Then we went to this place called 虎丘. Apparently people in the past saw a tiger there? Or was it a rock that looked like a tiger..... I have no idea.






They happened to be having some kind of flower exhibition there so these are some of the tulips as well as lavender! There were other flowers but mum and I aren't really passionate about flowers haha.

Saw grey-haired uncles using DSLRs here as well /sigh/

This was the main attraction of the place! The tower is leaning to the right side :D

So trying to hail a cab in Suzhou can be tough sometimes, so mum and I actually took buses around quite frequently! Their bus system is pretty good and efficient, and the bus itself is very clean :D




We took this bus to go to this other place called 山塘街. Okay apparently this road has two parts, if you walk to the left it's a more commercialised part with shops and eateries and all, but if you walk to the right it's basically a local marketplace. Mum and I didn't know so we went to the local marketplace at first and was so confused hahahaha. But it was a good experience!! We got to see how the locals live their lives, buying food, vegetables, seafood etc :D It was bustling and noisy but very authentic! (quite a contrast with the left side of the road where there's mostly tourists)

Super cute chickssss

So eventually my mum went to ask someone and they told us that we're on the wrong side of the road haha, so we walked back to the left side T_T





As you can see there really is a difference between the two sides of the road! The roads are wider and cleaner, the shops are more organised (and commercialised) and there are fewer people! This place is actually famous for their night scenery because at night all the red lanterns will light up and it will look gorgeoussss. But mum and I had nothing to do so we just went there early and walked around while waiting for the sky to turn dark.

So while walking around we came across Momicafe again! It's the 2nd outlet I went in Suzhou HAHA. It's smaller though and not that quiet because this road is quite a busy road. But I did see a cute guy here so YAYYYYY \^o^/ (In general there seems to be more cute guys here whooooooop)

Slowly the lanterns are starting to light up!

The night scenery is really gorgeous!

So that's basically my day 4! It was a very tiring day because we went to many places and kept walkinggggg. But it was also a very fun day! Also, there are many many outlets of CoCo in Suzhou, I have no idea why. But they are everywhere. 




I haven't drunk bubble tea in ages. (really, for some reason I've lost all interest in them. Which is such a waste since KOI is in Yishun now /sigh/) But since this is everywhere, I decided to have a go! There's some promotion going on so I got to buy a large cup of bubble tea (with pudding and pearls) for RMB 8 which is around S$1.60 yooooooo. I think it costs nearly $4 in SG. It was really nice but I nearly died from drinking it because the weather was quite cold and I still ordered a cold drink (there must be something wrong with me) and also my mum doesn't drink bubble tea  so I had to finish it alone T_T I legit got a headache after drinking it HAHA but thankfully it was gone by the next morning!

Day 5: Suzhou - Wuxi

As I mentioned earlier my hotel has themed lifts so this is another theme! The traditional wedding one haha. This is my fav! There is actually another theme but it is the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor (Qin Shi Huang) so it is actually super duper creepy, hence I refused to take any photos of it HAHA.




We set off to Wuxi early in the morning via 高铁 again!





The bus stop outside the train station, it's pretty cool!




Btw, the buses that I took in Hangzhou/Suzhou costs RMB 1 (around 20 cents in SG) and the  one I took in Wuxi costs RMB 2 (around 40 cents in SG) so that was pretty cool. By cool I mean it satisfied my cheapo heart.

The first thing I noticed about Wuxi is that IT IS FREAKING HOTTTTTTTT. The sun was shining so brightly I nearly died. It felt like Singapore hahahaha. Also, it is a rather small place! Fewer people around too.

I found these angry birds rides hilarious but my mum didn't seem to think so :(

We had a hard time trying to find the restaurant that we wanted to go! Have to say that Wuxi (at least the part that we went to?) was really kind of dead because there was barely anyone around.

This is supposed to be sweet and sour pork ribs BUT THE ONLY FLAVOUR I TASTED WAS SWEET. No kidding I couldn't even continue eating it, it was so damn sweet. I guess Wuxi has an even sweeter palate than Suzhou!

Very yummy Wuxi pork ribs yummmmmmmz

After lunch we wanted to continue to walk around Wuxi but the weather killed all our spirits (so freaking hot and sunny, I kid you not). Plus the city is really really quiet and not a lot of shops are opened. Mum and I went into this (what we assumed is) shopping centre but there was literally no one in there except for the shopkeepers so we were like, "Okay this is kind of creepy.... Let's leave..." And we just went back to Suzhou after lunching at Wuxi HAHA.

