"Hey, Suzhou...get off here!", the bus driver shouted and we quickly got off the bus, only to realize with sheer panic that we were dumped at the outskirts of town. Luckily, we managed to navigate our way and check into this charming historical youth hostel in the most ancient block in Suzhou next to the canal. The old street looks very traditional with well preserved character, however, I find it's an anachronism strangely wrapped up by the buzzing metropolis. It certainly contradicted my imagination of a canal town.

Out of its many beautiful gardens, we decided to spend our afternoon at the Humble Administrator's garden, which was one the Unesco Heritage sites. It was very relaxing strolling past the river, pavilions, rocks, flowers and trees. Perfect for a lazy afternoon nap!

We spent the night chilling out at a cozy cafe on the old street, sipping our hot milk tea. This is where another Couchsurfer happened to see our profile online and we met up for some chit chat the following night. It was nice as we haven't seen any backpackers in china.

Today marked another year of my existence in this world...wrinkle, wrinkle go away! First thing in the morning, I had my birthday huggies and kisses, followed by all the lovely birthday cards from you all. It transported me back to the sweet home feeling in England for a moment ^_^ Thank you for all the birthday wishes and embracing me as part of the family, words couldn't describe more.

We made our way to Luzhi, a famous ancient canal town nearby. It has history of 1400 years old and is one of the best canal towns in China. It oozes with originality and character, with beautiful stone bridges, cobble stone walkways, traditional houses and canals. It feels like stepping back in time and we just wondered around aimlessly. We even wondered into one of its major sights without paying. Oops! That was unintentional but it works for these two super parsimonious backpackers. We also enjoyed playing cards and sipping some Chinese tea in one of the tea houses by the canal. The air of serenity failed to lessen our fierce competitive spirit at the card games.