Arrived in Suzhou

We were off the bus with our two backpacks and two heavy suitcases and rushed through to the exit of the North Bus Station by the throng of people heading out, only to be met by beggars and taxi drivers all plying their trade amongst the maelstrom of people, noise and dust. We dragged our cases across the pot-holed street to the taxi rank. I asked a taxi driver if he could take us to the city centre, he glared and tutted and looked away as if disgusted at my impertinence. We discovered soon after that we had too many bags to go in regular taxi and we had to ride in kind of mini-bread van, but my wife manged to pursuade a larger taxi to take us.

During the joy ride through the manic streets with cars honking and breaking every rule in the good drivers conduct book, my wife asked the taxi driver to take us to the centre of the city where we could find a cheap hotel, he dropped us off in a dodgy part of the city at door of an expensive hotel. We registered and went to the room for a deserved sit down, we looked at each as if to say-where the hell do we go from here?