18 Feb The Great Weekend Escapes
There were a few weekend trips organized by Absolute Internship. The two main ones were the Suzhou Trip and Nanjing Trip. One of my colleagues was from Suzhou, and she told us that it is really worth a visit due to its scenery. I also heard from others that Suzhou is famous for pretty ladies!
For the Suzhou Day trip, we managed to visit Suzhou museum, ate at Bookworm Cafe, and visited Shantang street. I was glad to have a Beijing friend who would tell me some history and interesting facts about China’s past while walking around Suzhou Museum. I learnt quite a fair bit of China’s complex history, and I thought that they have a very strong and unique culture. By the time we reached Bookworm Cafe, we were famished. I was amazed by the interior of Bookworm Cafe, as it name says, it displayed a wide range of books on its shelves in the cafe, for people to read while they wait. I thought that it was a great concept, but I was also wondering how much profit can it gain through running this cafe. The food was good and by the time we finished our lunch and dessert, we were stuffed! Due to the lack of time, we cancelled the other venue that we initially planned to visit, and headed straight to Shantang Street. I really liked that place, as it was very scenic, with its bridges and rivers and boats. I took alot of pictures with my friends, and bought quite alot of souveniers. I am pretty sure that the scenery would be alot more amazing during summer, autumn, or spring.
Nanjing Trip was towards the end of our Shanghai stay. We got to take the railway train at Hongqiao Station. As it was nearing Chinese New Year, the station was packed with a massive amount of people, who were on their way back to celebrate with their family. Upon this sight, I got a little nostalgic and started to miss my dear family members, I just cant wait to get back and celebrate with them! The first place we visited in Nanjing was the Masoleum of Sun Yat Sen. I was surprised by how cold Nanjing was, as compared to Shanghai. There were a flight of stairs leading to the masoleum, and the scene was pretty grand. I was however, a little dissappointed upon reaching the masoleum, as there was only one of his statues and nothing else. In that tourist area, I saw many vendors selling black corn. It was my first time seeing this type of corn, however, it did not look as tasty, and I was afraid it was genetically modified, my friends and I left the place without buying any food in the end.
Heading to the Italian restaurant was the most tedious trip I had ever taken. We were stuck in the jam on Nanjing Road for ages. The cars wouldn’t event budge. The bus driver told us that it was the usual, and I cant believe it. I really cannot imagine how can people endure this kind of jam everyday!? By the time we reached the restaurant, we were already famished. The restaurant’s chef was Italian, and I thought he made good pizza. The next day, we visited the Nanjing Massacre Museum. The museum narrated the history where Japanese invaded China and tortured and killed approximately 300,000 citizens. I thought that the stories were very brutal, and I silently wished for peace in humankind. Later in the day, we headed back to Shanghai.
All in all, I quite enjoyed the weekend trips arranged by Absolute Internship. I got to understand more about China, its culture, history, and got to savour its scenic sights. If there is a chance in the future, I might visit those places again, but definitely not in winter!
No Comments