Went back to Suzhou and because our hotel is very near to this pedestrian street where there are lots of eateries and shops, even like H&M, GAP etc! So we just went to walk walk around there and ate this 馄饨 (wonton) that is quite famous! Ok I actually wanted to use wanton because we always say wanton mee but in English 'wanton' means sexually immodest/promiscuous so I can never look at the word 'wanton' the same way again HAHA.

Day 6: Suzhou 

We decided to return to 平江路 again in the morning because we only visited one part of it the other day! So we decided to continue the part we haven't visited and also because there were people who recommended going in the morning before some of the more commercial shops open and before the crowd arrives.

And how true it is! It is really better to go in the morning. It was really quiet and peaceful and we didn't have to see so many souvenir shops that all sold the same things -_-

My mum saw this shop which sells things that are made of bamboo! She love love love this shop because she likes bamboo and also when she was young she had a lot of things made from bamboo as well so it was a very nice and nostalgic place for her. She even took the namecard of this shop and expressed her interest in opening up a franchise haha. She said that this is exactly the kind of shop that she wants to open! 

I personally thought that it was a very cool shop as well! Also using bamboo is very environmentally-friendly since bamboo naturally dies every few years so at least you can utilise it to make stuff!

Then we saw another Momicafe (there's 2 on this 平江路) and this is so far the best outlet!!! As you can see it is super big and very spacious but cozy, and maybe because I went in the morning, it was very peaceful! The baristas there just do their own thing and are very friendly as well so you don't feel pressurised. And the other customers there are also doing their own things like reading, writing etc so it is a very chill and stress-free place to be. :-D I've been to 4 Momicafes in total (1 in Shanghai and 3 in Suzhou) and I feel that this one is the most comfortable one! The Shanghai one is not bad as well since it was also on a very artsy road.

I thought that the illustrations were super cute!

Right outside the cafe are trees and a small river so the scenery is great

 Other than selling books and stuff like coffee/cakes/etc, they also sell postcards (for you to mail to yourself or others) as well as notebooks, bookmarks and all kinds of little trinkets! It's a gorgeous place :D

So this is the end of 平江路. I really like the vibe of this road. It reminds me of one of the roads innYun Nan (actually from what I heard Yun Nan gained inspiration from this) as well as another road in Shanghai! Sorry this all sounds so vague because I can't remember what the roads are called HAHA. But I know these two places have this sort of artsy kind of road. They call it 文艺 haha. They're usually filled with bookstores/cafes etc!

This is a bus stop! Can you believe it?! HAHA.

We then walked to the Suzhou Museum (which I remember I've been to before when I came to Suzhou with CCHYCO like 3/4 years ago?) But it is rather famous so I don't mind going again + it is freeeeeee. The sad thing is that it is free yet there were not many people going. There were some 园林s beside it and there were a lot of people going there even though you need to pay. Oh the sad, sad fate of museums...

The museum is quite famous for its unique architecture!

Tbh mum and I are not exactly museum fanatics HAHA. Plus I'm not familiar with the history of China at all so I know nuts about the value of the artifacts. But some are really gorgeous! I really like the drawings, and I remember the last time I came I saw them displaying the coins from the past, so that was really cool. I find it amazing how they manage to make all these delicate and beautiful things even back in the past!

After the brief tour around the museum we came out and crossed the road to this famous 老字号 noodle shop!






AND IT HAS THE BEST NOODLES EVER. This is one of the best things I've eaten in this entire trip. I am usually a noodle-hater BUT THE NOODLES WERE SO AWESOME AND SO CHEWY!!! It is quite a big bowl but I finished the whole damn bowl because it was so good *o* I love the meat too it literally melted in my mouth!!! Best thing ever.


After that amazing lunch, we took the train back to Hangzhou and we ate a very unsatisfying dinner so I shall not post photos of it :( It is such a huge disappointment especially after that wonderful lunch :(

Anw, my hotel in Hangzhou is near carrefour so we went to look around and I saw this super cute bunny!!!!! I think she's called KK Rabbit hehehehehehe. Too bad she's printed on kids stationery so I was too ashamed to buy them :(




Day 7: Hangzhou

The next day we went to explore the gardens/parks/whatever you call places with lots of trees and lakes near the West Lake.






We chose to go to those that are quieter and more peaceful and ended up getting lost HAHA. But somehow we managed to find our way back!

Then we went to 太子湾公园 where there are supposedly many flowers but because there was heavy rain the previous day, most of the flowers looked half-dead. :(

Green green grass!

