Along the motorways, we've seen miles and miles of lotus flower fields, producing lotus root, which is widely eaten. This beautiful lotus flower was in the Humble Administrator's Garden in Suzhou ... Click to see a larger image.
Shanghai main line train station: buying tickets for Suzhou. Extremely efficient, coach and seat numbered for each departure, tickets sold for several days ahead, at an English speaking window ... Click to see a larger image.
Suzhou is a wonderful town on canals and gardens, the "Brugges of China", but, of course, it has 6 million people, just 45 minutes on a good train from Shanghai. This is the house of the "Master of the Nets", dating from 1140, but completely remodeled in 1770 ... Click to see a larger image.
Inside of several pavilions of the Master of the Nets Garden. One of the owners was a retired official, who wished to become an accomplished fisherman ... Click to see a large image.
This garden belonged to the "Humble Administrator" ... Click to see a large image.
Humble Administrators' Garden, the largest in Suzhou. It is also the finest, established in the 16th century by a retired magistrate, Wang Xianchen ... Click tosee a large image.
And do you thing today's corruption is new ? This is a huge garden. We wondered how a retired public servant had so much money to build such a large and beautiful garden, with bridges and pavilions on his humble pension. Well, anyway, the garden is stunning ... Click to see a large image.
Lotus flowers in the entrance of the Humble Administrator's Garden ... Click to see a large image.
"Fragrant Isle", this pavilion and terrace are supposed to resemble the deck and the cabin of a boat ... Click to see a larger image.
A view across the garden with the Beisi Ta pagoda in the background, water lilies and lotus in the pond ... Click to see a large image.
Under the "Mandarin Duck Hall" live some very happy ducks, happy because they are not going be eaten for tonight's dinner ... Click to see a larger image.
In the Bonsai Garden we ran into a small tour of Costa Ricans and a lady from Guatemala City. Small world, we were going back to Guatemala the next day, she a day later ... Click to see a larger image.
Lots of bonsai trees ... Click to see a large image.
Outside the garden, in a souvenir shop, we saw a dog that reminded us of our Sammy in Antigua. Time to go back home! ... Click to see a larger image.
From the garden, we walked to an interesting Silk Museum, past the Beisi Ta Pagoda, 249 feet tall. It's foundations are from the Three Kingdoms era, 220-265 A.D. ... Click to see a large image.
At Suzhou station, waiting for our train back to Shanghai. One last fancy Italian dinner at our hotel, and the next day, we had over 24 hours of travel from Shanghai's stunning airport to Narita, to Dallas, to Guatemala and taxi to Antigua. "East - West, Home is Best" ... Click to see a larger image.
