Suzhou

As we bear down on our last days in Shanghai, we went on a day trip to Suzhou on Saturday and came back tired but a little disappointed. While Suzhou was still mildly interesting, it didn't live up to the hype brought by two obviously too boastful (typical Chinese) phrases commonly associated with it in travel guides.
1. In heaven there is paradise, on earth there is Hangzhou and Suzhou.
>> Chiang Mai beats Hangzhou and Suzhou any day of the year.
2. Gardens to the south of Yangtze River are the best in the world, and Suzhou gardens are the best among them.

We first visited the Master Of The Nets Garden. The travel guides repeatedly singled it out as the most beautiful one. But one look at it and I knew we wouldn't be in for a day of beauty. A pic here below showing the pond at the centre of it all at this garden.



We then went for lunch. Much like Suzhou, it was decent but not spectacular. And with our stomachs full, we went to the Lion Grove Garden and got the workout we needed. This garden was our favourite on this trip and much of it has to do with the mazy paths, complete with stairs and bridges, through the limestone rocks. A fun time and well worth the RMB30 entrance fee.





Our last paid stop was at the Tiger Hill with its leaning pagoda. At RMB60 per entry, this was the biggest disappointment. I'm usually a sucker for these types of old pagodas and this one was nice but not worth the hefty entrance fee. After seeing the awe-inspiring Wat Chedi Luang in Chiang Mai for 0 baht, this one left a sour taste in my mouth.



We then stopped at Hanshan Temple but did not find it worth paying another RMB25 to go in. Not helping matters was the fact that we reached there at 16:45 and the sign by the ticket office said it closed at 16:30 even though it was still selling tickets to the hordes of group tourists.

Our last stop in Suzhou was at a nice little shopping street where the women did some shopping while I did some waiting. Only minus point here was the annoying bicycle taxi drivers always pestering us to hitch a ride in their death traps.



These next 2 pics are my favourite among the ones taken in Suzhou. They don't feature the gardens, so that should be enough to tell you loads about how much I rated those.

Cute little puppy under the display cases of a stall peddling touristy stuff at the Master Of The Nets Garden. There were at least 4 puppies under there.



The sunset sky as I was waiting for the women at the shopping street.