I had a lazy morning in my Shanghai hotel which is only a short journey back to the airport where I will get the shuttle bus to Hongqiao Railway Station, from here I can get a train to Suzhou.
I repacked my cases so that I did not have to struggle with too many things. I had done quite a bit of shopping but not all of it was for me. I had brought back some coffee for myself and some fish and calcium tablets for Nai Nai, the grandmother in my home stay family. I had a Bowmore single malt and I had also bought some clothes which were cheaper to buy in Australia than China. They are now mostly made in Bangladesh. I also had a pair of Doc Martens for my Chinese teacher But my cases were heavy, one weighing around 28kg and the other about 13kg but still it’s still an effort to get on and off public transport and there are so many people in China to add to an already awkward situation.
The train from the Hongqiao to Suzhou was full by the look of it and it was becoming so hot as we stood in line waiting for the gate to open. Finally on the train and I take my seat for a short time and let the air conditioning slowly dry the sweat that has been running down my back and front. I’m still wearing my winter heavy jeans which are making it all the worse but I don’t have shorts to put on. The humidity has also been very high but I’m not sure just how hot it is yet.
As the train pulls into Kunnshan Railway Station the outside temperature is displayed on the LED and it says 37.2c, fuck that’s hot. No wonder the sweat has been running everywhere on me making things very unpleasant. But there is a silver lining in all of this because Judy, the wonderful lady of the house has offered to pick me up and bring me home and I am so grateful to her for doing so. It’s a short walk to the pick up/drop off zone and she sends me a message to say that she is only a few minutes away and sure enough I see her burgundy coloured Mercedes in the queue of cars. What a welcome sight indeed.
She has just finished a business meeting and came straight here to get me and she jumps out the car to give me a hand to put my cases in the boot. She looks absolutely stunning standing there with her polka dot summer dress on and pink soled high heels and big smile, yes it’s good to be back and I forget all about the heat for a few seconds.
In the car it’s just wonderful and I embrace the air conditioning with every naked part of my body which is only really my hands and arms. The traffic is worse than usual because it’s Friday and its rush hour, so not a good time to be heading home. But I’m always surprised at how calm and controlled Judy is when she is driving. She never seems to get flustered or annoyed by any other driver and I’m not so sure I would handle the drive home as calmly as she did. She is one of the few drivers that I trust here.
The house is so hot because it has been in locked up all day, plus the fact it’s the top floor so I switch on the air conditioning and take a cold shower, but that’s after I carry my overweight cases up to my room. When I look in the mirror at my disheveled look I notice that my shirt is covered in dark patches due to the amount of sweat oozing out of every pore.
A cold shower and a change of clothes and then it’s out to dinner.