7-15-09 Arrive in Shanghi, 100k bus ride to Suzhou, Explored Tiger Hill, Drifted the Canal, Strolled though the town, and Gathered with locals as they shopped and let the shopping carts fly!!!

The extended travel day from SD to LAX to Shanghi to Beijing...made the 2 hr flight from Beijing to Shanghi seem like short day at the office for our fellow road hardened travelers!

After meting our new guide Emily, we were introduced to Suzhou by hiking up the steps to Tiger Hill, the "Leaning Tower of Pisa" of China.  The damp cloud of humidity that shrouded the stepped historic sight made it felt like we were roaming through ancient ruins in a south american rain forest, just as much as the equally impressive 7-story ancient leaning pagoda.  Our mist filled breaths were exchanged for muffled "wow"-heavy exclamations as we crested the final flight to find the tower looming above us.  The lush green flora that draped and framed the stone adornments that have survived the ages were intensified by the grey cloud back ground that matched the stone, leaving only the emerald leaves and vines to shine and glow in the midday light.

Our trip down the canal, which reminded the Venetian explorer Marco Polo of his hometown due to its abundance of bridges, was a divergence from the Washington D.C like surroundings we had just flown from in Beijing.  The mix of old and new was palatable as we paraded through the market streets filled with mixed smells, sights, and emotions.  The smiles we received were welcomed; though the final verdict was that any commerce that the tours bring to this area is positive, this experience rode the fine line between traveling and tourism for Domo and Jim...We can only hope that the smiles & dollars we left behind will make a day better for one or two of the beautiful children we met.  Maybe it will fund an extra rumble on the mechanical ride outside the corner store, or will provide a cool treat to bat away the swarming heat.

Watching the new bricks being laid all along the canal's banks, the new cars parked along the road sides, and the phone lines strung across elderly looking landscapes quickly began to epitomize today's China: Modern sprouting in the damp shadows of history.