Distant surprise
(View of a pagoda through roads of the elevated motorway: Suzhou – I should note that the lamp post is not connected to the pagoda as far as I am aware!)
Yesterday I had to extend my visa again; time is a little tight before I take a trip to Thailand next week. I’m very excited as I really never thought I’d ever make it to China, let alone other exotic destinations surrounding it. Some of Ying’s colleagues handled the transactions in Mandarin, and they appear to have been successful. I’m very lucky to have this kind of assistance; I’ve experienced much shouting and arguing between the authorities and other applicants and it’s easy to see who wins. For me, there’s usually a lot of standing around, having photographs taken and looking baffled whilst passports, stamps and documents are exchanged around me.
I took this photograph from the back of the taxi on my way back from the visa office; it was a chance shot to be honest, as I’d failed to even notice the pagoda as it swooshed past. I was attempting to expose the tangle of roads that create the knotted weave of tarmac rollercoasters slicing through Suzhou. The distant pagoda just illustrates how the ancient gardens and buildings remain revered and protected in this maze of urban modernity, poking out of the endless grey city like wild flowers.
