Tom's Food and Travel: A WEEKEND IN SUZHOU, CHINA

I had to make a business trip to Shanghai in May this year and thought it would be a good to take a weekend off some where nearby with my wife. We had visited Hangzhou a couple of years ago and this time, we will go to Suzhou.

When we arrived at the airport, we were unprepared for a different welcome. We were asked to sit down and waited for the health authority to take our temperature. They were dressed like a scene from X-files or those from a movie about germs or virus.

Imagine what was going through all those on board. What if there was some one with high fever or with the symptoms. Were we all going to get a free holiday from the Chinese government (i.e. 7 days quarantine)?. Luckily, we were given the green light. However, there is another line before the immigration to double check the temperature. It was chaotic.

From what I read, there are a lot of buses from Pudong airport to Suzhou and I decided to try this out. I was not prepared for the going roundabout way as the signs were lacking. It took us a long time to get to the bus area. The journey was also equally long as it also makes a stop at Hongjiao airport to pick up other customers. Overall it took more than 4 hours for a 2 and a half hour trip. Not really convenient.

For a change, we also decided to stay in a Ming styled courtyard house which has been turned into a boutique hotel. Based on the net, it is something really different. They were right, it is a real change and the feeling is totally different. It is also very quiet and calming in the courtyard. It's location is also ideal and fairly near to city centre and the lane where it is located is both lively and quaint.

The tourist bus system in Suzhou is cheap, efficient and brings you to most of the tourist attractions. Each time you get on, you pay RMB 2. So it was very convenient for us as there were so many touts trying to get you. There were also a lot of trishaws but they smell you a mile away and the amount they charge tourist is much higher than the local. Anyhow, we tried it once and found it to be a rather pleasant ride but scary as he weaves around traffic.

We also had a good time trying the local cuisine. For one of the breakfast, we saw a queue in a small shop and we joined in and bought some soyabean and a few fried pastries. It was hot, fresh and delicious. Enough for two of us. Cost us RMB 2.70 (about USD 0.50).

We also tried some of their noodles. Most locals would order a bowl of noodles with a topping (meat with vegetables). This wuld cost them about RMB 7 (about USD 1). As we wanted to try the food, my wife and I would order a bowl of noodles to share (it was huge) but a few types of the dishes (meat and vegetables). The locals would stare at us and I am not sure what is going through their mind. Anyhow, the food would be delicious and filling and all this will cost us about RMB 20 (less than USD 3).

We also had lunch one day at a small restaurant and we tried the local delicacies here. Quite similar to Shanghai food, they had cold and hot dishes. We ordered some simple but hearty dishes and it came to about RMB 70 (about USD 10).

Apart from food, Suzhou is of course famous for its water canals which makes the place very serene and also the gardens. I love Chinese gardens over the years when visiting China and it can be very calming to enjoy it quietly and in pleasant weather. However, whilst the weather was pleasant in May, not too hot, the problem was the crowd. In the weekend, this place is swarming with people from Shanghai coming for a short holiday and those from the other provinces. Imagine a nice garden full of tour guides with loud hailers trying to outdo each other. Ouch! Anyhow, I hope my pictures will show a quieter place than it was.

Although there were many gardens in Suzhou, due to the experience mentioned above, we only went to the Humble Administrator's garden. In addition, the charges are about RMB 100 per person to enter, not cheap at all. After all, it is a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Suzhou is also known for it's pearls and although we did not buy any, we took some pictures from a shop.

We also went to Tiger Hill where a very old pagoda is housed. I must say that this place is very interesting. There is also a moat around the hill and we went for a boat ride around the moat which also connected to the canals. we were actually undecided but there were 2 other Chinese tourist who asked us to share the boat with them (each boat can carry 4 persons) and split the bill. Well, have to be a bit kiasu, and since we can save some money, we agreed.

We also visited Suzhou International Park (SIP) which is jointly developed with Singapore. This is the modern part of the city housing many factories. It is also in this area where the new commercial area is being developed. Many high rise apartments, shopping mall, recreation area has and continued being built. At night, the whole area is lighted up and it feels like Christmas in the middle of the year.

In one area, they built a causeway across a large lake and many restaurants lined the whole causeway. It was also very popular as the area was crowded. We did not know what to eat and at last decided on Korean. What also enticed us was the spider crab. We thought we needed a change after so many days of local Chinese food. Anyhow we both love Korean food. We had the customary kimchi with the accompanying small dishes. We also had the bibimbab together with the huge crab done in 2 style steamed and grilled.