50 Shades: Suzhou, China!

There's a reason this weekend experience has been forgotten about for over one year, it was a whole choice! October 2024 had thus far been textbook, National Day had brought a stellar week to Taipei but a reunion with my friend, Andy took a turn! I am so glad those choices are in the past, it was chaotic from the jump! Next, let's cut out Friday and meet fresh in the morning! Oh!

K2 saw me doing the most, I needed to runaway for the weekend! Suzhou had been a place that I had used to run to, that made perfect sense to do just that! Boarding the same train from Ningbo Railway Station had me feeling extremely thirsty as I waited for that high speed train bound for Suzhou North Railway Station. Andy was already on the juice, I need to catch up and get on those cans! Usually those China trains served cold cans of Heineken because that has continued to be the beer of the moment, I didn't care, I needed a refreshment! The journey was smooth, stations whizzed past me with another can consumed as Suzhou grew closer! It had been another hectic week in my classroom, it was time to cut-loose! I made my stop and found a taxi, I was not ready for the shenanigans that were about to greet me in Suzhou's Wujiang District. Suzhou really needed me to go to bed, myself and Andy didn't even a plan for the Saturday! Something told me the weekend would go south! I felt confident? I had missed a major detail! It was boozy! 

Allow me to omit the check-in procedures at my hotel, several details really call for this subject to have its own section. Getting another drink was my only concern, I needed to get my priorities straight! I met up with Andy and we headed to 'Twin Tails' for a pint or three. It was a great time to reunite, we shared stories from our National Day holiday choices. We were minding our business and we planned to have two drinks and be on the road, did that happen? No, the night turned into a raucous affairs with colourful personalities linked to Andy swaying us to drink more! I never knew it but it had been a bad idea to drink further, from the jump it had been! Our early night turned into an early morning, that was the small hours not breakfast! I made my way back to my hotel very worst for wear, you know that things were destined to be shady! I needed to fall into a sobering sleep, I now sit and shudder at the thought of being like that again! Not for me, babes! That Suzhou weekend was about to school me into having some healthier habits, B! 

That scandalous visit would become my fourth visit to Wujiang District but my fifth overall to Suzhou. Wujiang had saw me stay at Andy's once but thereafter I had favoured two '太湖/Tai Hu Lake' hotels with almost lakeside views, seconds away from our trusty 'McDonald's' meeting point. I had royally messed up, cockily booking an 'ATOUR' hotel room with the title ‘苏州湾/Suzhou Bay' description, a major oversight had occurred. I knew something was afoot when my taxi from '苏州北站/Suzhou North Railway Station' stopped before it had passed the outlet malls. Where was I? I clocked the same brand logo for that familiar hotel, it wasn't the same convenient lakeside hotel that I had favoured for my Suzhou getaways in the past. I did think that the 'pay on arrival' and 'cheaper rate' triggered some serious red flags being raised. I dropped my bag on the first night with an unnecessary thirst for yet another libation. The after effects of this weekend, it would become an intervention. Next time, I'll book the right ATOUR!

The same comfy bed found me, that room feature became my actual salvation! Nothing about the room I could fault, I did miss the feeling of the usual 'Tai Hu' hotel where I had stayed before, I knew shade would prevail! Getting back to the hotel on the Saturday night had me feeling confident, reception had not yet asked me for any of the 'payment' as I had not 'prepaid' the room. I was stopped in my tracks, it wasn't their issue, they were just accounting for business. Was I sour that I had to part with that cash, I kind of was because it had seemed like I had slipped under the radar. How wrong was I? Very! When all was said and done, choosing the wrong hotel was annoying because I had to get taxis to Andy's part of Wujiang from that alternate hotel, that was entirely my fault for that oversight. It has taught me to be careful, coneietiuous and crafty when booking a hotel room, I never want to make that same mistake. Those extra comfy ATOUR beds allowed me to sleep deeply, I caught the right amount of zzz's! 

How I felt the next morning wasn't pretty, I was in a critical state, the hangover hurt like hell! Agreeing like it was a wise thing, we met at 'Butcher's Hook', even the taxi journey was painful. I needed something to soak up this horrendous hangover, maybe even another drink to ease the pain? What was I thinking? To be honest, it's nothing that I haven't done before because sometimes a 'hair of the dog' makes sense. The taxi driver played with me, dropping me off at the side entrance, I was not doing well! Meeting Andy and his friend Ryan, we spoke about the previous evening and I hung my head in shame, somewhat because now I see that too much is never enough for me! There was still some alcohol in my system and for me to process those choices I didn't want to be completely sober if truth be told. In the here and now, I am not envious of the state that I had gotten myself in, we have to learn. Breakfast? Judging by the time, we were lucky there was an 'All Day Breakfast' served at 'BH!' 苏州, I wanted to eat everything! 

Ordering the 'Full English' needed to happen, I couldn't face a hot drink only if it was spiked with something to ease the pain. I am not an addict but in that moment, going 'Cold Turkey' wasn't an option, I needed to ease off the sauce slowly. The breakfast healed me, I traded my coffee for an orange juice with an additional shot of vodka. I won't lie, the additional shot really helped me out, I felt less hungover and functioned a lot better. I don't condone this behaviour, nor do I stand by this method but sometimes "what kills us, can cure us". The breakfast went down lovely, conversation flowed and to be frank, I was just happy I had not lost my brand new iPhone! Suzhou, you know when I come back for that sixth visit, I will have my senses firmly intact. We migrated from our first table to another, one guy Ryan knew was doing the most! It was time for us to make tracks when an individual who we collectively disliked walked in. I know that the way I behaved that Friday night has sobered me up like never before, I just cannot! No!

Choosing the wrong 'ATOUR' was about to irritate me once again, myself and Andy got a taxi from 'Butcher's Hook' to his part of Wujiang District. We arranged to meet the next morning, to be honest it wasn't that late but we both needed an early night because those Saturday drinks had spiralled a little. I went into McDonald's for something to eat, that ice cold Coke hit the spot! Why did I feel the need to take such a photo of this Wujiang based fast-food establishment? I still don't have the answer to that but it has allowed me to narrate this berserk weekend from beginning to end. I got 'another' taxi back to my chosen 'wrong' ATOUR hotel, from there I have already mentioned that I paid my room rate. I don't think the hotel had dealt with many foreigners, it wasn't their fault neither was it mine. I slept well, it was a non-negotiable decision to stay away from the bar I had frequented before many times. I was able to collect myself the next morning, I had recovered, enough to get back to 宁波. So, I look at alcohol differently now!

I had a train to catch, I had sobered up and I actually felt human. Not to the point of full sobriety but I was functioning better and had my faculties restored. Myself and Andy agreed to reconvene at our usual de-brief location, the same Wujiang based 'McDonald's' because we needed to talk about the weekend, it had been a state of affairs to never repeat! We kept things moving, we headed to Andy's school for me to have a look at the grounds and his classroom. He also teaches the age level as me, this blog isn't the most professional so we'll omit both of our companies out of this publication! I was impressed with the scale of his campus, ranging from kindergarten to university prep, it was a whole cityscape-like school setup! Going our separate ways, Andy headed home and me to Suzhou Railway Station for my train to Ningbo. I stayed away from anything alcohol for a good seven days before the weekend came back around. Suzhou, we must never meet like this again! What happens during the weekend, stays there! Without doubt, 苏州! 

Growth Is Everything! 

Desperately Seeking Adventure