Last week I took a day trip with my parent's and one of my uncle's family (including 2 others-- a really cute little girl and the father) to Zhujiajiao (West Shanghai) in Zhon Ni's van. It was kind of a village-y type place with a river and lots of nice bridges and stalls of food, jewelry, knick-knacks etc. I bought a colorful Louis Vuitton wallet and two pearl necklaces of different colors and styles. One is layers of black, purple iridescent pearls and the other consists of two pearls dangling at different lengths, hanging from a small shiny silver ball.

The past few days has been at Wuxi, about an hour away from Shanghai. The train ride was pleasant, and right when we got off, found a hotel close to the station. We went to The Kingdoms City the first day which was awesome. There was so much to see there, including China's version of horse drawn carriages, statues of horses and soldiers up above, many pagoda style buildings and a really beautiful performance. I opted to dress up as a concubine and had my parents take pics... I picked a pale pink garment with glitter galore and they put a pretty crown on me and did my makeup and I was set. It was loads of fun.

Next day, it was rainy most of the time unfortunately. Still, we went with a small tour and to LingShan Big Buddha where we rubbed the Buddha belly for good fortune. Also, where we got to see a great big fountain show with wonderful music. A baby Buddha came out of the tall statue with a lotus flower on top. Really impressive. Also got to see a huge golden Buddha hand and Double Buddha, as well as Buddha temple.

The other place we went to was called Tortoise's Head because it's an island and is shaped like a turtle's head. Was tough getting around there because the rain made all the rocky steps slippery. We then got to go on a boat ride and there was another place to check out when the boat reached its destination.

Back at the hotel and after dinner, my mom and I took a walk for a little bit, but there wasn't that much to see or do... Wuxi isn't as big or happening as Shanghai after all and we weren't in the busy part of Wuxi city anyway.

Then today we only had part of the day at Wuxi... We took a taxi (8 RMB to start with instead of 11 in Shanghai) to Ba Bai Lu (Road) which is Wuxi's version of Shanghai's Nanjing Road. It was all right... We had breakfast at a really nice place that had amazing xiao lon mantao-- Really juicy and delicious! Walked around for a bit then went to the big department store, which was very nice but most things were pretty expensive.

So now I'm back in Shanghai and will be leaving soon. I'll surely miss all my relatives and getting to know my 4-month niece, and having everything be so cheap, but it'll be good to be back in the states. First in CA for almost a week so I can re-visit with all my pals there and then back to NEW YORK to start those 2 internships. And, of course, I can't wait to see MS again... Finally!