Wuzhen East Scenic Zone

Each time I write a blog, I typically have Google Hong Kong open so I can give you more information on an area. I got an e-mail from my mom last night at 9 saying she was wondering what we were doing since I hadn't updated when I usually do! It took a long time to look up a lot of the names and locations yesterday because I couldn't hear our guide half the time. This morning was absolute chaos and now I'm on the bus, so you won't get much background info at all- sorry.

Last night was the best night of sleep many of the students had since we got here. No more sleeping on bamboo mattresses! It was wonderful to have a room with air conditioning and everyone loved the rainfall showerhead. We appreciated it because we have no idea what the train tonight has in store for us!

It was an early wake up call & we left the hotel at 7:30. The trip to Wuzhen was a 2 hour bus ride. Our tour guide tried to talk the students into doing karaoke the entire ride there. Now I deal with students on a daily basis and I knew this idea wasn't going to fly. Maddie & Nathan humored her, while many of the others put their iPod ear buds in and their heads down. She finally gave up & we all slept on the rainy drive into the country.

Wuzhen reminds me of the different global villages at Disney World. There is a large parking lot in front filled with tour buses and there are hoards of tour groups clustered in front of the gate waiting for tickets. It was weird getting a ticket to go visit a place where people still live.

Anyhow, the morning was filled with sweaty people packed into narrow corridors pushing on to the next thing (I'm getting REALLY excited for the Expo now... yikes). It really is a very beautiful historic town. The streets aren't even 10 feet wide- in some places, I could stretch my arms from wall to wall, subsequently clotheslining unsuspecting Chinese tourists. The buildings are 2 stories high with the traditional tiles on the roof. We turned off several times to check out a Chinese bed museum (it made those bamboo mattresses look good), indigo fabric making, and where they make rice wine. Oh my goodness, the rice wine. Mr. Kline and I were politely forced to try it at a meal. Never in my life have I had anything that burns like it. When we walked into the area with casks filled with it, the students faces turned right away. Just the smell is so off-putting. The guide said that anyone could try it if they wanted (which Mr. Kline and I weren't crazy about), but the smell discouraged many. The only brave souls were John, Sam, and Thomas. They were given thimble-size ceramic cups to try. Their faces were PRICELESS.

We continued to wind through the crowded streets, then crossed over Dongshi River that runs through the historic area. It was like Venice with boats carrying tourists down the narrow canal and under the bridges. On the other side of the river was the shopping area. We looked around and the Chinese students bought rice wine, wooden swords, and BBQ chicken drumsticks. Once everyone was accounted for we had lunch near the city gate.

We are on the bus for our 2 hour ride into Shanghai. We're anxious to see what the next few days will have in store with the train ride, Forbidden City, Great Wall, Expo, and other exciting activities ahead of us! I'm curious to see how everyone gets their luggage around from bus to train to bus to airport- many of them already have two full bags!

I will update again once we are on the train and Beijing bound!