When I returned to Suzhou the other week I stayed at a hotel for two nights to get over the jetlag and to allow myself a bit of breathing space on my return. As I said before, I had been offered a room by a friend but when I checked it out I didn’t think it was suitable because it was so sparse and the outside was still like a building site. The biggest thing to accept I guess was the fact that the wet room was so small and that the tiny hand held shower. I think this is what tipped me over the edge of deciding not to go there. This was the straw that broke the camels back so to speak.

I looked for an Airbnb and found a small self contained unit near the main tourist street of Pingjiang Lu. It was small but suitable for the week.

Sissi is the young Chinese girl looking after this Airbnb and she was just a bundle of energy. She told me that she was looking for a new apartment nearer the centre of town in Suzhou and would I be interested in sharing? I asked how much and we agreed on a price and so the next thing you know I’m in a 4 bedroom apartment on the 4th floor, which of course is really the third because they use the stupid American system here for floors.

It’s a little old and needs a good clean but I moved in last night because my Airbnb came to an end. After everything is done it will be great. I’m about 5 mins from the centre of town. I’m about 5 mins from Central Park. There is a shopping centre across the road, although it is a wee bit more expensive than my usual.

So all in all at the moment my world is beginning to settle to a balanced state which is what we all want. I just need to find some work so that I can pay for all this.

PS my new apartment is not near the water but in the middle of a complex and the buildings don’t represent the outside of me new place.