Oh those Lions...

Sihing Mike spent some quality time riding many of these stone animals but here we just messed around. Here, Graeme gives the lion a little love n' attention.

(Below) Shawn feigns being eaten. I'm sure if that statue could speak, oh what tales of tasty arms and kung-fu kisses it would tell. Lol!!

Another view of Lake Taihu

(Below) Yep, we stood out in a crowd. Especially Spencer, Christian and Mike, who all loom over everyone here at 6-feet,2-inches+.

China Adventurers Extraordinaire =D

My Sifu Chiu Lau (left), a tour guide whose name I cannot recall at the moment (Maggy perhaps?), and tour-guide Tony (left). The other guide was only with us for a short time as she only specialized in this particular region of China (Wuxi). Ah Sifu, so serious (yet he has that distinctive twinkle in his eye, haha)

My friends Christian (middle), Scotty (foreground) and me awaiting our boat trip around Taihu Lake.

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Buildings, old and new.

Ok, so I'm not even sure what the building shown below is. I do believe it is a hotel, but with the walls and gate like they are..who can be certain? Actually, I did notice however that in China, gates, arches and doorways can get pretty freakin' elaborate. 

(Below) Not entirely sure what the purpose of this massive black obelisk is, but I had to photograph it.

(Below) A juxtaposition of modern-day china and the old-world architecture that lies scattered among skyscrapers and office towers. The sidewalk in this photo actually looks like it's on a bit of a slope, but i'm positive that was just a combination of lens distortion and bus-speed. ;)

Hotel Art Objects - Not for Export, lol.

Yep, those are carved ivory tusks, not quite sure if it's elephant or not, but from what I recall..it was. While I do not condone the purchase or sale of ivory (poachers should all die, really), the intricacy of this piece of artwork was unbelievable. The painstaking hours it would've taken to compose such a masterful work goes beyond description.

And then there was all this Jade.... all of this artwork and dozens (or hundreds) more like it were scattered throughout the halls and rooms of the Jinma Palace Hotel. Some of these ornate sculptures have been carved out of enormous single pieces of jade, how crazy is that!? Not to mention, very very expensive. By comparison the prices in Canadian would be astronomical, but considering the yuan price-tags, they seem somewhat affordable.

The Jinma Palace Hotel

Extravagant doesn't even come close. This hotel had an entire multi-storey shopping center, massage parlours, gym, pool, etc... It was just crazy. Below is a daytime shot of the lobby...yes, that's right, the lobby. Our rooms we're incredible and there wasn't anything you couldn't order with the touch of a button.

My kung-fu brother and good friends Eric and Spencer also gave an excellent performance on the grand piano shown in the distance, while we waited for tour-guide Tony to organize the room keys. Many of us (if not all) had no idea these two excellent individuals had musical talent, but lo and behold there it was. 

Complete with intricate decor, and expensive-looking art this hotel spared no expense in delivering the 'wow' factor

(Above) Video shot of the fountain in the front of our hotel. I know I posted this earlier, but it goes with these images better, don't you think? =)

(Below) Still-shot of the aforementioned (and posted)  water fountain.

(Below) Photo of the strip in front of our hotel.  Almost everyone in my group had the explorer bug bite them and  were eager to see as much in our relatively short stay as possible and so after we checked in, many of us departed for adventure....without a clue as to which direction we should start in. =D

Room Number What?!

Ok, for the record I should explain the 11:11 phenomenon and how it has been an oddly frequent part of my life this past year. For months and on a seemingly daily basis, the numbers 11:11 have been popping up on clocks (the only time i seem to look at the clock, guess what time it is?), on signs, TV, etc.

So when we arrived at our second hotel and out of the 20+ envelopes that get handed out with room keys, and I get the one with Room 1111, you can imagine my surprise! Eerie? I think so. Nevertheless I feel strongly that there is some event about to occur relative to 11:11, perhaps November of this year....there, I said it. =)

Yep, tripped out so much I had to photograph the key-ticket and room-number plaque. So very, very odd.