Suzhou Shi

My first coushsurfing surprise in China was to find out that most hosts were not Chinese. From Russia, Pakistan, England or the US.., many expats seem eager to invite other travelers at their home.
A happy choice led me to an Egyptian - Tunisian household : Eslam, Yasra, both teachers at an international school, and their young son Adam. Eslam being also a cyclist, he was very understanding of my simple needs (shower, food, sleep !) and sent me many supportive messages to help me finish my long day of riding.

The second surprise was that Eslam and Yasra were close friends with my next hosts, a few cities later ! Thus, with their help, I could master all their names (both english and arabic, for 5 people), before having met them. They were indeed a large Egyptian family : 4 warm and witty brothers, their mum, another Egyptian friend and the chinese girlfriend of one of the brothers. In this joyful company, I quickly had to adapt, switching from the usual quietness of my solo journey to a crazy/ loud/ lively atmosphere in their packed living room : everyone wanted to ask me a question, show me a video, share a story or a joke or offer me something to eat or drink, often all and everything at the same time ...
Not only these 4-5 solid men enjoy having good food in their belly, they also have many flourishing ideas and projects in mind ! Around the table were thus gathered an English teacher, a computing engineer, a dentist ready to become a CrossFit trainer, another guy who wanted to open Kindergartens, and still another who seems to be the entry gate for any Egyptian in search for a job, an apartment, legal counseling or any other advice for a successful settlement in China...

Everyone also had different timetables. Tito/ Tahar nicely shared his room with me, which was not complicated at all, since he only went to bed when I was waking up ! I admire the courage or their mother, who has to feed and take care of all these grown-up men, their friends and girlfriends and adapt to their busy lives... Anyway, despite the tiredness of long days of cycling, I spent great evenings with my hosts and will keep precious memories of this Egyptian connection as far as eastern China.

NB : between these two homes, a few pictures taken on the road between Suzhou and Nantong.Read more