Very cool bridge! Looks like it's made out of a tree trunk haha

The meat is really tender and the noodles are pretty good but still not as good as the one I ate in Suzhou T_T But it's still really yummy!

Half price for the 2nd cone so we got 2 cones for RMB 6 (SGD 1.20) :)

Matcha icecreammmm! It tasted really yummy and refreshing, good choice for smth after lunch :D And I think I took this shot quite well hehe

Then we returned to the West Lake (I think I went to the West Lake for 5 times or something)


This is a really cool map on the ground hehe. There are small little canals for rivers on the map so it really looks like rivers, which I thought was really smart.

Then we went to this famous place for dinner and the queue was no kidding. We went at around 530 and queued for 1h 30min. The good thing is that you can just take a queue number so you don't have to be physically present at the queue BUT STILL. Plus mum and I queued for the A type of table (for 1 - 2 persons), there were B and C types for more people and apparently those take even longer!

It's a relatively new restaurant but the locals love this place, that's why it's so famous now

I thought it was cool that you can tick whether you want your dessert to be before your meal or after your meal. Maybe it's just me HAHA

Sadly my food photography still remains sucky so... :( I think I was just too eager to eat okay!!! Also unfortunately the food was pretty average :( I heard the table next to us complaining: "Their food sucks but why are there so many people queuing?!" (in Chinese)

It's famous for being RMB 6! (SGD 1.20)

Except for the last 2 dishes! Which was such a waste because I've already spent so much of my stomach eating so-so food, I don't have as much space to eat good food :(
I really like this 绿茶饼! The green tea taste is subtle and not overpowering plus the sesame seeds are super fragrant. But I think the best thing is their frying skills! They managed to fry it so that it's very very crispy BUT NOT OILY :D I think that's quite an achievement.


And this chicken (茶香鸡) is super good as well! I think they used tea to cook it. The tea taste is not that obvious actually but it is very well-marinated and yummy (sorry for my limited vocab HAHA). The meat was also very tender and juicy! But it was the last dish so both mum and I were already very full so we were full of regrets T_T We tried our best to eat as much as possible but there were still some chicken meat left which is such a waste because it is really very good T_T

The sad thing about the 2 of us travelling is that we can only order 4 dishes and be full to death. With my dad around we can order like 6 dishes or smth and he can eat them all HAHA.

We then walked back to the West Lake and saw this free show of water fountain! Reminds me of the one Sentosa used to have (back when it was free and without the monkey character)




Day 8: Hangzhou

Went to West Lake (yes, again) to take a boat ride!







The uncle who rowed the boat was very nice and chatted with us. He was impressed by how we know a lot of un-touristy places in Hangzhou HAHA. Also he thought my mum is from Beijing because he said my mum's Chinese pronunciation sounds so accurate. Plus he thought she was a doctor. She was soooooooo happy HAHAHA.

Afterwards we moved from our hotel into a hostel (?). I think it's a hostel, but in Chinese it's called 青年旅馆. The direct translation would be youth hostel hahaha. It's like a cafe but the lower floors are dorms (for poor youths who want to travel but can't afford) and the upper floors are private rooms that were actually pretty good!





It's situated at this place called 青之坞 where it's filled with these kind of hostels and some eateries! Apparently this place used to be full of farmers' houses, but the government requested them to renovate and develop it, so now they are doing businesses. But most of them actually rented out to others to develop so most of the houses there look awesome actually. I, for one, really like the vibe of this Tsingma Hotel.

Also, places like this as well as the youth hostels are very popular in China right now because more and more students are travelling around China and they are always looking for places like this to stay! Plus I've heard that there are some people who graduated but don't want a 9 to 5 job and they decide to open up a youth hostel like this etc. It's more relaxing and chill.

I actually got to know this place because my cousin worked in Hangzhou for a period of time (now she's moving to Australia) and she rented an apartment near this place, so she always came here to chill/hang out etc and she got to know the workers here! She's especially close with this girl (we just call her 三水 because she has the character 淼 in her name which is literally made up of 3 水s haha). 三水 is a volunteer at this hotel, she works here for free but she gets free food and shelter from what I've heard! Then when she get breaks she can just travel and explore this place. I think this is a rising trend in China actually, more and more people are starting to embrace this kind of chill lifestyle :) Also 三水 is freaking awesome and friendly T_T





This is the cafe part of the place! There's even a guitar for you to jammm.

Also there are kitchens and sofas on lower floors for you to cook etc!

Cute balcony!

