spinweaverbarbara

Saturday and Sunday, March 9 & 10

Saturday and Sunday we spent some time driving around Perth and surrounding area, including a drive to the ocean to see the beaches.

A first view of the Indian Ocean

inviting us to dip our toes

sheltered bays

beautiful blue waters

Friday, March 8 – Perth

We arrived in Perth at 6:00 am Friday – too early to get the keys to the apartment we went to find a good cup of coffee (which couldn’t be found in China).  $9 for two cups of flat/white, but boy did it taste good!

Driving around Perth, dead tired, and constantly reminding ourselves to drive on the left.  We finally got into our apartment just after noon, had to run to the store for groceries, etc, got unpacked, and finally relaxed.

The apartment is lovely, comfortable and spacious with a tremendous view from the balcony.  Temporally home at last, we enjoyed a glass of wine to celebrate our arrival.

View from our balcony

Thursday, March 7, 2013 – Travel Day

Thursday-Friday was a long travel day with a three hour car ride from Changzhou to Shanghai, a 3 hour plane trip from Shanghai to Guangzhou and an 8 hour plane trip from Guangzhou to Perth.

The driver picked us up at the hotel at 9:00 am and then we settled into the van for the long drive to Shanghai, and I fell into a light nap on the way.  I woke in and out of napping to see Ron with his I-pad out in map mode, directing the driver to go here, turn there, and I remember thinking, “Surely the driver knows the way to Shanghai, why is Ron telling him which way to go?”  Especially since the driver spoke no English and Ron spoke no Mandarin.  Imagine my surprise when we pull up in front of the Silk Weaving Museum and Mill.  Ron laughed and said he and Maggie and Lucy had been planning this surprise for me for a couple of days.  I was both delighted and humbled to have the opportunity to see a real working silk mill as well at the historical museum site, from the moths laying eggs, the silkworms being fed, and the cocoons being spun.  The old draw looms were so impressive, and spoke of the precision and care required to create a piece of woven silk by hand.

Ancient draw loom

Modern industrial silk loom

Then on we went to the working mill to see the cocoons being reeled, and to see women pulling the silk off of the cocoons to create silk bells and silk hankies with such patience.

Cocoons being sorted

Cocoons in hot water bath

Silk being reeled

Finally on to the store and silk shopping, where I was able to buy skeins of reeled silk for a reasonable price, and Ron bought a cool silk shirt.  Then, back in the van to the airport, where we said goodbye to Lucy and our driver, Mr. Shu, and so on to the conclusion of our trip to Australia.

Tuesday, March 5, 2013- Changzhou

A note on expectations, disappointments and appreciation

I began Monday in great anticipation of a visit to a real silk factory.  I expected an opportunity to see the process of silk making from hatching the eggs, feeding the silk worms, spinning the cocoons, reeling the silk from the cocoons, making the thread, weaving the fabric, dyeing and printing the final cloth.

“Can we go to the silk factory?” I asked.

“Yes, yes” said the driver.

“Yes, yes” said the interpreter.

So off we went.

We drove through the city of Suzhou, stopping at a busy shopping district.  We got out of the car and walked around through the shops selling silk scarves, silk clothing.

“Thank you,” I said, “But this is not quite what I am looking for.  Can we go to the silk factory now?”

“Yes, yes” said the driver.

“Yes, yes” said the interpreter.

Back in the car we go to another shopping district – more shops, more walking, more scarves, more clothing.

“No, no,” I said, “Silk factory?”

“Yes, yes” said the driver.

“Yes, yes” said the interpreter.

And on we went to another shopping district.

By mid-afternoon I realized that neither the driver nor the interpreter understood what I was looking for when I said “silk factory”, and much as I tried to explain it, “silk factory” was not going to appear.

So my choice was to move forward with either disappointment and bitterness, or to move forward with appreciation and happiness.

I realized that I choose how I want to remember my history.  Each day and in each situation I can say to myself, “How would I like to remember this?”

