Afterward, we set off to one of the largest silk factories in China, which again was a shopping trap for many in the group for the tacky, but soft, comforters. A pair of socks and a couple ties and I was done, the others though took two and a half hours.
Optional tour in the afternoon was a riverboat tour in one of the city's many waterways. I chose to pass and me and two others hustled up to a Buddhist Pagoda we could see in the distance.
Tiger Hill Pagoda is the leaning tower of China. It was constructed in the first century as a Buddhist shrine. The tower has started listing since it was built and lost all of the traditional roofs that divided up the column for decoration. Twelve bucks entry was a bargain.
The pagoda caries its name because of the prayer rocks at its base and how people prayed while crouching like a tiger.
The grounds of Tiger Hill contain a Bonzi garden with an uncountable number of potted plants of all shapes and sizes.
A massive shrine to the Buddhas contains ceramic doll-like figures representing the life of the Buddha.
The grounds also contained a litany of springs water features and rock gardens.
We moved hastily through the grounds while the others were on the boat ride, and naturally, we beat them back to the bus.
The most of the rest of the group came back complaining about the boat ride, while we discovered a unique and fulfilling experience. Jackpot, on the other hand, also didn't go on the boat and presumably went to several street vendors returned swaggering 45 min late like she owned Suzhou now.
Once we finished giving her a proper verbal undressing for her tardy, we headed up an hour away to Wuxi