What's That? Wednesday: Random Adventures

If you happen to be a friend of mine on Facebook, then you saw this post over the weekend...

Really, that is the fun & frustrating part of expat living.  Simple things can turn into a great adventure, but it also means that running errands and tracking down things can turn into a full-day experience.

The goal of our adventure was to find this mythical craft emporium in Old Town.  I miss crafting...I miss running to Michael's, Hobby Lobby and JoAnn's clutching my coupons and looking for a new project to complete.  And now there are so many tempting projects on Pinterest to look at.  I know that all of those supplies (except for grosgrain ribbon which comes from Taiwan) are manufactured in China, but I don't know where to buy them!  (Don't talk to me about TaoBao, which is like a Chinese Ebay, I have not mastered the site.)  

All the good stuff is found at these flea markets that I hear about from friends.  Need rubber bands?  Try the Suzhou flea market outside of the Fabric Market.  How about balloons or gift bags?  The other Suzhou flea market near the old train station.  Luggage?  Wuxi flea market has a great selection.

I wanted to see this place with my own eyes and we needed supplies to make  LBean's "World Maths Day" hat.  Thankfully our friends were also up for an adventure and we piled into our van.

I forgot my good camera, so I did the best I could with my iPhone.  As I looked at the pictures after I uploaded them, I was a tad bit disappointed.  It looks like I walked into a Staples or Office Max and snapped a few pictures.  The visuals do not convey the awesomeness, and randomness, that we discovered.

Seriously lanyards and name tag holders, where were you at the beginning of this year's Girl Scout meetings?

Ahh, card stock, craft foam and colored paper!

Spray paint, yes, there is spray paint!

Pencil sharpeners

First aid kit/emergency boxes, top shelf please.

The skull is what I really came for!

Yeah, I bought this...I'll use it some time.

You'd better buy this...or else!

Oh, the possibilities are endless with these gems!

That elevator looks safe.  What buzzing?!  I'm sure we're fine.

Oh, you poor pregnant woman.  I have been there.  I did not own the matching quilted pj's that this woman is wearing, but I did go into labor with LBean wearing red bandana patterned crop pants, so I think we're equal.

After all that hard shopping, it's time for a snack, roasted sweet potatoes.

LBean found her supplies for her hat project and a bonus, the lovely ear muffs.  She insisted on wearing them for the next two days, inside and outside.

Never would have guessed this building would have so many treasures inside.

After we toured the flea market, we ate lunch in Old Town and then headed to Ancient Street.  I hadn't been to Ancient Street since last fall and imagine my surprise when we walked past this Dairy Queen.  The photo has an ethereal look to it, but it's just because one of my kiddos was playing with my iPhone and got her greasy fingers on the camera.  I'm a sucker for a nice Dairy Queen, in part because of the memories I have from working at one my senior year of high school.  The people I worked with made it really fun even though one guy stole my jacket, dunked it in the dirty dish water and hung it up in the freezer...ahhh, high school!

It was impossible to lose our friends because if they stopped for a nanosecond, a crowd would form to look at their (and sometimes our) fair-haired kiddos and try and take a peak at the foreigner's baby in the stroller.  

Look at the picture below, can you see them lifting up the blanket to look at the baby?

I love this picture too, because I am pretty sure that they are explaining that no, not all the girls are their own (EBean was riding in the stroller too), just 3 of the girls belong to them.  And, they're also giving all of the girls' ages.

We ended our time on Ancient Street with a canal ride.  This was the first time I had taken the boat during the winter, which gave me a chance to see everyone's laundry hanging outside beside their meat.  My parents tell stories about meat staying chilled/frozen by hanging in the attic or in the stairs to the second floor of their childhood farm houses, so I guess it's really not that different.

The day ended at our apartment and we were exhausted, but rallied for some tasty Indian food before our friends left.  After the girls were in bed I looked at Jamie and said, "I'm tired, but it's a good tired."  Hooray for random adventures!

Roar: Suzhou's Tiger Hill

No visit is complete without a trip
to the McDonald's in Old Town!

Last month, our family was so excited to welcome Jamie’s mother to Suzhou for 12 days.  We took her to some of our favorite spots: Old Town, the pearl market, Ancient Street, the No. 1 Silk Museum and the former French Concession in Shanghai.  

Temple in Old Town.

Mei Mei's: Where we had Jamie's aunt's silk pajamas made. 

One of the workers making Jamie's mother's pearl necklace.

So much to look at in the Pearl Market.

Waiting patiently (or not so patiently)
for our jewelry to be finished.

Standing in front of the live silk worms
at the No. 1 Silk Museum. 

Pulling the silk threads to make a silk duvet.

Tianzifang at night in Shanghai.

Jamie's mother's visit gave us the perfect excuse to make our first visit to Suzhou’s iconic Tiger Hill in the northwest part of the city.  The island area is a combination of a bamboo park, tomb, and temple, and is surrounded by canals.

Walking towards the entrance of Tiger Hill.

Though we went on a very hot day in August (but all days are hot in Suzhou in August!), I was pleasantly surprised about how much of the area was in the shade.  As we were walking up the many steps towards the temple, I was approached by a young woman who asked to  be our guide around the area. She suggested a price and I counter-offered, not really finding it necessary to have a guide.  She said no and I thanked her and she walked away, but then she came back with another offer and I restated the price I was comfortable with and she walked away.  The third time was the charm because she came back again and agreed to be our guide.  I can tell I’ve been here a while, this negotiating is becoming second nature (be that a warning to all car salesmen we deal with when we repatriate to the US!) and it helped that I couldn’t have cared less if she agreed or not, no emotions were tied to the deal!  As it turns out, I am very glad that she agreed to be our guide, we would have missed out on a lot of the history and details of Tiger Hill.

Tiger Hill is the burial place of He Lu, the King of Wu and founder of Suzhou.  Tiger Hill earned its name because the legend says his spirit was guarded by a white tiger that  appeared three days after his death and refused to leave.  The King was supposedly buried with 3,000 swords.  Our guide told us that the entrance to the tomb is actually underneath a moat and the water would have to be drained to enter the tomb.  She also said that upon the completion of the tomb all of the workers were given wine to celebrate, but that it had been purposely poisoned causing all the workers to die on the spot...just like with the Egyptian pyramids.  The spot where the workers perished is called Thousand People Rock.

Canals surround the Tiger Hill area. 

1,000 People Rock (the pillar) where
all of the workers died after completing the tomb.

Apparently if the water was drained,
we would see the entrance to the tomb.

Are there 3,000 swords down there? 

Looking out at the Suzhou skyline, our apartment
is to the left of the archway, which has
 been dubbed "Big Pants" by locals.

Looking up at the pagoda.

Above the tomb is the 1,000-year-old temple.  I asked if the temple had been built there because of the tomb and our guide said that it was coincidence that both were built on that spot.  The pagoda (temple) is leaning more than seven feet and sometimes is called the Second Leaning Tower, the first being  in Italy.  The exterior of the pagoda had been covered in wood, but the tower had caught on fire a few times, most recently during the government’s changes in the 1960’s and ‘70’s.

Running down the tree-lined path.

After walking up to the temple, we enjoyed seeing the bamboo on the way down to the canal.  We love canal rides, so after a quick ice cream break, we ended our day being taken by a man-powered boat around the canals circling Tiger Hill.

Any time is a good time for ice cream.

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