An evening stroll to burn off the dumplings, I’ve only walked 6000 steps today so I need to do a wee bit more. As I often do I wander off the beaten track and so today I head for familiar territory but take a different route. I know I’ll come across the canal at some stage but to get there I have to walk through some older parts where they don’t get a lot of tourists.
After walking through a rabbit warren of lanes and streets selling fruit and snacks I finally pass the vegetable gardens on the bank of the canal. There is a foot bridge allowing me to get to the other side. I stop to watch the barges go by on the river for a while as the sun is setting behind me. It’s been a hot day and it’s good to finally feel the temperature drop.
This is like the M1 for barges, transporting just about anything through the network of waterways around Suzhou and beyond. tonight however it was mostly gravel, sand, earth and construction materials being moved, for the most part in one direction and that was towards the city.
Some of the barges are going so slow because they are so low in the water. You can see the height difference as the pass each other. Most of the empty ones are heading west.
As they pass beneath the bridge you a can not only hear the low rumble of the big diesel but you can feel the vibrations come through your feet. Which I may add is very relaxing. To stand here at sunset and just watch the big barges lazily going about there business is very satisfying and good spot to get away from rush hour.
Although overhead today the Chinese Air force is flexing it’s military might. Not sure how far from here the Air force base is but today they have been out playing with their toys.
Not sure how long I stood here just watching the world go by, maybe the locals thought that the foreigner was ready to jump.
There’s a certain fascination with boats and I must admit I would have loved to jump on board one westbound headed for Taihu Lake. I like being on boats but only if I am near the shore. I like to watch the world from a different perspective and at a leisurely pace. Sitting on one of these barges with the big diesel humming in the background sipping a beer watching the world go by sounds great. It brings back memories of going down the Mekong River from Cambodia to Vietnam.
Many of the families running the barges live and work on the barge and this is where they will spend most of their life. Not sure if this is the life for me but I know that I could quite happily spend a few days at least.
Suzhou has many waterways but locals are not allowed to use the them. You can not buy a boat or canoe and explore. This is because the government think that it’s safer to ban all use of the waterways for private use because too many people might die and this is possibly true. The only boats allowed are tourist boats and the commercial traffic. But it would be great if you could hire a commercial boat and explore the back streets so to speak, but you cannot.
PS I ended up walking 24,678 steps. I can have more dumplings…………..