and I have adopted a phrase when it comes to pagodas: “If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.” And, normally, that would hold true. But The Twin Pagodas were a horse of a different color – literally. Unlike the traditional pagodas we’d seen in Beijing, Hangzhou and Xi’an, these identical towers were painted pink and yellow. I don’t know why, but it made them a hell of a lot more interesting. Plus we found a stone horse statue on the premises that was practically begging for a photo shoot, and Lord knows I love a good photo shoot.
Afterward, we paid a visit to the Kunqu Opera House and Museum. I’ve gotten used to being the only white people around, but in this instance we were the only people there at all. They had some beautiful costumes and impressive props on display, but I know next to nothing about opera, let alone Chinese opera. It was a nice enough experience, but nothing to write home about (but apparently I am anyway, sorry?). Let me put it this way – the Chinese will charge you to use a public restroom, but this place was free.
Elliot, determined to take advantage of our female shopping prowess, asked that we help him buy souvenirs. Renowned for its silk, Suzhou isn’t a bad place to do just that. We stopped at a scarf shop and probably got a little ripped off, but Elliot came away with a gift for his sister. All’s well that ends well. Lunch was a quick stop at a dumpling chain restaurant (let’s all take a moment to appreciate the fact that our fast food is hamburgers and french fries) and for dessert we grabbed ice cream at KFC (their soft serve is amazing).
Helen and Elliot wanted to go to the Silk Museum next, but since Buffin and I had already been to one in Hangzhou we patiently waited outside while they scurried through. The daylight hours were quickly dwindling, but, luckily, we had just one more item to cross off our list – The Humble Administrator’s Garden, the largest and most impressive in all of Suzhou. Like pagodas, Chinese gardens start looking the same after a while, but this one really stood out. For starters, at nearly 13 acres, it was ginormous compared to others we’ve seen. It also had very detailed architecture throughout and a bonsai garden in the back. If you’re ever in Suzhou, this one’s a can’t-miss.
Somehow, we found ourselves repeating that morning’s mistake as we hurriedly hugged Helen and Elliot goodbye and made a mad dash for the train station. Really, you have to be quite talented to screw this up twice in one day. We cut it so close this time that Buffin didn’t even want to make a run for it. I’m glad with did, though, because God was once again on our side. The train was a good five minutes late, and that never happens here. The trains in China run like clockwork.
On the ride back into town, Buffin and I went through the day’s photos on our digital cameras, deciding what was our favorite part of the trip and laughing at some of the doozies we captured. And it hit me that this had been our last hoorah with Helen and Elliot. Even though H is coming to visit us one more time in Shanghai before we leave, we have officially closed the book on Hallie+Buffin+Helen+Elliot adventures across China. They were the very first friends we made over here, way back in August during orientation, and I think that’s something special in and of itself. But they’ve become even better friends over the past 6 months – experiencing National Day in Beijing together, making the trek to Shanghai to celebrate my birthday. I really can’t imagine my time in China without them, and I’m glad I don’t have to.
