Wednesday was a bit of an emotional morning as Jenny, his brother and I left Shanghai for Suzhou (100km west) by train to visit Jenny’s parents burial plot. From Suzhou, it was another 20 min. taxi ride to the cemetery. Jenny had not been for a visit in over two years – she had a lot to report on…

We had lunch together in Suzhou and then Jenny’s brother took the train back to Shanghai. His wife was at home taking care of the kids. She works 12 hour day – every other day to save on commute time (and frustration on the long bus ride). A subway station should be opening within weeks in their area.

Jenny and I visited a few famous Chinese gardens in the afternoon and the following morning. This was our first night without Victoria and we missed her. Naturally, we spent a lot of time doing some souvenir shopping. Suzhou is well knowned for its silk.

After seeing so many Chinese gardens in China, we now have plenty of landscaping ideas for our backyard back home. I hope our neighbours won’t mind a pangoda or two around their area (may be a small pond, big rocks, some bamboo, plenty of brick walkways, etc).

We’ll see…