Red and Blue
(Pagoda near Shantang Jie: Suzhou, China)
I went on a morning excursion with Ying’s mum to the very famous (in China anyway) street in Suzhou. It is allegedly the oldest street and is a collection of touristy shops, cafes, coffee houses and a tight network of canals surrounds it. We whiled away some time and were also accosted on our moochings by a monk in rusty brown robes. He was quite forceful and spoke to us in broken English. We were confused as to what he wanted and began to open our purses but he waved his hand, “no no no! Your name!” His refusal of money bamboozled me yet more and I was urged to scribble on his form. Having done what was required, we attempted to make off before we were embroiled in anything more complex. It was at this point that the substantial demand on our wallets was made, and a very precise price was repeated by the monk. The sum was not small and we were taken aback by his pushiness. It seemed somehow cheekier to lull us into believing he was not after cash, then to hoist us with a large bill after writing down our details. It all felt rather sneaky to be honest – yet no more than the ‘charity muggers’ lining Buchanan street in Glasgow, “just want to talk to you for two minutes…”
It was such a pleasant autumnally clear day that we visited the famed street and hiding behind some small restaurants, just by the larger canals was this pagoda. The symmetry of these wooden fortresses is a delight every time. They always remind me of ornately wrapped chocolate boxes or a surreal wedding cake. There is also something insect like about the spiny protrusions on the many tiers. They just look so Chinese. There’s not another way I can express my delight in stumbling across pagodas, little arc bridges or funny shaped rocks, they just remind me where I am and that there’s so much more than scaffolding and expensive malls.
I was similarly accosted by “nuns” and a shopkeeper came out and shooed her away. Apparently these fake religious figures are quite common. Obviously, if they were really religious, they would not be approaching you at all and would just be sitting my the roadside quietly asking for alms.