Mr. Macdougall's Weblog

Reaching for the Future

Arrival

After 5 1/2 hour flight from Boston to London, and an additional 11 hours from London to Shanghai I arrived in China.

First impressions:  the people are friendly and cordial and the area is immaculate. Pudong airport is a sight to behold with gleaming floors, courteous and helpful staff, and even parking spots near the terminals themselves that have shiny laminated surfaces where you actually park your vehicle and then attendants clean the area when you leave! On the ride from the airport to Suzhou, the roadway is very attractive with well-groomed and colorful median strips, hedges trimmed along the guardrail areas, and not a bit of paper or trash to be seen anywhere on route.

We were greeted at the hotel by very friendly staff who refer to me as Mr. Stephen and go out of their way to accommodate my every needs.  The first photo you see as an attachment is taken from my room and shows the number of new units constructed to house the many, many people who live in this area. You can also see canal work adjacent to the housing complexes - and that is prevalent throughout this area. Note the neatness of the units and the uniformity.

Those same canals progress into the inner city and old shopping area of Suzhou - thus the reason it is referred to as the Venice of China.  You can also see that cherry bloosoms are beginning to bloom. Not uncommon to see a KFC next to a temple, as the next photo shows.

Don’t walk across any street with looking both ways many times and then being very careful during the crossing - because taxis, cars, busses, and even bikes won’t stop for you. You’ll hear horns beeping regularly - but here it is to remind others to look and be careful - not a signal of anger or frustration all the time! The gentleman I am standing with watched anxiosuly as I was shooting phots and I asked him to join me. His job? He stands watch over the many bikes and motor scooters in the shopping area.

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