So we hopped on the subway and headed for old town.
Suzhou is one of those smart cities that doesn't building over its historic culture, it builds around it. Literally.
Old town is the center of the city, the downtown. It is essentially a big square surrounded by the famous canals and plays host to most of the cities attractions: gardens, pagodas, and parks.
They have a modernized shopping district called Guan Qian, which was more crowded that I remember Times Square being.
Seriously.
It's full of mostly clothing stores that feature what we started calling, "clappers." These people stand at the entrance and clap.
I know my terminology is simply, but, hey, I studied business, not etymology.
So this is all they do, all day. They stand and clap continuously. It's rather obnoxious, but I realized I quickly blocked them out like the rest of the passerby's which made me wonder even more why they bother clapping in the first place. They look miserable doing it, too. I should have taken a picture, frick.
If they aren't clapping then they have a microphone, which is worse. Many of my American friends talk about how annoying it is to even listen to someone speak Chinese. I agree to a point.
It's that kind of annoying where you are in the elevator with someone talking loudly on the phone. Yes, they're disrupting the peace (in this case, a very choppy and tone oriented language isn't always music to our ears), but more importantly, you don't know what the hell they're talking about.
Also, they're continuously sales pitching, which, of course, is irritating for those of us having access to the Spam folder or fast forwarding through commercials or simply completely ignoring billboards and such.
I'm not much for shopping, mostly because everything I buy I have to carry back to the states and not much is worth adding to my haul, and prefer to spend my money on experiences and food, which is really an experience in and of itself.
So we opted to go to McDonald's. Yes!
When I got homesick in Paris, McDonald's was not even a 5 minute walk away. Here, there's nothing nearby my house, so I was dying for one of my favorite tastes of home.
Don't judge me.
The restaurant was crazy busy. And if you're wondering how an American with little Chinese orders McDonald's, it's as easy as being illiterate.
Seriously.
In the states you may have noticed those decals on the entry doors and drive-thru windows that note that the restaurant has picture and braille menus available. Of course, one can't help but wonder why you would offer braille menus in a drive-thru or say you have picture menus for those who can't read on a sign, that you have to read, but oh well.
So, they have them here, too. As soon as the cashier saw us approach, he reached behind the counter and, voila, point and grunt for food.
My cheeseburger and fries were awesome, but I also got this pineapple/mango float thing that was pretty good, too. The only difference is the Chinese don't seem to like dill pickles at all. Everytime I've encountered pickles here they have been sweet, subtle difference, but still strange.
As we ate on the second story of a building, above a much nicer chinese restaurant, we watched all the people below and couldn't understand why we were getting stared at when it seemed everyone dressed like a frankenstein of different American subcultures, blending all different kinds of colors, materials, and patterns: none in a sense that anyone would wear in North America or Europe.
I recently read a story in Time Magazine (I've got a lot of down time at work) that spoke of Apple's presence in China and I guess it spread some light on why they dress like that, or at least why I could be lead to believe that they do.
Did you know that an iPhone is 20% of the average American's monthly income while it is 260% of the average Chinese's monthly income.
That means they have to work 3 months just to buy a phone. Don't misunderstand me, there are much more than iPhones out there for selection, but nearly everyone has an iPhone here.
Within 5 minutes of leaving it in a one-stall bathroom, my phone was stolen the other night by a guest. When my coworkers told me the smallest one sells for $800, I understood why, even in such a high class hotel, it was gone instantly.
Most of them don't even buy more than an 8 GB phone, they don't use the space. I've noticed most only have 2 pages worth of apps and next to no music on them.
Its about the status. The status of having a piece of American quality life. The status of having American clothes even if you jumble them together and they look ridiculous.
But that also plays into individuality. With a population of 5.71 million people just in this second-tier city alone, its easy to get lost in the crowd. Think about how a lot of people dress "weirder" in larger cities. They want to stand out more and generally there's more diversity anyway. The iPhone plays well to this aspiration with all its customizable features and the awesome camera it has. Plus they've got some pretty awesome cases here for them. There is even a case that you can put on an iPod touch to make it work like a phone. Obviously not an Apple product, but a Chinese one.
Moving on.
Downstairs, McDonald's also operates a drink/ice cream stand as well that does not serve cooked items. I thought the restaurant was busy, but the line was at least 25 people deep for ice cream. The ice cream was pretty awesome, though, so I get it. At the other end of the street, though, maybe half a mile, they had another one, with a line just as long!
The Chinese, like Americans, are beginning to trend in the drink and smoothie department, so there are a plethora of smoothie, and bubble tea stands all around.
Sidenote: KFC is also crazy popular and, as the first chain to enter China, they are everywhere. I'm not a fan of KFC at home, though, so my apologies, but I probably won't be trying it.
From there, we wondered around until we stumbled upon Beita or North Pagoda.
North Pagoda is in the center of a little monk community that is still very active - in fact it has the longest history in Suzhou. After paying 25 RMB, we said "Hi" to Buddha and made our way up the 9 stories to the top of it via very tiny staircases.
Factoring in the heat, humidity, and my general disinclination towards stairs, I was worn out by the time we got there, but, it was well worth it.
It is a city ordinance that no building in Old Town may build any higher than the pagoda, ensuring the view as well as the town feel of the city.
We made our mark like so many before us and headed down to the gorgeous gardens and also to hear the monks chant, which was like nothing I had ever heard in my life.
I took a video on my phone since they don't allow cameras or recording and it was probably that bad karma that got my phone stolen as I now no longer have it.
Frick.
That also means that I don't have a picture of my second squatty potty experience. This "toilet" was a 3 foot pit that was about 6 inches wide that ran along the wall. There were stalls, so I chose one at the end of the wall so I didn't have to see anyone's excretions flowing down. The idea is to squat so you are over the pit, after I was finished I realized I probably should have put my feet on both side of the pit for security, but of course I just balanced from the one side and didn't think anything of it until the pipe against the wall erupted into a roar as it blasted water down the pit. I nearly fell in mid-poo, but caught myself against the opposing wall.
Who knew taking a poo would be such a big scene?
I deserved a reward for my courage and efforts, so I bought the nearest pop sicle which also happened to probably be the best I've had in my life. The blueberry flavor was AMAZING.
Much love.
No phone?! Bummer I had text you today about how on this day (yesterday now) June 27,1997 Hercules and consequently Meg became part of our lives.
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