I really like the decor of this place, both exterior and interior! It's really simple but comfy :D Also there is free Wi-Fi! This place can get a little noisy in the day (lots of people come here to eat, 农家菜 (literally translates into farmer food?! IDK HAHA) is really popular now in China! People want to experience something a little more authentic and natural :) But in the night it is very quiet which is a good thing!

Also, the Botanical Garden is just beside it so we went to explore. If I'm not wrong it is free before 8am and after 4pm.

I thought this shot was rather nice as well :p

Mum and I were kinda lazy so we didn't really explore the place. I think we only went to 1/6 of the place HAHA. But it was nice to just stroll and chill here while breathing in fresh air! It is rather lovely :) And the weather was great for that kind of slow strolls around the garden. I've been to Singapore's Botanical Garden thrice and it is really big and informative and nice BUT the weather is always too damn hot for me to be in the mood for strolls and nice walks T_T I'm always brisk-walking past all the plants and can't wait to be back in the shade/aircon, which is suchhhh a waste.

Afterwards we went to look for dinner and because it was quite cold, we went for steamboat!


At first the shop looked kind of shady because it's really small and we were the only customers, but the steamboat food turned out to be great! I really loveeeee the taopok in China, it's different from Singapore's. It's smoother and tastier :B And my mum love love love the 蛋饺. I don't know what is it called in English, but it's sorta like an egg dumpling! Like a layer of egg wrapping the meat inside??? It's the yellow (lighter yellow than the taupok) thing in the picture haha. If I'm not wrong, it's Shanghai cuisine :)

Also, for once, mum and I ordered the exact right amount of food we need so we didn't end up dying from a bloated stomach. So we walked away from the steamboat feeling extra satisfied!

We then returned to Tsing Ma and my mum casually asked 三水 if their cafe sells dessert (because we wanted smth sweet after dinner! China doesn't seem to be big on desserts) She said there's yoghurt etc but we decided that we didn't need it (now that I come to think of it, we are so annoying hahaha). But she came up to our room with two cups of free yoghurts T_T

Very yumz yoghurt!

So we were both really touched by her but we had nothing to give her :( She is really caring and nice so please do go and support her if you can! (even though my readers are probably all in Singapore...)

Day 9: Hangzhou - Singapore

Woke up at 5 in the morning to catch our flight /sigh/ 三水 helped us to contact a taxi driver the day before. She spent a huge amount of effort trying to coordinate my mum and the driver because usually people just use the taxi app they have here in Hangzhou/call using their China phone numbers but because my mum doesn't have a China phone number and she can't download the app, 三水 had to be the middleman and everything.

The taxi uncle was super nice as well, he chatted with us and told us a lot of things about China/Hangzhou!

So basically nothing happened and I have no pics to show except for my biz class pics LOL. Also my flight delayed for 1 hour, which is starting to be the norm in China. Flights in China get delayed very frequently. :(

My breakfast

My lunch

This time round we didn't meet any unreasonable man raging about bread HAHA. And then we arrived in SG and went home!

Afterwards we went to Causeway Point to eat dinz @ Ichiban Boshi which is really good!! The food quality and the serving size are both satisfactory :-) And while being there it was kind of weird for me because I felt strange that a day ago I was just in China and now I'm in Singapore! The power of globalisation *o*

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So I finally finished blogging about my entire trip! Took me 2 days. This is hard work, no kidding. And this is the first time I've blogged about my overseas trip in such a detailed manner (even with pictures!) Gotta say that that pictures really make the post more interesting, plus they help me to remember what I did.

Also, an important point to note is that my mum and I are people who dislike touristy places and noise and crowded places so we actually avoided many famous places that people might usually go. So if you're here to gain some ideas about your own trip it might not be so useful. We like the places with more locals and quieter and more artsy so if you're into that, that's good :D Especially for food, many of the eateries we went were filled with locals so it might not be what you usually see! And we like to walk through the small ulu roads to see how locals there live :)

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Speaking of travelling, my cousin (the one who's about to move to Australia) is having a China tour right now, she's travelling everywhere to play and meet up with her friends all over China! My parents' friend's son just graduated from Uni of Toronto and is also travelling around solo, from Hong Kong to Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou etc etc!

Recently while I was bathing (yes, the toilet is where inspiration comes from), I have this excellent idea of going to Tokyo before school starts (T_T). But my China passport is SUCH a burden, I can't even....... It makes me so depressed :( But still I can apply for Visa and see how it goes! But before that I need to get the flights booked and hotels booked and many many more and blaaaaaaaaaaaah okay I'll just see how it goes!