And when I noted that the Shanghai Postal Museum was close by, I thought that would be a fitting stop considering the saga of Andy's stolen iPad in the US Postal System. It was very informative as to the long history of the Chinese postal system -- and free. What's not to like about that.
Thereafter I meandered amongst lots of streets -- enjoying the bustle, noise and smells of Shanghai city life.
The next morning I made my way on the subway to the railroad station that I have been to several times before -- and was off to Suzhou on bullet train. Suzhou is 62 miles from Shanghai (about 35 minutes on the train) and while it felt like I was headed to a suburb, it's a city of 4 million -- making it about the size of Los Angeles, the USA's second largest city. Suzhou is famous for its World Heritage Site Classical Gardens -- and I spend the day visiting three of them (Humble Administrator's, Lion's Grove Garden, and Couples Retreat. Except for the last one, the others were very crowded with Chinese tourists -- making for more great people watching. Andy later explained that Suzhou gardens is a "must see" for Chinese tourists. They were interesting and it was a fun way to spend a day. This photo is from Lion's Grove:
After my feet had walked more than they liked, I succumbed to a touristy pedicab back to the train station and arrived back in Shanghai just in time to get caught on the subway. No one can appreciate the massiveness train stations nor the masses of people they accommodate unless you have visited China. Here's an internet photo of the inside of Shanghai's railway station.
The four days/nights in downtown Shanghai passed quickly and comfortably at my selected AirBnb. but on the morning I was going to be headed back to the original AirBnB, I awoke early with some concern that I still didn't know the precise address of the location nor whether I might again share space with the guy from Peru whose story, appearance and demeanor left me suspicious. Thankfully, many texts with the host calmed all of my concerns and I arrived in time to have several hours of interesting and fun conversation with the host about Chinese culture, her experiences with AirBnb, and her extensive travels in China. When I inquired if I might be able to find my favorite Muslim noodle place (see this prior post) to have dinner , she and a friend offered to lead me to its location only to find it was out of business. So we opted to go to another nearby street-side restaurant and I got to experience the seasonally favorite crayfish among a few other Chinese foods I hadn't had.
The host arranged a 4:40am ride to the airport for my 6:50am departure -- and I departed Shanghai very happy that I had a chance to meet up with Andy and return his iPad, experience another city (Suzhou) -- and add new friends to my life from my first two AirBnB experiences in China.
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