I will remember this day with appreciation of a driver who negotiated tiny, winding streets full of pedestrians and obstacles in order to bring me close to the silk shops.

I will remember this day with appreciation of an interpreter who stopped many, many local people to ask them where to buy the best silk, and who then negotiated the best possible price for me.

I will remember, with appreciation, an afternoon spent wandering around the streets and alleys of Suzhou – the sights, the sounds, the smells, and the textures of the city.

I will remember all this each time I see my beautiful silk scarves and feel their cool, silky smoothness against my skin.

Monday, March 4, 2013- Suzhou

Today we took a day trip to visit the nearby town of Suzhou with our first stop at “The Garden of the Humble Administrator”. Built as early as 1509 the Humble Administrator’s garden is one of the four most famous gardens in China.  The idea for the garden came to the Administrator when he retired from public life, and read the essay by the writer Pan Yue who wrote “to cultivate my garden and sell my vegetable crop . . . is the policy of a humble man”.  The stones in the garden are laid out to show the pathway through the garden and are often embedded with numerous figures and designs.  This is a poetic, picturesque garden that includes landscapes, waterscapes and exquisite buildings.  Our time here was at the end of Winter, so we can only imagine how it will look in full Spring with lotus flowers floating on the water and the flowers in glorious bloom.

Humble Ambassador’s Garden

Garden spaces are calm and restful

Picturesque stonework

After the garden we walked through the city’s small shops where you could buy any kind of thing you want to buy.  We were shopping for silk and embroidery and bought some exquisite things.

Ron bought an exquisitely carved and polished teapot made from stone.

Carved stone teapot

Stone carver at work

We had a delicious lunch in Suzhou with the food so exquisitely presented.  With lunch we ordered Chinese tea, and when we ran out we ordered another pot.  Only when the bill arrived did we realize that the tea was more expensive than the food!

The food tastes as good as it looks

The afternoon was spent shopping for silk – we visited many shops before we found the right stuff – but eventually our search was rewarded and I bought two beautiful scarves and some silk yardage.

We drove back to the hotel, where we met Lucy, and together the three of us went to eat dinner.  We had a whole crab in curry sauce.  However, we had no cracker or other utensils so we had to break the slippery pieces dripping with curry sauce with our bare hands and try to poke out the pieces of meat with our chopsticks resulting in a sticky, ridiculous, but delicious mess of food.

One of the most joyful parts of this trip is meeting all the people and sharing food and conversation.  If it seems like we are always eating – that’s because we really are.  I had anticipated, from my little provincial nest in Vancouver that I would lose weight in China because I thought that the food would be inedible to my western palate.  I was so wrong!  The food we are being offered is beautifully prepared, artistically presented, and extremely delicious.  Being served in the round table style means that you can eat as little or as much of any one thing as you like.  Eating here is so much fun.

Friday, March 1, 2013 – Changzhou, China

The thing that strikes me most about Changzhou are the number of scooters and bicycles on the road.  Unlike the scooters in Paris, which are driven mainly by aggressive young people in leathers and face concealing helmets, the scooters and bicycles in Changzhou are driven by an eclectic group of riders from youngsters to grannies and everyone in between.  Whole families may ride on a scooter, with Dad in front, Mum behind holding an infant in her arms and grandma sitting precariously on the rear, facing backwards.  There is not a helmet, safety harness or leather jacket in sight, although many riders will have a face mask to cut out polluting fumes.  Bicycles may have large carts attached behind, pulling who know what, or you might see a bicycle pulled up on the sidewalk, heaped with plastic bags and bundles, with an older woman sitting on the ground beside it, quietly mending an article of clothing, reminding me of the shopping cart homeless in Vancouver, only less loud and more industrious.  Other scooters weave in and out of both vehicle and pedestrian traffic as they go about their business, dozens lining up at every corner, then the traffic light turns green releasing then like a herd of cats as they weave every which way, making crossing the street on foot an exciting adventure.