The Brown Fox Dynasty: Row, Row, Row Your Boat

8/2/15

Finally I got a good night’s sleep, hopefully this jet lag or whatever it is that’s kind of wearing me down with body aches will be gone soon because we have a long day ahead of us in Suzhou (pronounced So-Joo). Suzhou is a very old city built around winding fishing canals. Our guide said it is most often referred to as the Venice of China but that this is wrong because Suzhou has been in existence much longer than Venice. (He’s very proud of his Chinese heritage.)

Floating thru Suzhou

Picturesque Gondola

Our Gondolier

Hanging out on the bow

Trash Collectors

Suzhou was indeed a very old city, an interesting juxtaposition from the bustling crowds and tall buildings of Shanghai. It has an old, small village charm and, like most canal-cities, would not be complete without its own gondola ride. So we gently floated through the canals of this ancient fishing village, waving “ni hao” to the Chinese tourists along the banks. Nick even got to steer the boat for a little while – good thing the oar was tethered to the boat though! ;) (NN: As I powered the boat the Chinese tourists were taking photos of me. No doubt to be used in a Chinese Fox News equivalent as proof that those American’s are coming to China to steal Chinses jobs.)

Nick Trying to Drive

Wedding Photos Along the Banks

We were of course serenaded by our gondolier, though sadly, with the dozens of different regional dialects in China, even our guide (who’s a native of Beijing) couldn’t understand the words to his song.

After the boat ride, we have a little while to stroll through the streets and check out the town. It’s mostly a tourist destination, so there were tons of boutique shops and street food vendors. I would have loved to sit at a tea house along the banks of the canal and enjoy the view but alas, not being able to imbibe caffeine is a serious limiting factor when traveling abroad. You can’t enjoy the social aspect of sharing coffee or tea with others, which is a bummer – especially in the land of tea!