Chinese New Year

We were invited over for Chinese New Year by our Canadian friend and his gorgeous Chinese wife. She cooked an amazing traditional Chinese meal that was incredible, we were both so full, but it was so tasty we couldn't stop eating.

We then went into Suzhou where you can just buy fireworks everywhere. Mark and I were a little afraid of the whole concept and just really settled for sparklers. People just let of fireworks in the middle of the street, outside apartments, off their balconies, anywhere really.

The noise of the evening is incredible, the fire works start a few days before but build in intensity on CNY eve. As soon as it got dark, it was constant. Sometimes it feels like downtown Bagdad.

At midnight, we went outside to see the fireworks go off. I was equal parts excited and terrified. The sound was incredible, Half an hour of constant fireworks from dozens of places all over the city. We then came home to find an empty fireworks shell on our balcony (6 floors up!!). The fireworks continued all night - either that or China was invaded and Mark and I slept through it.

The whole place now has a real haze about it and a slight gunpowder smell.