These five star hotels really pamper you. And the breakfasts are amazing – buffets laden with fruit, pastries, dim sum, congee, and every Chinese dish I know along with many more that I don’t.
We caught a bus at 9 am heading for Zhujiajiao. The town is full of artisan shops and local food delicacies along a cobblestone walk which lines a picturesque canal. Ancient arched stone bridges span the canal every so often – perfect settings for a selfie. This ‘ancient water town’ is said to be almost 1,700 years old – with homes dating back to the Ming and Qing dynasties. I fell in love with a fluffy little black and white pup climbing out of a box in front of one of the shops.
Next was a ride down one of the canals running through the city. It reminded me of the canal ride we did in Bangkok. We travelled past the back doors of peoples’ homes where laundry was hanging to dry and flowerpots lined the steps leading up from the water. Crooked stone walls and ancient arched bridges leant the feeling we were travelling back in time.
From here we headed for the Lingering Gardens in Suzhou. Our guide for the day was May. I had a lot of difficulty catching what she said. She spoke really quickly and had a somewhat strange sense of humour. Maybe I just didn’t catch enough to understand what she was saying. The gardens though were lovely – lots of water, stones, architecture and wood. These are the four main ingredients of a Chinese garden – all very artfully worked together to produce a place of peace and harmony.
We ended the day staying at an incredible hotel that looked like some ancient castle. Tony likened it to a maze and he was not far off. It was a bit late in the day that we arrived so we didn’t have a chance to discover the hotel properly but outside Jan and my window was a small creek lined with willows and other trees. It looked like we were out in the country – not in the middle of a city.
We ate a buffet supper that was wonderful – stations of food spread throughout a huge dining area. We lingered long over the meal – with many treks to check out the various food stations.
I was too exhausted to join Jan and Alan with a wee dram of scotch. Now that must be a record!