Mansions and pagodas ...

While in Suzhou, I visited many pagados that used to be temples at one time but now some of them are mainly meant for tourists. They are really awesome and we had a chance to even go up one of them, but not till the very top because they had cornered off the top floor.

Top: Finally, after waiting for the people to move out of the way, I managed to get this shot!

Top: This is the Tiger Hill and yes, it's slanted to one side :o)

There are also huge mansions that belonged to rich merchants and I swear the whole compound is HUGE. I can so imagine myself being a tai-tai doing nothing but sit around in the garden. Okay, I might get bored after a while but as of now, am willing to trade current lifestyle to a more peaceful one!

Top: Huge compound that always had water and lots of greenery around.

Top: If you look at the pagoda-like building to the top right corner, that's a 5 star hotel!

I also had a nice walk to the 'town' area and had a look of how the ordinary folks lived too. Everything went about very slowly and the tourists seem to be the only one in the hurry. And what you'll remember about Suzhou is that there are a lot of bridges to cross everywhere.

Top: A picture of the homes of the locals from a bridge that I was crossing.

Top: Doorway to a home of a local in the town I visited.

Top: A local lady totally oblivious of the tourists around her as she goes on with her chores.

In terms of the local sights, I personally preferred Suzhou cuz of its historical and quaint little towns that we visited. Will post pictures of Shanghai that I took in my next post :o)