1) The day has finally arrived. I hand over the keys to Emma, and afterwards she drives me to the Terminal 2 of the airport. There I meet Niamh and her mom, and after sending our luggage through the carousel and obtaining our boarding passes, it is time to say goodbye. We pass through customs, and spend the next two hours idling about and walking for no particular reason. Finally, it is time to board our plane, for the first 8 hours of the journey.
2) Emirates is a really nice airline in my opinion; the service is good and there is always something to be excited about. Usually it is food or some beverages XD. I finish two movies in the first leg of the journey - Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Kingsman: The Golden Circle. Both very entertaining I might add. Anyway, in no time at all, we reach Dubai International Airport, with an hour or so to spend before our next departure.
3) With much dilly-dallying and walking around, it is now time to board the plane for the remaining journey. I don't remember getting much sleep here, which might explain my tired complexion later. Anyway, we were served lots of food and as much beverages as we wanted. I remember fiddling around with their ice (info, communications, entertainment) system, before dozing off for a bit. Before I knew it, we had landed. We had to fill in an arrival form and obtain clearance before being allowed to leave.
4) At the arrivals gate, we were hoping to see someone holding a placard to come and greet us, and we were not disappointed. Nina and Walter met up with us and explained that they were students of Soochow University and were taking part in the international research summer school as well. We then put our bags into the van that they had hired, and we were driven all the way to Suzhou, Jiangsu province. We were dropped off right at our apartment, very aptly named Parfait International Apartment.
5) After unloading our heavy luggage bags in our rooms (which were very well equipped), we went downstairs again, to wait for Dr. Wang, our host in Suzhou. He came to pick us up in his car, and we all went to a nice shop called 老娘舅 (lao niang jiu) for dinner. I asked Dr. Wang what he would recommend and I ended up getting 梅菜扣肉 (mei cai kou rou - "steamed pork belly with preserved mustard greens" ). The dish came as a set with steamed egg and braised vegetables, so I was really full after the meal.
6) Next, we walked over to a convenience store to get basic items like bottles of water. We found out the tap water is not drinkable so we would need to buy bottled water ourselves. Niamh being Niamh bought her fair share of apples and fruits, and me being myself did not get anything. Then Dr. Wang drove us back, wished us goodnight, and that summed up our first day/night in Suzhou. It has been a very warm welcome we've received, and looking forward to the next day's adventures. Thanks for tuning in, and enjoy the pics. Cheers! :D
From l-r: Nina, Dr. Wang, Niamh, yours truly :)
Waiting for the plane from Dubai to Suzhou :D
Rice with cod and fresh vegetables
The beef set, with a glass of apple juice
A beautiful image of the aeroplane above the clouds just as the Sun rises :)
At Lao Niang Jiu ^^
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